Anxiety

idea of anxiety as a defense mechanism- one of the last paragraphs talks about it

i like this definition of GAD and worry 

phobia development through vicarious experiences or watching tv- i would think especially when you're young. very interesting, didn't know that

new forms of social anxiety about saftey?- in school, maybe with health because of covid

I really enjoyed both readings because it took the dynamic approach to disorder that we have been discussing. Anxiety is not simple, it does not show up the same way and that is important. I liked the distinction between anxiety and worry becuase I think that worry can oversimplify anxiety and GAD. As I was reading, I started thinking of anxiety as a defense mechanism and the readings later discussed the same idea. It would make sense that a lack of control in one area can lead your mind finding a way to protect itself from being out of control again. At least Freud might agree (or find a way to relate it to sex at least).  I thought both papers did a great job at explaining how embedded anxiety can be in a person. Therapy for anxiety disorders is so difficult because of the learning dynamic. Yes, if a behavior can be learning it can be unlearned, but what if that behavior feels like a major part of you? The cognitions and behaviors have become so imbedded, people with anxiety disorders might not want to get rid of them out of that fear of losing control again. I think becuase anxiety is so common, people downgrade the severity of it at times. 

I also found it intresting that phobias can sometimes develope through watching TV. I think this goes to show that what we surround ourselves with greatly impacts us rather we know it or not. It also made me think about social anxiety and a possible new wave of it. With COVID and a rise is school shootings, I wonder if there will be an increase in phobias or social anxiety around crowds of people? We are constantly hearing stories on the news about shootings; COVID marked crowds as dangerous and to avoid them. I would think people, esspecially those a few years younger than me, would be fearful of thier safety in schools, malls, concerts, or other crowded places due to these experiences. What will this reasearch show in the next five years?