UNISA PYC3702 Exam Notes: Anxiety and Mood Disorders Revision Guide

Anxiety and mood disorders are among the most examined and clinically important topics in UNISA PYC3702: Abnormal Behaviour and Mental Health. They appear frequently because they connect diagnosis, aetiology, treatment, and real-world case formulation in a way that tests both memory and understanding. These notes provide a structured revision guide to the major disorders, their symptoms, assessment, causes, and evidence-based interventions, with a clear emphasis on exam preparation and South African university-style answers.

1. Understanding Anxiety and Mood Disorders in PYC3702

Why these disorders matter in abnormal behaviour

Anxiety and mood disorders are central to abnormal psychology because they illustrate how emotional distress can become persistent, disabling, and clinically significant. In ordinary life, anxiety and sadness are normal human responses to threat, loss, disappointment, or uncertainty. They become disorders when they are excessive, long-lasting, difficult to control, and impair functioning in areas such as studying, working, relationships, self-care, and physical health.

For PYC3702, it is important to remember that anxiety and mood disorders are not merely about “feeling nervous” or “feeling sad.” They involve patterns of cognition, emotion, physiology, and behaviour that interact over time. A learner may, for example, experience intense fear before presentations, avoid classes, sleep poorly, and begin to see themselves as incompetent. A person with depression may feel hopeless, withdraw socially, lose appetite, and struggle to concentrate. The exam often expects you to show that these disorders are multifaceted rather than one-dimensional.

In South African university contexts, including UNISA, it is common for exam questions to ask about definitions, distinctions between disorders, and explanations of how biological, psychological, and social factors combine. A strong answer usually uses a biopsychosocial framework, showing how genetic vulnerability, cognitive distortions, family stress, poverty, trauma, and coping style all matter. This helps avoid overly simplistic explanations.

The two broad groups: anxiety disorders and mood disorders

Anxiety disorders are characterised by excessive fear, worry, avoidance, hypervigilance, or panic. Fear is typically a response to immediate threat, whereas anxiety is often anticipation of future threat. Although the terms overlap in everyday language, clinical psychology distinguishes them because the symptoms, triggers, and treatments may differ.

Mood disorders are primarily characterised by disturbances in emotional state, especially prolonged depression, loss of interest, or episodes of abnormally elevated mood such as mania or hypomania. Mood disorders affect motivation, energy, sleep, concentration, self-worth, and behaviour. They can be recurrent, episodic, and severe.

A useful exam distinction is this:

• Anxiety disorders: “What if something bad happens?”
• Mood disorders: “I feel worthless, empty, or unusually elated, and it affects how I function.”

This is not a perfect distinction because anxiety and depression frequently co-occur. Many clients experience both sets of symptoms at the same time, which complicates diagnosis and treatment.

Key signs of clinical significance

The presence of one or two symptoms does not automatically indicate a disorder. Clinical significance is usually judged using several criteria:

1. Duration
   Symptoms persist beyond a transient period and do not resolve naturally.

2. Intensity
   Emotional distress is disproportionate to the situation.

3. Impairment
   Work, study, relationships, sleep, and daily functioning are affected.

4. Loss of control
   The person struggles to manage symptoms using ordinary coping strategies.

5. Distress
   The symptoms cause significant suffering to the individual, not just inconvenience to others.

6. Context sensitivity
   Clinicians must consider whether the reaction is understandable in context, such as bereavement, trauma, or chronic stress.

This distinction matters in exams because a good answer shows that abnormality is not based on one symptom alone. Instead, it depends on frequency, severity, persistence, and functional impact.

Common diagnostic language

PYC3702 often expects familiarity with categories and terminology used in psychological assessment. While exact diagnostic systems may vary, the most common terms include:

• Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD): persistent, uncontrollable worry across multiple domains
• Panic disorder: recurrent unexpected panic attacks and fear of future attacks
• Specific phobia: intense fear of a particular object or situation
• Social anxiety disorder: fear of negative evaluation in social or performance situations
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): intrusive thoughts and repetitive compulsions
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): trauma-related symptoms including re-experiencing, avoidance, negative mood, and hyperarousal
• Major depressive disorder: persistent low mood or loss of interest with additional symptoms
• Persistent depressive disorder: chronic depression lasting for an extended period
• Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorders: mood episodes involving mania or hypomania, often alternating with depression

Even when a question is not asking for diagnostic criteria specifically, these labels help structure your answer. They also allow you to compare symptoms, course, and treatment implications.

Short case illustration

Consider Lerato, a first-year student who starts missing lectures after several months of worrying about money, family illness, and academic failure. She cannot switch off her thoughts at night, feels tense during the day, and checks her emails constantly for bad news. She has no single feared object or situation; instead, her worry spreads across many topics. This pattern is more consistent with generalised anxiety disorder than a specific phobia.

Now consider Thabo, who becomes very low after a relationship breakup. He loses interest in sports, sleeps for twelve hours but still feels exhausted, stops attending classes, and feels that life has no meaning. If this continues for weeks and affects functioning, it suggests a depressive episode rather than ordinary sadness.

These examples matter because examiners often use case vignettes and ask you to identify the disorder, justify the answer, or explain treatment. Being able to read symptoms accurately is essential.

2. Anxiety Disorders: Symptoms, Types, and Mechanisms

General features of anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorders share several core characteristics. These include:

• excessive fear or worry
• heightened bodily arousal
• cognitive anticipation of danger
• avoidance behaviour
• impaired functioning

The physiological signs can include increased heart rate, sweating, trembling, shortness of breath, dizziness, muscle tension, and gastrointestinal discomfort. Cognitively, the person may anticipate catastrophe, overestimate threat, and underestimate their own ability to cope. Behaviourally, they may avoid places, objects, people, or situations that trigger anxiety.

A key concept is the avoidance cycle. Avoidance reduces anxiety in the short term, which negatively reinforces the behaviour and makes future avoidance more likely. For example, a student who avoids oral presentations feels temporary relief, but the fear grows because they never get a chance to learn that the situation is manageable. This cycle is central to many anxiety disorders and is often tested in exams.

Generalised anxiety disorder

Generalised anxiety disorder is characterised by persistent, excessive, and difficult-to-control worry about several different life areas. The worry may involve academic work, health, finances, family safety, or future uncertainty. Unlike normal concern, the anxiety is more pervasive and disruptive.

Common symptoms include:

• restlessness or feeling on edge
• fatigue
• difficulty concentrating
• irritability
• muscle tension
• sleep disturbance

People with GAD often report “what if” thinking and mental overpreparation. They may believe that worrying helps them stay ready for problems, but in reality the worry often increases tension and reduces concentration.

From a psychological perspective, GAD can be linked to intolerance of uncertainty, threat bias, and catastrophic interpretation of everyday events. A learner may interpret a delayed reply from a lecturer as evidence of academic disaster. The exam often rewards explanations that link cognitive distortions to emotional symptoms.

Panic disorder

Panic disorder involves recurrent unexpected panic attacks and ongoing concern about having more attacks or changing behaviour to avoid them. A panic attack is a sudden surge of intense fear or discomfort that peaks quickly and may include:

• palpitations
• chest pain
• choking sensations
• shortness of breath
• dizziness
• trembling
• fear of dying or losing control

A panic attack is terrifying because the body feels as if it is in immediate danger. Some people believe they are having a heart attack. The disorder becomes more severe when the person starts avoiding exercise, crowds, or travel because they fear triggering another attack.

An important distinction is that panic attacks can occur in several disorders, but panic disorder is diagnosed when the attacks are unexpected and followed by persistent worry or behavioural change. In exam answers, this distinction shows precise knowledge.

Phobias

Phobias are intense and irrational fears of specific objects or situations that cause immediate anxiety and avoidance. Common types include fear of animals, heights, flying, injections, blood, enclosed spaces, or certain social situations.

A specific phobia is often out of proportion to actual danger, but the person’s fear is real and powerful. The individual may recognise that the fear is excessive but still feel unable to control it. Avoidance can seriously limit life choices; for example, someone may refuse medical procedures, avoid lifts, or be unable to fly for work.

Phobias are often maintained by classical conditioning, observational learning, and avoidance reinforcement. A child bitten by a dog may later fear all dogs. Someone who sees a parent react with panic may learn the same fear. Avoidance prevents corrective learning, so the fear persists.

Social anxiety disorder

Social anxiety disorder involves intense fear of being judged, embarrassed, rejected, or humiliated in social or performance situations. The person may worry about blushing, sweating, trembling, speaking awkwardly, or appearing stupid. This can affect public speaking, meeting new people, eating in front of others, or participating in class.

This disorder is often associated with self-focused attention and negative beliefs about one’s social performance. A student might think, “Everyone can see I’m nervous,” even when others are not paying much attention. Avoidance and safety behaviours, such as speaking very little or rehearsing every sentence, may reduce anxiety temporarily but maintain the disorder long-term.

Social anxiety is especially important for learners because it can interfere with oral assessments, group work, and campus participation. In an exam, it helps to mention both internal experiences and external consequences.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and trauma-related anxiety

Although OCD and PTSD are sometimes discussed separately, they are often included when learning about anxiety-related problems because they involve fear, threat appraisal, and avoidance.

In OCD, obsessions are intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images, or impulses, while compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts done to reduce distress or prevent feared outcomes. For example, repeated handwashing may be driven by fear of contamination, or checking rituals may be driven by fear of causing harm.

In PTSD, a person has been exposed to trauma and may experience:

• intrusive memories or flashbacks
• nightmares
• avoidance of reminders
• negative changes in mood and thinking
• hyperarousal or increased startle response

Although the causes differ, both OCD and PTSD involve strong threat processing and attempts to reduce distress through avoidance or ritualised behaviour.

Biological, psychological, and social explanations of anxiety

Anxiety disorders are best understood through an integrated lens.

Biological factors

• genetic vulnerability
• neurotransmitter systems, especially serotonin and GABA
• overactivity in fear-related brain circuits
• heightened autonomic arousal
• inherited temperament such as behavioural inhibition

Psychological factors

• learned fear responses
• catastrophic thinking
• low perceived control
• intolerance of uncertainty
• attentional bias toward threat

Social factors

• traumatic experiences
• family modelling of fear
• chronic stress
• poverty and insecurity
• cultural expectations
• academic and interpersonal pressure

These factors do not work in isolation. A biologically sensitive student exposed to chronic stress and family conflict may become more vulnerable to anxiety, especially if they interpret physical symptoms as dangerous or cope by avoiding challenges.

3. Mood Disorders: Depression, Bipolarity, and Clinical Distinctions

The nature of mood disorders

Mood disorders involve disturbances in emotional state that are more persistent and clinically disruptive than ordinary fluctuations in mood. The most common presentations are depressive disorders and bipolar disorders. Depression is associated with low mood, reduced interest, and reduced energy, while bipolar disorders involve episodes of mania or hypomania and often periods of depression.

It is important in exams to avoid treating all sadness as depression or all excitement as mania. Mood disorders are diagnosed by considering duration, severity, functional impairment, and the presence of associated symptoms. Many people feel low after stress or grief, but a disorder involves a broader pattern of change in thinking, sleep, appetite, motivation, and self-esteem.

Major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder is marked by a persistent depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, together with additional symptoms such as:

• changes in appetite or weight
• sleep disturbance
• fatigue or loss of energy
• psychomotor agitation or slowing
• poor concentration
• feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
• recurrent thoughts of death or suicide

The person may describe feeling empty, heavy, numb, or trapped. Some experience tearfulness, while others feel emotionally blunted. Functional impairment is common: a student may miss deadlines, a parent may struggle with daily responsibilities, and work performance may decline.

One of the most important features is anhedonia, the loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once meaningful. This helps distinguish depression from ordinary sadness. A person with depression may no longer enjoy music, food, social contact, or hobbies. This lack of reward can reinforce withdrawal, which deepens the depressive cycle.

Persistent depressive disorder

Persistent depressive disorder refers to chronic low mood that lasts for a long time and may be less severe than major depression but more enduring. The person may say they have “always been like this” or feel that sadness is part of their identity. Because the symptoms are long-standing, they may be normalised by the individual and their family, which delays treatment.

This condition is important because chronic mild-to-moderate depression can be highly disabling. Even if symptoms are not dramatic, they may affect education, relationships, and self-esteem for years. In examination answers, you should emphasise that chronicity matters as much as acute severity.

Bipolar disorders

Bipolar disorders involve periods of depression as well as mania or hypomania. In bipolar I disorder, there is at least one manic episode, which may be preceded or followed by depression. In bipolar II disorder, there are hypomanic episodes and major depressive episodes, but no full mania.

A manic episode typically includes:

• elevated, expansive, or irritable mood
• increased energy or activity
• reduced need for sleep
• inflated self-esteem or grandiosity
• pressured speech
• racing thoughts
• distractibility
• increased goal-directed activity or risky behaviour

Mania is not simply “being very happy.” It often involves impairment, poor judgment, and potential danger. The person may spend excessive money, make unrealistic plans, become sexually reckless, or behave aggressively. Hypomania is less severe than mania but still noticeable.

A useful exam distinction is this:

• Depression: slowed, withdrawn, hopeless, low energy
• Mania: accelerated, expansive, overconfident, risky

Mixed presentations and comorbidity

Mood disorders often do not appear in pure form. Depression and anxiety commonly occur together, and bipolar disorder may include depressed and irritable states. A person can have both panic symptoms and major depression, or trauma-related distress and chronic low mood. This comorbidity complicates diagnosis because symptoms overlap.

For example, sleep disturbance can occur in anxiety, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. Concentration problems may also appear in all of these. This is why exam answers should not rely on one symptom alone. Instead, the pattern, duration, and context should be analysed.

The overlap also matters for treatment. If a person has depression plus panic attacks, therapy may need to address both cognitive distortions and avoidance, while also monitoring medication effects and suicide risk.

Depression and suicide risk

A critical issue in mood disorders is suicidality. Not every depressed person is suicidal, but depression increases risk, especially when hopelessness, isolation, substance use, trauma, and prior attempts are present. Warning signs can include:

• talking about wanting to die
• expressing hopelessness
• giving away possessions
• sudden withdrawal
• increased substance use
• agitation or severe guilt
• preparing for death

Exam answers should show sensitivity and seriousness when discussing this topic. Suicide risk assessment is not merely an add-on; it is a core part of clinical responsibility. Treatment plans often need immediate safety measures, supportive intervention, and referral where necessary.

Clinical vignette

Naledi, a second-year student, begins sleeping excessively, stops attending tutorials, and loses interest in her choir, which she previously loved. She feels worthless because she is “not as productive as everyone else,” and she struggles to complete basic tasks. This pattern suggests a major depressive episode because the symptoms are pervasive, persistent, and impair functioning.

By contrast, Sibusiso starts speaking rapidly, sleeping only three hours a night, making ambitious business plans, and spending large amounts of money. He believes he has special insight and becomes irritated when others question him. This pattern is more consistent with mania than ordinary enthusiasm.

4. Causes and Theoretical Explanations: A Biopsychosocial Approach

Biological explanations

Biological theories focus on inherited vulnerability, brain functioning, and neurochemistry. These explanations do not mean that mental disorders are purely genetic or purely brain-based. Instead, they show that some people are more vulnerable because of biology, which interacts with stress and learning.

Genetics and family history

A family history of anxiety or mood disorders increases risk. This does not mean the disorder is guaranteed, but it suggests inherited susceptibility. Twin and family studies generally support moderate heritability for both anxiety and mood disorders. The exact genes are not a single “depression gene” or “anxiety gene,” but many small influences that contribute to vulnerability.

Neurotransmitters

Commonly discussed neurotransmitters include:

• Serotonin, involved in mood regulation, sleep, and emotional stability
• Norepinephrine, involved in arousal, alertness, and stress response
• GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter associated with calming effects
• Dopamine, involved in reward, motivation, and pleasure

Imbalances in these systems are associated with symptoms, but the relationship is not simple. Neurotransmitter differences may be cause, consequence, or both. Modern psychology generally avoids reducing disorders to a single chemical explanation.

Brain structures and stress systems

The amygdala is important in fear processing, while the prefrontal cortex helps regulate emotional responses. Overreactivity in threat circuits can contribute to anxiety. In mood disorders, disruptions in reward processing and stress regulation can contribute to low motivation and emotional pain. The body’s stress system, including the HPA axis, can become dysregulated under chronic stress.

Temperament

Temperamental traits such as behavioural inhibition, neuroticism, and high sensitivity may increase vulnerability. A child who is easily frightened and cautious may later become more prone to anxiety, especially if environmental stress reinforces this style. This illustrates the interaction between biology and learning.

Psychological explanations

Psychological theories explain how thoughts, learning history, beliefs, and coping strategies shape emotional disorders.

Behavioural and learning theories

Classical conditioning explains how a neutral stimulus becomes associated with fear. If a person has a panic attack in a shopping mall, the mall may later trigger anxiety. Operant conditioning explains how avoidance is maintained because it reduces distress immediately. Observational learning shows that fear can be learned from others.

These mechanisms are highly relevant in phobias, panic disorder, PTSD, and social anxiety. They also explain why exposure-based interventions can work: they break the avoidance cycle and create new learning.

Cognitive theories

Cognitive models emphasise maladaptive thinking patterns. Common distortions include:

• catastrophising
• overgeneralisation
• selective attention to threat
• all-or-nothing thinking
• negative self-schemas
• personalisation

In anxiety, people overestimate danger and underestimate coping ability. In depression, people may interpret events through a negative filter, blame themselves, and expect the future to be hopeless. Beck’s cognitive theory of depression is often useful in exam answers because it links negative views of self, world, and future to depressive symptoms.

Emotion regulation and coping

Some people struggle to identify, tolerate, or manage emotions. They may suppress feelings, avoid distressing thoughts, or use substances to cope. These strategies provide short-term relief but increase long-term vulnerability. Poor sleep hygiene, social withdrawal, and rumination can all maintain symptoms.

Social and environmental explanations

Social explanations recognise that mental disorders occur in a context of relationships, institutions, culture, and inequality.

Trauma and adverse experiences

Trauma, abuse, neglect, violence, and chronic instability can contribute to anxiety and mood disorders. A person exposed to repeated threat may develop hypervigilance, emotional numbing, or hopelessness. Trauma is especially relevant in South African settings where many individuals encounter violence, loss, or unsafe environments.

Family environment

Families can both protect and intensify vulnerability. Supportive, responsive caregiving promotes emotional regulation. In contrast, criticism, hostility, overcontrol, or inconsistent parenting can increase risk. Family modelling also matters: children may learn to interpret the world as dangerous if caregivers are chronically anxious.

Socioeconomic stress

Poverty, unemployment, housing insecurity, academic pressure, and limited access to care increase vulnerability. Chronic stress reduces coping resources and may worsen pre-existing conditions. In exam responses, it is valuable to mention that mental health is influenced not only by individual psychology but also by structural conditions.

Culture and stigma

Cultural beliefs shape how symptoms are understood and whether people seek help. In some communities, emotional distress may be expressed through bodily complaints rather than direct emotional language. Stigma can prevent disclosure, delay treatment, and worsen isolation. A culturally sensitive approach therefore matters in assessment and intervention.

The stress-vulnerability model

A highly useful way to integrate causes is the stress-vulnerability model. According to this model, a person may have a biological or psychological vulnerability that does not automatically produce disorder. Symptoms emerge when stress exceeds coping resources.

For example:

• A genetically vulnerable student may remain well until severe academic and financial stress occurs.
• A person with a history of trauma may function adequately until a later trigger activates symptoms.
• Someone with perfectionistic beliefs may become depressed when they face repeated failure or criticism.

This model is especially useful because it explains why people with similar stressors respond differently. It also shows why prevention, social support, and coping skills are important.

5. Assessment, Treatment, and Exam Revision Strategies for PYC3702

Assessment and diagnosis

Assessment is the process of gathering information to understand the nature, severity, and context of symptoms. In clinical psychology, assessment usually involves interviews, observation, self-report measures, collateral information, and sometimes medical evaluation. The aim is not simply to assign a label, but to develop a meaningful case formulation.

Key assessment goals include:

1. Identifying presenting problems
   What symptoms are present, and how long have they been present?

2. Determining functional impairment
   How are study, work, sleep, relationships, and self-care affected?

3. Checking for comorbidity
   Are anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, or medical issues occurring together?

4. Assessing risk
   Is there self-harm, suicidality, psychosis, severe mania, or danger to others?

5. Understanding context
   What stressors, losses, supports, and cultural factors are relevant?

6. Planning intervention
   What treatment is most appropriate, and what referrals may be needed?

An effective assessment considers both symptom clusters and the person’s life circumstances. In an exam, it is useful to mention that a diagnosis should never be made mechanically. It should be supported by careful evaluation and clinical judgment.

Evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders

Cognitive-behavioural therapy

CBT is one of the most widely used and effective treatments for anxiety disorders. It combines cognitive restructuring with behavioural change. The person learns to identify distorted thoughts, test beliefs, and reduce avoidance.

Core CBT components for anxiety include:

• psychoeducation about anxiety
• monitoring triggers and symptoms
• identifying catastrophic thoughts
• challenging unrealistic predictions
• gradual exposure to feared situations
• reducing safety behaviours
• relaxation or breathing techniques where appropriate

Exposure is especially important because it directly targets avoidance. For example, a person with social anxiety might gradually practice speaking in class, starting with small tasks and moving toward more challenging ones. A person with a phobia might approach the feared object in a controlled way until distress decreases and mastery increases.

Medication

Medication can be helpful, especially when symptoms are severe. Commonly used medication classes for anxiety include antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication, depending on the condition and the prescribing context. Medication may reduce symptom intensity and make therapy easier, but it usually works best when combined with psychological intervention.

Lifestyle and support

Sleep, exercise, routine, stress management, and social support can improve outcomes. These are not substitutes for treatment in severe cases, but they are important adjuncts. Students often underestimate how much poor sleep and chronic stress worsen anxiety.

Evidence-based treatments for mood disorders

CBT and behavioural activation

For depression, CBT helps individuals identify negative automatic thoughts, examine evidence, and replace unhelpful thinking with more balanced appraisals. Behavioural activation is another important approach. It encourages the person to re-engage in meaningful activities even when motivation is low.

This matters because depression often reduces activity, which reduces reinforcement, which deepens low mood. Behavioural activation interrupts that cycle by rebuilding contact with rewarding experiences and a sense of competence.

Interpersonal and supportive approaches

Because relationships often shape mood, therapy may also focus on communication, role transitions, grief, and social support. Supportive interventions can be especially valuable when a person is overwhelmed, isolated, or coping with loss.

Medication and combined treatment

Antidepressant medication may be used for moderate to severe depression. In bipolar disorder, treatment is more complex because antidepressants alone may worsen mood instability in some cases. Mood stabilising treatment and psychiatric monitoring are often needed. This is an important exam point: bipolar disorder is not treated the same way as unipolar depression.

Treatment considerations for bipolar disorder and suicidality

Bipolar disorder often requires long-term management, not just symptom reduction. People may need:

• mood stabilisation
• psychoeducation about early warning signs
• routine and sleep regulation
• relapse prevention planning
• family involvement where appropriate
• careful monitoring of risk and medication adherence

During mania, a person may underestimate illness and refuse help, so insight can be limited. Safety, judgment, and risk management become immediate priorities. In depressive phases, suicide risk may be significant. Treatment therefore needs to be continuous, structured, and cautious.

A practical comparison table

Disorder	Core emotional pattern	Typical behavioural pattern	Common treatment focus
Generalised anxiety disorder	Persistent worry and tension	Avoidance, reassurance seeking, overpreparation	CBT, worry management, relaxation, medication where appropriate
Panic disorder	Sudden intense fear of bodily sensations	Avoidance of places or activities linked to attacks	CBT, interoceptive exposure, medication where appropriate
Specific phobia	Fear of a specific object or situation	Avoidance of the feared stimulus	Exposure-based therapy
Social anxiety disorder	Fear of negative evaluation	Social withdrawal, safety behaviours	CBT, exposure, social skills work
Major depressive disorder	Persistent low mood and/or anhedonia	Withdrawal, inactivity, reduced self-care	CBT, behavioural activation, medication when indicated
Bipolar disorder	Alternating depression and mania/hypomania	Risky behaviour during mania, impairment across episodes	Mood stabilisation, psychoeducation, relapse prevention

Exam revision strategy

To do well in PYC3702, revision should focus on understanding relationships among concepts, not just memorising lists. A strong exam answer usually includes definition, symptoms, causes, examples, and treatment. When answering a case study question, use the following structure:

1. Name the most likely disorder
2. State the key symptoms that support this
3. Explain why alternative diagnoses are less likely
4. Discuss relevant causes using biopsychosocial factors
5. Recommend appropriate interventions
6. Mention risk, functioning, and context

For example, if asked about a student with persistent worry, insomnia, muscle tension, and academic impairment, you should identify possible GAD, explain the symptom pattern, and discuss how stress, cognitive distortions, and avoidance maintain the problem. If asked about a person with low mood and loss of interest, you should distinguish depression from ordinary sadness by showing duration, impairment, and associated symptoms.

Common exam mistakes to avoid

• Confusing fear with anxiety without explaining the difference
• Treating all sadness as depression
• Ignoring duration and functional impairment
• Describing symptoms without linking them to a disorder
• Giving only one cause instead of a biopsychosocial explanation
• Forgetting to mention avoidance, which is central to many anxiety disorders
• Treating bipolar disorder as the same as unipolar depression
• Omitting treatment or giving vague suggestions without justification

High-yield summary for final revision

• Anxiety disorders involve excessive fear, worry, arousal, and avoidance.
• Mood disorders involve persistent depression or episodes of mania/hypomania.
• Avoidance maintains many anxiety disorders.
• Anhedonia, hopelessness, and low energy are central to depression.
• Mania involves elevated or irritable mood, reduced sleep, and risky behaviour.
• Biopsychosocial explanations are the strongest overall framework.
• CBT and exposure are core interventions for anxiety.
• CBT, behavioural activation, and medication are common for depression.
• Bipolar disorder requires careful long-term management and risk monitoring.
• Clinical judgement depends on severity, duration, impairment, and context.

These notes are designed to support both conceptual understanding and exam performance. If you can explain the main disorders, compare them accurately, apply biopsychosocial reasoning, and recommend sensible treatment, you will be prepared for most UNISA PYC3702 questions on anxiety and mood disorders.