Chapter 10

Activities

1. Imagine two groups of individuals. Group 1 scores relatively high on trait anxiety and Group 2 scores relatively low on trait anxiety. Based on what you know from the chapter, describe these two groups in terms of the levels of physical activity you suspect they have.
2. Choose a day when your perceived stress level is fairly high. Go for a brisk 15-minute walk. Before you go, using the scale below, mark a “B” for “before” on the line to indicate how you feel at that time relative to being either very tense/anxious or very calm/relaxed. When you return from your walk, mark an “A” for “after” to indicate how you feel. After you’ve rated how you feel, answer the following questions:

1. Is there any change in the location of your A versus your B?
2. Based on the results, how would you rate the walk in terms of its ability to influence your anxiety level? Why do you think the score changed (or didn’t change)?

Vocabulary

Agoraphobia - An anxiety disorder characterized by severe, pervasive anxiety when in situations perceived to be difficult to escape (e.g., fear of being in crowds) or complete avoidance of certain situations.

Anxiety - The “pathological counterpart of normal fear, manifest by disturbances of mood, as well as of thinking, behavior, and physiological activity” (U.S. DHHS, 1999, p. 233).

Anxiety disorder - A category of mental health disorders characterized by excessive or inappropriate expression of anxiety.

Anxiety sensitivity - Fear of anxiety and anxiety-related sensations.

Anxiolytic - Anxiety reducing.

Clinical anxiety - Having enough anxiety symptoms at a sufficient intensity to meet the criteria for a clinical disorder requiring some form of therapeutic intervention (e.g., psychotherapy, medication).

Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) - Forms of psychotherapy that usually involve some combination of training in relaxation, thought restructuring, psychological education, and changing behavioral responses to anxiety-provoking situations.

Distraction/time-out hypothesis - A hypothesis suggesting that the anxiety- and depression-reducing effects of exercise are due to the distraction it provides from the normal routine.

Double-blind experiment - An experiment in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know which subjects are receiving a drug or a placebo.

Generalized anxiety disorder - An anxiety disorder characterized by worry lasting more than six months, along with multiple symptoms (e.g., muscle tension, poor concentration, insomnia, irritability).

Mental disorder - A health condition characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior associated with distress and/or impaired functioning.

Mental health - According to the U.S. surgeon general, a state of successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with adversity.

Mental health problem - Signs and symptoms that are of insufficient intensity or duration to meet the criteria for any mental disorder but are sufficient to warrant active efforts in health promotion, prevention, and treatment.

Mental illness - Refers to all diagnosable mental disorders.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder - An anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions (such as recurrent thoughts or images that are perceived as inappropriate or forbidden and that elicit anxiety), and compulsions that reduce the anxiety associated with the obsessions. Compulsions may be behaviors or thoughts.

Panic disorder - An anxiety disorder characterized by intense fear and discomfort associated with physical and mental symptoms, including sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, fear of dying, or loss of control of emotions.

Post-traumatic stress disorder - An anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety and behavioral disturbances that persist for more than one month, following exposure to extreme trauma (e.g., combat, physical assault).

Social anxiety disorder specific phobia - An anxiety disorder characterized by an exaggerated, irrational fear of an object or class of objects.

State anxiety - A noticeable but transient emotional state characterized by feelings of apprehension and heightened autonomic nervous system activity.

Thermogenic hypothesis - A hypothesis stating that the elevated body temperature resulting from exercise can also lead to psychological changes, such as reduced anxiety.

Trait anxiety - A general predisposition to respond across many situations with apprehension, worry, and nervousness.

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