Case Study : Anxiety Disorders

The panic disorder results from an anxiety disorder that causes panic attacks to happen. An example would be when the phone suddenly rings and it makes your heart start to race, or all of a sudden you feel this overwhelming sense of terror even though there is no reason for it. Panic attacks can cause severe physical reactions and sometimes they can feel frightening to the individual that is having the panic attack. The attack can last 10-20 minutes and sometimes it can continue for an hour if it is not controlled. Panic attacks have rushed people to the emergency rooms (ER) because it is frequently mistaken more than often of having all the symptoms of a heart attack, stroke or even a seizure. The symptoms that are characterized by this attack are: feeling weak all of a sudden, tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers, sense of terror of impending death or doom, feeling faint or lightheaded, sweaty hands, having body chills, chest pain, racing heart, breathing difficulties and feeling like your whole body is losing sense of

The patient, a thirty-three year old female singer, is having difficulty sleeping, simple activities like getting groceries tire the patient easy, complains of neck pain, and cannot concentrate. The patient experiences worry and anxiety. However, when asked about what specifically, many things were brought up but none were more important than the other.

A displayed feelings of apprehension and became less co-operative during the initial clinical interview. She additionally displayed thoughts of inadequacy . She moved back to her parent’s house when she began getting panic attacks and was housebound through fear of inducing a panic attack. As a result of this, she became overly reliant and attached to her parents, who provided emotional, financial, and decision making support.

Prior to Mr. Smith’s diagnosis, Mrs. Smith worked outside of the home on a part-time basis. Her income was set aside to fund Junior’s college education. Mrs. Smith concentrated on maintaining harmony within the home and was a calm, stable influence in Mr. Smith and Junior’s lives. Since Mr. Smith’s diagnosis, Mrs. Smith has started working full time. The stress created by Mr. Smith’s diagnosis and care needs, concern over Junior’s well-being, full time employment, and financial concerns have caused Mrs. Smith to experience generalized anxiety disorder with panic attack specifier as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM, 2013).

BS is a 25 year-old female who presents to her primary care provider with complaints of intermittent heart palpitations, hot flashes, and profuse sweating. BS reports that her symptoms first appeared on her subway commute six weeks ago and lasted a total of twenty minutes. She has however experienced multiple episodes since. BS is an active New York University student and lives in New York City with her boyfriend. She does not drink or smoke, and exercises three times per week. BS has no significant past or present medical conditions and she does not take any medications. Her family history is unremarkable. After an extensive physical evaluation and work up BS is diagnosed with Panic Disorder. The Nurse Practitioner prescribes Alprazolam (Xanax) for the management of her panic attacks.

Ms. Jones is a 20-year-old bisexual Caucasian female who lives in Houston, Texas with her parents and is a full time undergraduate student, studying chemistry at the University of Houston. Ms. Jones, currently has no diagnosis and is only seeing a physician for her panic attack symptoms. She has been experiencing increased worry, anxiety, and physiological arousal symptoms culminating in her presenting to her general physician with her concern regarding the increased frequency and duration of her panic attack symptoms. Ms. Jones was referred for psychological assessment by Ralph Summers, M.D. from Summers Family Clinic to inform differential diagnosis and facilitate treatment planning. Dr. Summers has requested consideration of specific diagnoses,

Panic disorder is when people with this condition have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations, unusually strong or irregular heartbeats, and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart

Panic disorder is something that develops for no apparent reason. It causes repeated and unexpected attacks of intense fear. It can last for a few minutes or even hours. The people that have this disorder usually live in fear of having another attack. They are afraid to be alone, or to be far from medical help. The feelings of intense fear can trigger severe physical reactions. This disorder is very real and treatable.

Several types of anxiety disorders are discussed in this film. General anxiety disorder is described as a constant feeling of worry and fear for at least six months. A person suffering from general anxiety may experience panic attacks, cold sweats, heavy breathing, and may withdraw from social interactions. It is regularly treated with medications and cognitive behavior therapy, which is a psychotherapy that focuses on helping patients understand the feelings they are experiencing and how those feelings may be contributing to their issue. Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is another anxiety disorder discussed in this film. People develop PTSD after experiencing an emotional shock or major trauma. Someone with PTSD may have issues sleeping and controlling their anger; they may experience feelings of detachment, numbness, and may have flashbacks of the traumatic experience causing their PTSD. Like general anxiety disorder, PTSD patients are often treated with medication and cognitive behavior therapy. Recently a new therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, has been used in PTSD patients. This therapy requires the patient to rapidly move their eyes while recalling the traumatic experience. The third type of anxiety disorder discussed in this film is obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. OCD is described

Allison has experienced a few panic attacks in her life, but has not had a panic attack in more than two years. But she still carries Xanax with her everywhere she goes, just in case she needs it. Ever since she was 7 years old, she has worried about random issues. Allison remembers walking through her house at 7 years old, checking on all of the appliances to make sure that they were all unplugged before everyone fell asleep in fear that a fire would break out and burn the house down. Allison was also worried as a 3rd grader about her mother dying any day from cancer, since her mother was a smoker. When Allison was 16, she had great difficulty with learning how to drive in fear that she would be involved in a car accident. Indeed, Allison was involved in 2 car accidents, none of which were her fault.

The research was designed around an experimental method, where three different variables were designated to stimulate a symptomatic response: the head-up tilt (HUT) test, isoproterenol infusion (ISI), and sodium lactate infusion (SLI). Additionally, Khurana (2006) used the Acute Panic Inventory (API) score as both a security measure for the results and to evaluate psychological perception of symptoms. Environmental controls were also in place in order to ensure validity of this

Hannah, a 25 year old Caucasian female, presented as alert, tense, and oriented 3x. Hannah is well groomed and appropriately dressed. Her affect was blunted flat. While client was cooperative, she presented as guarded, which may be due to her anxiety. She was calm, but displays signs of anxiety by posture, shuffling hands, lip biting, and eye movement.

Mr Johan experiences symptoms of panic attack when he feels self-conscious in front of other people when performing certain tasks. He reported feeling faint and had black out of thoughts during those episodes, whereby he was not able to think of anything. Both his hands would tremble and become numb. He would also be sweating but experienced no symptoms of pounding heart or choking

According to the DSM, the major symptoms of Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia are, recurrent panic attacks and enduring anxiety about experiencing another panic attack. The individual is also anxious about going places where escape might be difficult or embarrassing, or where they will be unable to receive assistance in case of emergency.

Emma was eight years old when she experienced her first panic attack. She was quoted saying “I was just kind of immobilized and afraid for no apparent reason”(Goodwin, 2013). According to the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ed. 5” (DSM-5), panic disorder is characterized by recurrent and unexpected panic attacks. Emma’s description of this attack is