Case Study: Anxiety Essay

Case Study-Anxiety Isabel Herrera Arizona State University PSY 366 Nicole A. Roberts, Ph.D March 1, 2024 Case study: Jacki Smith Background: Jackie H. is a 24-year-old Mexican-American woman who lives in the urban area of Phoenix, Arizona. Jackie holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and works as a marketing manager for a big company in downtown Phoenix. Jackie comes from a middle-class family with no known or diagnosed history of mental illness. She can describe herself as an agnostic type of person, which means she neither believes nor disbelieves in a higher power. Jackie does not drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, nor use illicit drugs.

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

The impact of Mrs. Smith’s anxiety and panic attacks takes a heavy toll on the family. Mrs. Smith has been the family member that maintains equilibrium for the family. Without her calming influence, Mr. Smith and Junior have lost their stability. Mrs. Smith provided the steady emotional balance in the family.

Anxiety is a disorder many people are quick to self-diagnose. While anxiety is a very serious disorder, I believe it is important to educate and seek professional advice before assuming you are someone who suffers from this disorder. I chose the article by Alexander M. Penney, Dwight Mazmanian, & Caitlin Rudanycz because I was that person I previously mentioned. I suffered for years from what I assumed was severe anxiety and it wasn’t until I sought professional help that I was finally able to understand and better control the situation at hand.

BEHAVIOR OBSERVATIONS: Mrs. Julie Hawks Meeks was a well-dressed, 56-year-old, married Caucasian female who was present for interview and testing in a timely manner. She presented herself in a forthright manner with no observable indication of misrepresenting her history or psychological complaints. She was alert and oriented with clear, logical and goal directed speech. Her mood was bright with congruent affect. No specific or severe anxiety, depression or other psychological difficulty was noted.

Annie makes it very clear in her interview, that she is afraid of having panic attack in public. She says she is not so much afraid of feeling overcome with anxiety, as she is embarrassed about how her body reacts when undergoing a panic attack. Annie states that most of her panic attacks occur as a result of her imagining how embarrassing it will be if she has a panic attack in public—she loses control of her bladder, she will run out of the situation, and most often hide in the bathroom.

She knew that something was wrong with her but she did not how to stop the awful feelings of a panic attack. She was a different person on the outside then she was on the inside. She was lively and sociable with her peers, but on the inside she was terrified of her panic attacks.

Felicia, a 41-year-old wife and mother, shows signs of Major Depressive Disorder with severe anxious distress, mood-congruent, and catatonia features. Most of the time, Felicia is overpowered by emptiness, sadness and despair. These feelings caused a change in her previous functioning resulting in emotional, physical and social complications. As depression progresses, the individual becomes more socially withdrawn. She reveals that she spends countless hours alone, avoids her children and occasionally sees her friend. The guilt of not saving her mother, troubles Felicia, causing her to battle with insomnia. Not only does she struggles with falling asleep, Felicia has a difficult time staying asleep. She reports that dealing with the guilt of her mother’s death has her on the bathroom floor, shivering to avoid disturbing her husband. Felicia is observed picking at sores on her arms, which is another symptom of MDD. This motion is known as psychomotor agitation and is also a sign of anxiety. Felicia’s thoughts and actions are slow, a result of psychomotor retardation. She struggles handling certain responsibilities. Her husband hired a housekeeper because Felicia can no longer take care of her family on a regular basis. She states that

Client reports that his anxiety makes it difficult to concentrate at work, and that he skips a few days at work every week. He states that his anxiety makes driving, taking the bus, and walking to his destinations difficult as well. Client reports that his anxiety impaired his relationship with his ex-fiancé. At the age of 13, his mother attempted suicide and was hospitalized, but his relationship with his mother remained close growing up. However, client states that since the move he has not had contact with his mother. Client reports that his anxiety has also impaired his

She stated that anxiety started after high school when she felt pressure to go to college. There is no evidence to support that client has learning disabilities. Hannah reported that she thought the change would help improve her life. She stated that she thought moving out on her own would shift her into independence. However, client reports that her anxiety has been worse. Reportedly, she has difficulty spending too much time alone. Hannah recalled her recent experience meeting with friends at a coffee shop and reported that during the entire outing she experienced persistent thoughts of going home. She stated concerns about the possibility of losing her friends due to the anxiety. Hannah reflected on how social life when she lived with her parent and reports her new social difficulties. Client reported that her anxiety is stopping her from making friends. Hannah works as a freelance photographer. Anxiety has been stopping her photography. Hannah reported that she has been receiving less work and took the responsibility for the decline in work. Client reports some of her anxiety symptoms as shaking, hot flashes and sweating. In addition she reports having many flooding thoughts that others may think she is stupid, she can’t do her job, she’s an idiot, weirdo, or everyone is looking at her. She reported that those thoughts make her feel she should give up and she is an idiot. Hannah reports that when anxious while working, she has the tendency to clinch tight onto the camera. Reportedly, her shaking interferes with her taking photos. Client reported that had resorted to wearing black to work and many places to conceal the evidence of her sweating due to her

This paper is going to be about anxiety disorders. I am going to explain what anxiety is and the different types of anxiety disorders. The types of anxiety I am going to talk about are Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress, Panic Disorder and Social Phobia.

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.

The ringing of my alarm clock goes off at 7:00 a.m. on a weekday morning. I get up to go wake my sister up like every morning since she does not set an alarm. When I go into her room, the bed is empty and she is not there. I walk through the living room to my parent’s bedroom and hear muffled voices. My sister and mom are in the bathroom with my sister crying saying, “I don’t feel good” and “I need to stay home from school.”

What is Anxiety? As defined by Understanding Psychology by Glencoe, Anxiety is a general state of dread or uneasiness that a person feels in response to a real or imagined danger. Anxiety affects 19 million Americans annually and anxiety disorder happens to be the most common mental illness in America. There are many different types of anxiety disorder such as: Panic Disorder, Obsessive – Compulsion Disorder, Phobias, and a few more. Although there is no cure for anxiety disorders, there are treatments to reduce symptoms.

Feelings of anxiety are relatively normal especially when a person is under stress. Stress is also quite a normal occurrence in the workplace: strict regulations, difficult bosses, tough deadlines, continuous overtime, and overloading. It is not surprising that some employees develop anxiety and anxiety disorders. Stress and anxiety may be further exacerbated if the job requires handling of customers in settings like call centers. Ironically, it has been noticed that most employees who suffer from panic and anxiety disorder (PAD) are perfectionists, model employees in the company. Usually, these types of people pay strong attention to details, show extraordinary commitment to their jobs, and manifest a high degree of selflessness. An employee having sudden attacks of anxiety would display the following symptoms: difficulty in breathing, trembling, sweating, rapid heartbeat, nausea, and numbness. A common complaint during an attack is verbalized fear of having an impending heart attack. Sometimes, an employee escapes to a place where he feels safe whenever feelings of panic overwhelm him. The root of the problem is said to be the employee 's feelings of distrust. Therefore, education about the condition and communication in good faith are both needed to resolve the problem. Lack of faith on either side might harm the business relationship. Luckily, PAD can be treated using a variety of methods. An immediate solution to anxiety and panic attacks is the relaxation techniques.