Anxiety and Phobias - Grade: 100% PDF

Preview

Summary

Anxiety and phobias paper I got an A on this paper. I got an A in the class....

Description

Running head: ANXIETY AND PHOBIAS

Anxiety and Phobias (500-750 words)

Anxiety and Phobias- Finding Nemo Presented to Grand Canyon University

In Partial Fulfillment of The requirements for PSY-470, Abnormal Psychology

Kelcee Cramer Vareene-Thomas 09/21/2019

2

ANXIETY AND PHOBIAS

Anxiety and Phobias- Finding Nemo Introduction Most people experience some form of stress or anxiety throughout their lifetime. Stress can be referred to as any demand paced on your brain or physical body (Legg, 2017). On the other hand, anxiety is a feeling of fear, wordiness, or unease. Anxiety can also be a reaction to stress on the body. Many of the tv shows and movies that we watch now a days have a character/s that have either some type of anxiety disorder or a phobia of some sort. A phobia is “a determined and rational fear of a specific item, interest, or situation” (Comer, 2014, p. G-12). If someone has a phobia, this often creates a large amount of anxiety and stress. In the movie, Finding Nemo we see Marlin; who is Nemo’s dad, appearing to be inflicted with anxiety and phobias. This paper will discuss the irrational beliefs and attitudes he has throughout the movie and how they manifest in his behavior along with finding ways to manage and reduce stress and anxiety. Irrational Beliefs and Behavior. Not too far into the movie do we see Marlin express irrational beliefs and attitudes that display his anxiety and phobias. Swimming in the open water, has negative outlook on the ocean, Nemo cannot go to school because he has a “defect” being his small fin, when he does not help another fish out, he blames himself if anything happens to them, and OCD are just some of the irrational beliefs Marlin has. When you look at his attitudes throughout the movie, he portrays himself as caring, protective, unhappy, avoidant, sensitive, and authoritarian like. In response to his anxiety, there was a change in Marlins’ behavior. When one fears the ocean, it is referred to

ANXIETY AND PHOBIAS

3

as Thalassophobia. We see this occur in the movie when Nemo was getting ready for his first day of school. He was excited and trying to wake his dad up. Nemo came flying out of the anemone and got stuck and could not get out. Marlin pulled him out and was going on a rant asking if he was okay, if he broke anything, was he hurting, etc. Marlin was exceedingly concerned that his son was injured. Marlins suffers from post- traumatic stress disorder which is where is anxiety and phobias stem from. This is always the reason for the shift and change in his behavior throughout the movie. Post-traumatic stress disorder is “a disorder in which anxiety and associated indications continue to be faced long after a traumatic incident” (Comer, 2014, p. 157). Marlin has PTSD because he witnessed his family get attacked by another fish. Recollecting the incident, Marlin begins to breathe rapidly because he cannot stand the thought of it and because he knows that he is not in control of the situation. Modify Stress and Anxiety Both stress and anxiety go together for the fact that stress causes anxiety which both result in health issues. With that being said, that does not mean that there are not ways to manage or reduce them. According to Kahn and Schack, reducing stress begins with being mindful of the anxiety recognizing the cause, and resolving the anxiety (Kahn and Schack, 1995). During the movie, Marlin uses a form of cognitive therapy; prevention, known as group therapy. This is where individuals congregate and discuss their specific problems. This form is used when Marlin decides to gather around others like Dori and the sharks so that they could all discuss their issues. “Fish are friends not food” said one of the sharks. This was a way to bring everyone together and discover resolutions. In regard to prevention, it makes a difference for the individuals who are battling with anxiety and phobias. Approaches to modify stress and reduce anxiety fall into two wide-ranging classifications: problem focused coping and emotion focused coping (Legg, 2017).

ANXIETY AND PHOBIAS

4

Problem focused coping encompasses actively confronting the cause of stress in order to diminish its effect or remove it completely. Resolving issues, time management, lots of social support, and so forth. Whereas emotion focused coping is aimed to control the destructive emotional reactions related with stress. For example, entertainment, reflection, and praying. Conclusion Conclusively, stress causes anxiety which can lead to phobias and other related issues. On media today, there are numerus movies and tv shows that portray a character that has some time of anxiety or fear or something whether we catch onto it right away or not. Typically to go along with this, it shows ways to help manage or reduce it. There are various indicators that may be shown when someone has anxiety or a phobia. These cause a change in behavior and attitudes of an individual and could also lead to other disorders. Keep in mind that these can cause health issues and take time to work with. Every individual’s situation is different, so there is more than one way to treat, reduce, and manage anxiety and phobias.

5

ANXIETY AND PHOBIAS

References Comer, J. R. (2014). Abnormal psychology. New York: NY Kahn, J. P., & Le Schack, P. (1995). Stress, distress and anxiety: real causes and real solutions. Newsweek, 125(25) Legg, T. J. (2017, May 25). Stress and Anxiety. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/stress-and-anxiety Nowakowski, M. E., Rowa, K., Antony, M. M., & McCabe, R. (2016). Changes in anxiety sensitivity following group cognitive-behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder and panic disorder. Cognitive Therapy And Research, 40(4), 468-478....