Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

Posted: December 12th, 2022

Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Anxiety disorders are common in both primary care and psychiatric practice. Clients with anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorders, agoraphobia, and other specific phobias will present to the PMHNP’s office with a significant level of distress. Successful recognition and treatment of anxiety disorders includes an accurate diagnostic assessment with a treatment plan that includes a combination of psychopharmacology and psychotherapy. Although psychoanalytic theories are based on the concept of anxiety, the more recent standard of care is with the cognitive-behavioral therapies. In this Discussion, you will analyze evidence-based treatment plans for clients with anxiety disorders. Learning Objectives Students will: •Analyze differences between adjustments disorders and anxiety disorders Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay. •Analyze diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders •Analyze evidence-based psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatment for anxiety disorders •Compare differential diagnostic features of anxiety disorders Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts and cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking Submit! To prepare for this Discussion: •By Day 5 of Week 5, your Instructor will have assigned you an anxiety disorder, which will be your focus for your initial post for this Discussion. •Review the Learning Resources. By Day 3 Post: •Explain the difference between an adjustment disorder and anxiety disorder. Provide examples to illustrate your rationale. •Explain the diagnostic criteria for your assigned anxiety disorder. •Explain the evidenced-based psychotherapy and psychopharmacologic treatment for your assigned anxiety disorder. •Support your rationale with references to the Learning Resources or other academic resource. Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

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Difference between an adjustment disorder and anxiety disorder

Adjustment disorders are characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness,and stress following a stressor event. It is associated with coping inefficacies particularly after the loss of a job or loved ones. The patient’s reactions in such events are stronger than expected for similar occurrences. The most obvious symptoms of adjustment disorders include frequent crying, stomachaches or headaches, worries, anxiety, frequentcrying, sadness and feeling of hopelessness among other changes from normal behavior(Sundquist et al., 2015). On the other hand, anxiety disorder is associated with the feelings of fear and anxiety regarding the future events. The symptoms of these conditions include shakiness and fast heartrates. Contrary to adjustment disorders, anxiety disorder is characterized by fear of events that have not yet occurred. An example of an anxiety disorder is an event where one is expected to take an exam without adequate preparation. In this case, fear of failure and its consequences can result in anxiety and fear. Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

Diagnostic Criteria for Panic Disorder

Panic disorders are characterizedby frequent, unexpected and recurrent panic attacks. The client also feels fearful of future attacks within a month or more. According to the DSM-5 criteria for diagnosis, panic disorder describes an anxiety disorder that demonstrates avoidance behavior of places and situations that trigger attacks. However, the attacks must not be caused by the direct physiological effects of a general health condition or substance abuse. Moreover, they should not be caused by an underlying mental illness. The patient should also experience choking feelings, shortness of breath, trembling, sweating, palpations, abdominal distress, dizziness, derealization and depersonalization feelings, fear of death and getting crazy, hot flushes and numbness among other symptoms. Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

Evidenced-Based Psychotherapy and Psychopharmacologic Treatment

Psychotherapy treatment for panic disorders involves talk therapies. These include Cognitive behavioral therapy which provides the coping techniques as well as initiates the patient’s behavior change towards the improvement of their outcomes(Hahn et al., 2015). For instance, the psychiatrist makes the client understand the illness and trains them on managing the panics through exposure to their fear. Relaxation techniques also facilitate effective approach to stressors and help in the control of breathing when one experiences attacks. Regular practice of relaxation and breathing techniques helps in the improvement of symptoms.

Another approach to the treatment of panic disorders is psychopharmacologic treatment. This involves the administration of medications to relieve the symptoms as well as manage anxieties. In this case, antidepressants are employed as the first line of treatment. Antianxiety prescription drugs including benzodiazepine are also used to relieve anxiety and control the patient’s heartrate. Benzodiazepines are well tolerated by many individuals,and their activity occurs within a short time of administration(Shankman et al., 2017). However, they present a risk of depression during and after use. In order to attain positive patient outcomes, the combination of both evidence-based psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacologic approaches is recommended in the treatment of panic attack disorders. Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

Anxiety disorders are mental conditions which affect the normal behavioral functions of an individual. Adjustment and anxiety disorder share both similarities and differences which necessitates differential diagnosis to identify the specific condition affecting a client. Consequently, panic disorder is an anxiety disorder presenting as frequent recurrent unexpected attacks which induce fear of future attacks in the affected individual. Treatment approaches for panic attack include talk therapies, relaxation,and breathing techniques and general behavioral therapy. Medications such as benzodiazepines also relieve anxiety and fear in the patient. Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay

References

Hahn, T., Kircher, T., Straube, B., Wittchen, H. U., Konrad, C., Ströhle, A., … &Lueken, U. (2015). Predicting treatment response to cognitive behavioral therapy in panic disorder with agoraphobia by integrating local neural information. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(1), 68-74.

Shankman, S. A., Gorka, S. M., Katz, A. C., Klein, D. N., Markowitz, J. C., Arnow, B. A., … & Keller, M. B. (2017). Side Effects to Antidepressant Treatment in Patients With Depression and Comorbid Panic Disorder. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 78(4), 433-440.

Sundquist, J., Lilja, Å., Palmér, K., Memon, A. A., Wang, X., Johansson, L. M., & Sundquist, K. (2015). Mindfulness group therapy in primary care patients with depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders: randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 206(2), 128-135. Discussion: Treatment of Anxiety Disorders Essay