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Anxiety & Mood Disorders Cheat Sheet
A printable reference covering anxiety disorders, mood disorders, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment approaches for grades 9-12.
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Anxiety and mood disorders are common mental health conditions that affect thoughts, emotions, behavior, and daily functioning. This cheat sheet helps students compare major disorders, recognize common symptoms, and understand how psychologists describe mental health patterns. It is useful for reviewing abnormal psychology, preparing for exams, and building accurate mental health vocabulary. Students should use it as an academic reference, not as a tool for self-diagnosis. Anxiety disorders involve excessive fear, worry, or avoidance that interferes with life. Mood disorders involve long-lasting changes in emotional state, such as depression or mania. Key concepts include symptoms, duration, impairment, risk factors, and evidence-based treatment. Treatment often combines psychotherapy, lifestyle supports, social support, and sometimes medication prescribed by a qualified professional.
Key Facts
- An anxiety disorder involves excessive fear or worry plus distress or impairment in school, work, relationships, or daily life.
- Generalized anxiety disorder is marked by persistent, hard-to-control worry about multiple areas of life for at least 6 months.
- Panic disorder involves repeated panic attacks and ongoing worry about having more attacks or changing behavior to avoid them.
- Major depressive disorder involves a depressed mood or loss of interest plus other symptoms such as sleep, appetite, energy, concentration, or guilt changes for at least 2 weeks.
- Bipolar disorders involve mood episodes, including mania or hypomania, and may also include depressive episodes.
- A manic episode includes an unusually elevated or irritable mood with increased energy, risky behavior, reduced need for sleep, or racing thoughts.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy helps people identify unhelpful thought patterns and practice healthier behaviors and coping skills.
- Diagnosis depends on symptom pattern, duration, distress, impairment, and ruling out substances, medical conditions, or normal temporary stress reactions.
Vocabulary
- Anxiety disorder
- A mental health condition involving excessive fear, worry, or avoidance that causes distress or interferes with daily life.
- Mood disorder
- A mental health condition involving persistent disturbances in emotional state, such as depression, mania, or cycling moods.
- Panic attack
- A sudden episode of intense fear with physical symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, trembling, or dizziness.
- Major depressive episode
- A period of at least 2 weeks with depressed mood or loss of interest plus other emotional, cognitive, or physical symptoms.
- Mania
- A period of abnormally elevated or irritable mood and increased energy that can include impulsive decisions and reduced need for sleep.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- A structured therapy that helps people examine thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and replace unhelpful patterns with healthier skills.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing everyday stress with an anxiety disorder is wrong because disorders involve excessive symptoms that cause distress or impairment over time.
- Calling sadness the same as major depression is wrong because major depression includes a specific symptom pattern, duration, and effect on functioning.
- Assuming all mood disorders are depression is wrong because bipolar disorders include manic or hypomanic episodes, not only low mood.
- Ignoring duration criteria is wrong because a symptom lasting one day may not meet the same standard as symptoms lasting 2 weeks or 6 months.
- Treating medication as the only solution is wrong because evidence-based care may include therapy, coping skills, lifestyle changes, support systems, and medical treatment when appropriate.
Practice Questions
- 1 A student has uncontrollable worry about grades, family, health, and friendships for 7 months, and the worry disrupts sleep and concentration. Which anxiety disorder is most consistent with this pattern?
- 2 A person has had low mood, loss of interest, fatigue, sleep problems, and poor concentration for 16 days. Does this meet the minimum duration often associated with a major depressive episode?
- 3 A teen reports 4 sudden episodes in one month with racing heart, trembling, chest tightness, and fear of dying, followed by avoidance of crowded places. Which symptoms suggest panic attacks?
- 4 Why is it important for psychologists to consider impairment, duration, and context before labeling anxiety or sadness as a disorder?