SCAT
SCAT
A panic attack denotes an abrupt surge of intense anxiety rising to a peak when
thoughts of a particular stimuli are present. Such thoughts occur in an
unpredictable manner.
You might have met or heard of someone who was afraid to travel in a lift or
climb to the tenth floor of a building, or refused to enter a room if s/he saw a
lizard. You may have also felt it yourself or seen a friend unable to speak a word
of a well-memorised and rehearsed speech before an audience. These kinds of
fears are termed as phobias. People who have phobias have irrational fears
related to specific objects, people, or situations. Phobias often develop gradually
or begin with a generalised anxiety disorder. Phobias can be grouped into three
main types, i.e. specific phobias, social phobias, and agoraphobia.
Specific phobias are the most commonly occurring type of phobia. This group includes irrational fears
such as intense fear of a certain type of animal, or of being in an enclosed space. Intense and
incapacitating fear and embarrassment when dealing with others characterises social anxiety disorder
(social phobia).
Agoraphobia is the term used when people develop a fear of entering unfamiliar situations. Many
people with agoraphobia are afraid of leaving their home. So their ability to carry out normal life
activities is severely limited.
Anxiety leads to complicated effects which can challenge your mental health. In the
short term, anxiety increases your breathing and heart rate, concentrating blood flow to
your brain, where you need it. This very physical response is preparing you to face an
intense situation.If it gets too intense, however, you might start to feel lightheaded and
nauseous. An excessive or persistent state of anxiety can have a devastating effect on
your physical and mental health
The testee has to answer the questions in either 'yes' or 'no'. After the test
has been conducted, evaluation occurs where scoring is done. The
inventory can be scored very accurately without the help of any stencil.
For any response marked as 'yes', the testee is to be given one score and
zero for the responses marked as no. Once this is done, with the help of
the SCAT manual, standard scores could be obtained and the level of
anxiety within the testee is determined.