- Fear of Chronic Medical Conditions
- Avoidance of Daily Activities
- Engagement in Unhealthy Practices
- Pathophysiological Alterations

Effects of AS

- Psychoeducation (teaching the patient about their diagnosis by explaining the physiology of anxiety or how the flight-fight system works)
- Cognitive Restructuring (identifying, challenging, and replacing the patient's beliefs causing AS)
- Emotional Acceptance (teach patients to mindfully observe their reactions rather than trying to control them)
- Interoceptive Exposure (train clients to manage symptoms, instead of fearing them, after exposing themselves to their own bodily sensations)
- In Vivo Situational Exposure (exposing patients to their feared situations and instructing them to remain in that situation to "face their face", eventually reducing the fear)

Current Treatments for AS

- Stressful life events are fond to be longitudinally associated with increases in AS ( research suggests these cause self-focused repetitive thought like rumination)
- Specific stressful events relating to health and family are predictive of increase in AS
- Uncued panic attacks can predict increased AS in adults

Causes of AS/Contributors to AS

Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) describes the fear of anxiety-related symptoms that are often accompanied by hyperarousal, pain, stomach distress, and racing thoughts. Individuals experience physical and social fears alongside concerns for mental capability.

Santa Clara University

Also called psychological disorders, these are disorders rooted in mental thought patterns that impair the person's functioning, with specific disorders having their own disgnostic criteria. 

Mental Disorders/Mental Illnesses

Horenstein, Arielle, et al. “How Does Anxiety Sensitivity Increase Risk of Chronic Medical Conditions?” Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, vol. 25, no. 3, 2 Apr. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12248. 

How does anxiety sensitivity increase risk of chronic conditions?

- Anxiety disorders
- Mood disorders 
- Psychotic disorders
- Personality disorders
- Eating disorders
- Sleep disorders
- Addiction
- Adjustment disorders

Categories of mental disorders/mental illnesses

Psychopathology is a term with a dual meaning. It refers to the scientific study of psychological disorders, which includes investigating their symptoms, etiology (causes), and potential treatments. Concurrently, the term can also describe the manifestation of a psychological disorder itself, meaning the abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that indicate its presence.

Psychopathology

Characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of developing a mental illness/disorder.
- Biophysical 
- Psychological 
- Social 
- Spiritual 

Protective Factors

Various health and life outcomes of mental disorders/mental illnesses. 

Mental Disorders/Mental Illnesses Outcomes

Anxiety Sensitivity

In this study, researchers collected data on healthy eating barriers which impact individuals suffering from mental illness. They found that participant's barriers towards a healthy lifestyle were modifiable and suggested helpful intervention techniques. 

Healthy Eating in Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses: Understanding and Barriers

The cause of comorbid Anxiety and Depression is debated within the scientific community. Adolescents experience comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression at rates ranging from 15.9%-61.9%.  

Comorbidity of Anxiety and Depression in Youth

Gender Dysphoria is characterized by the subjectively experienced distress that arises from the mismatch between gender identity, or internally felt sense of gender, and assigned sex at birth.

Gender Dysphoria

An emerging field which seeks to identify which dietary components are truly important for mental health, including in psychiatric disease, as well as to whom,
under which circumstances and at which specific dosages these nutritional interventions have preventative and therapeutic efficacy.

Nutrition Psychiatry

Factors that predispose adults and children to develop a mental disorder
- Biological 
- Psychological 
- Social 
- Spiritual 
- Cultural

Risk Factors for Developing a Mental Disorder

Neurological disorders are a specific type of disorder that occurs as a result of injury or trauma to the brain or central nervous system, consisting of the spinal cord and the connected nerves. Neurological disorders can impair movement and speech to various degrees, depending on the intensity and the specific type of neurological disorder. Neurological disorders can also occur as a result of genetic abnormalities and infections. Specific neurological disorders include cerebral palsy, ADD, and conversion disorder.

Neurological Disorders

References for Neurological Disorders

The term of psychiatric survivor comes from the c/s/x movement and is meant to position individuals as survivors of the psychiatric system and psychiatric industrial complex.

Psychiatric Survivor

Ex-patient was used as a term starting in the 1970s by individuals in the growing ex-patients movement. The term was used at the time because of how madness and mad as derogatory terms were not yet reclaimed. It was used as an identity to indicate individuals who have previously been 
patients in asylums or other mental health systems.

Ex-patient

The term psychiatric consumer originated at the 1985 Alternatives Conference and was chosen to represent individuals who receive care from mental health and psychiatric services. It was chosen in part because it was meant to signify that patients have, or ideally should have, a choice of services and treatment.

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