Anxiety Disorders Flashcards
1
Q
nursing intervention on anxiety
A
milieu, foster positive coping, strength based approach, facilitate new coping strategies = leads to adaptation, help them find their strengths to aid in coping
2
Q
defense mechanisms- maladaptive
A
- Protect from feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness
- Prevent awareness of anxiety
- Extreme use distorts reality, interferes with interpersonal relationships, limits ability to work
- Unconscious levels, so person has little awareness or control over events
- Because of self-deception and reality distortion they usually do not help person cope realistically
3
Q
what is the hormone (biochemistry) in anxiety?
A
norepinephrine
4
Q
mild anxiety
A
- Associated with tension of day-to-day living
- During this stage, person is alert and perceptual field increased
- Person sees, hears, grasps more
- This kind of anxiety can motivate learning, produce growth and creativity
5
Q
moderate anxiety
A
- Involves narrowing of perceptual field
- Focus on immediate concerns
- Person sees, hears, grasps less
- Selected areas blocked, but person can attend to more if so directed
6
Q
severe anxiety
A
- Significant reduction in perceptual field
- Person tends to focus on specific detail and not think about anything else
- All behavior aimed at relieving anxiety
- Much direction needed to focus on another area
7
Q
panic?
A
- Involves awe, dread, terror, disorganization of personality
- Increased motor activity
- Decreased ability to relate to others
- Distorted perceptions
- Loss of rational thought
- Inability to communicate or function effectively, even with direction
- Prolonged panic could result in death
8
Q
OCD what are obsessions?
A
- Obsessions, compulsions or both
- Recurrent, persistent thoughts, urges or images
- Causes anxiety & disrupts life
- Attempts to ignore are unsuccessful
9
Q
what are compulsions?
A
- Repetitive behaviours
- Behaviours are aimed at reducing anxiety or distress (but not realistically so)
- Time consuming
- Relative insight – good to poor to absent
10
Q
phobias
A
- Marked fear about an object or situation which provokes fear immediately
- Avoidance
- Out of proportion
- Interferes with ADLs and life
- Disturbance for at least 6 months
11
Q
PTSD
A
-Trauma and Stressor related disorders
Characteristics: Exposure to real threat (violence, death, serious injury, psychological trauma)
- Intrusive symptoms associated with event
- Begins after event occurred
- Recurrent dreams
- Flashbacks (dissociative)
- Intense prolonged psychological impact and distress
12
Q
symptoms of PTSD
A
- Avoidance
- Alterations in mood & cognitions associated with event
- Persistent negative beliefs or expectations of self
- Persistent negative emotional state
- Feelings of detachment from others
- Occurring more than a month
- May be associated with depersonalization or derealization
13
Q
Nursing care options
A
- Patients need to develop capacity to tolerate mild anxiety and use it consciously, constructively
- Goal is not to free patients totally from anxiety
- Relaxation Therapy
- Mindfulness Meditation
14
Q
what can we do to protect the anxious patient emotionally
A
- Ensure safety for patient and reassure patient
- Allow patient to determine amount of stress he or she can handle at the time
- Do not force severely anxious patients into situations unable to handle
- Avoid attacking patients’ coping mechanisms - attempt to protect patients’ defenses
- Coping mechanism or symptom is attempting to deal with unconscious conflict
15
Q
nursing actions to avoid
A
- Pressuring patient to change prematurely
- Being judgmental or verbally disapproving
- Asking patient a question that brings on defensiveness
- Focusing critically on patient’s anxious feelings with others present
- Lacking awareness of one’s own behaviors and feelings, -withdrawing from patient
