Therapeutic Mediations for Clients with Severe Anxiety or Panic

Describe a client from your clinical setting or work who experienced severe anxiety or panic.

Anxiety is a vague feeling of uneasiness or dread; it entails the activation of the nervous system in response to internal/external stimuli that may have physical, emotional, cognitive, or behavioral symptoms. The patient to whom I attended presented the signs of abrupt panic that could last even up to 10 minutes. After a panic attack, she experienced a fast heartbeat, shortness of breath, sweating, and trembling.

Include a brief history and three most pertinent medications.

I learned that this problem had begun in young adulthood and continued occurring throughout her life. She would occasionally experience distress over time leading to the impairment of her daily routines, social life, and occupational functioning. The treatment of this condition a three-pronged approached that help the patient to overcome this disorder. They include education, medication, and psychotherapy.

Describe the assessment process for this patient

There was a physical examination followed by a medical and personal history of the patient.  Because extreme anxiety or panic accompanies many medical conditions, I had to uncover any medical issues that might underlie the anxiety attacks. I then let the patient describe any occurrence of panic disorders in her family and asked her to mention other contributing factors if any, such as stressful events, caffeine use, or recent life changes.

Identify at least one effective and one non-effective nursing intervention. Why did they work? What didn't work?

One effective nursing intervention is one suggested by Mennin (2006) involving the implementation of relaxation skills to reduce anxiety and manage anxiety symptoms. I thought her about progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, cue-controlled relaxation, and mindful breathing, and how to apply these skills in her daily lives. I assigned the client homework after each session, and this intervention seemed to work well.  I also applied Jongsma Jr’s (2016) strategy of limiting the relation between different settings and worry, postponing the worry until some designated “worry time.” The latter failed to work.

Name and describe two stress reduction techniques you have used and whether they were helpful or not in reducing stress

The two stress reduction techniques include positive reframing and decatastrophizing. Positive reframing involves helping the client to turn the negative messages into positive ones whereas decatastrophizing entails using questions (what if) to realistically appraise the situation.

References

Jongsma Jr, A. E. (2016). Adult psychotherapy homework planner. John Wiley & Sons.

Mennin, D. S. (2006). Emotion regulation therapy: An integrative approach to treatment-resistant anxiety disorders. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 36(2), 95-105.

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