ANXIETY ANSWER SHEET Homework Help

ANXIETY ANSWER SHEET

REFERENCE:

HTTP://BCS.WORTHPUBLISHERS.COM/COMERFUND4E/CONTENT/CAT_070/CASESTUDIES/TINA.HTML

CASE STUDY: ANXIETY ANSWER SHEET
Diagnosing Tina
Student Name:

Diagnosing Generalized Anxiety Disorder:
1a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for generalized anxiety disorder. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.)
Tina’s symptoms meet the first and the third criteria according to the DSM-IV checklist for geneeralised anxiety disorder. The first criteria talks of excessive or on going anxiety and worry for at least six months, about numerous events or activities. According to her presenting proble, she had suffered for weeks from symptoms that are related to anxiety disorder. These symptoms included shortness of breath dizziness and shakes. It is said that she could only feel calm and relaxed with the test of liquor. This means that she needed to smoke and drink in order to avoid feelings of anxiety. Because of her husband’s death, she began having these thoughts that she may also loose her daughters in some weird way.
The second diagnostic criteria checklist for a generalized anxiety dissorder is difficulty to control wory. Tina had a problem to control her worries. She had to resort to external aid from substances and drugs to help her feel relaxed. It is said that she could only get to sleep with the help of the test of alcohol.
The third criteria talks of atleast three of the following symptoms, restlessness, easy fatigue, irritability, muscle tention, and sleep disturbance. Tina had muscle tension. Her friends would suggest that she gets a massage in order to ease the tension. She also didi not have enough sleeep. She could easily fall asleep because of her situation and worries. She had to use the help of sleeping aids such as pills and sleeping caps in order to get some sleep. And finaly, she was very restless.
1b. Based upon your review of Tina’s symptoms and the diagnostic criteria, could Tina be diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder or not (and if not, why not)?
Based upon the review of the diagnostic criteria and the symptoms that Tina displayed, it is very obvious that she has a generalized anxiety disorder. The other possible cases or problems in which she could have are overruled by the fact that physical medical check up revealed that she was fine. She thought that her symptoms were a result of high blood pressure, however the medical check ups suggested otherwise. This means that her condition could only be a result of a mental disorder, and in her case is generalized anxiety.
Diagnosing Specific Phobia:

2a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for specific phobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match specific symptoms with specific criteria.)
Tina’s symptoms meet the first, second, fourth and fifth criteria checklist for specific phobia according to the DSM IV. The first criteria talks of marked and persistent fear of a specific object or situation that is excessive or unreasonable, lasting atleast six months. Since her husband whom she had been married to for 24 years, died, she has had fear that her twin daughters would also die in horrible ways including car accidents. This situation seems to have affected her grossly that she fears she would not be able to take care of her daughters properly a lone. She is very much aware that her daughters are teenagers and this would give her a hard time in parenting the girls. In order to cope with this situation, she opts to find solace in drinking and smoking.
The second criteria for diagnosis of a specific phobia, is immediate anxiety usually produced by exposure to the object. Tina was exposed to her daughters every single day. She always felf irritated by their teenage related behaviours such as staying on the phone for too long.
2b. Does Tina have a specific phobia and if yes, what is the feared object?
Tina has a phobia for failure. Now that she is left a lone to care and raise up her teenage daughters, she fears failing as a parent.

Diagnosing Panic Disorder:

3a. Refer to the DSM-IV checklist for panic disorder with agoraphobia and the checklist for panic disorder without agoraphobia. Which of Tina’s symptoms meet any of the criteria? (Be sure to match any specific symptoms with specific criteria.)
The first criteria talks of recurrent unexpected panic attacks. According to her presenting proble, she had suffered for weeks from symptoms that are related to agoraphobia. These symptoms included shortness of breath dizziness and shakes. It is said that she could only feel calm and relaxed with the test of liquor. This means that she needed to smoke and drink in order to avoid feelings of anxiety. Because of her husband’s death, she began having these thoughts that she may also loose her daughters in some weird way. Since her husband whom she had been married to for 24 years, died, she has had fear that her twin daughters would also die in horrible ways including car accidents. This situation seems to have affected her grossly that she fears she would not be able to take care of her daughters properly a lone. She is very much aware that her daughters are teenagers and this would give her a hard time in parenting the girls. In order to cope with this situation, she opts to find solace in drinking and smoking.

Tina was exposed to her daughters every single day. She always felf irritated by their teenage related behaviours such as staying on the phone for too long.
3b. Does Tina meet the diagnostic criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia or panic disorder without agoraphobia or neither? Explain why you believe your choice is the most appropriate diagnosis.
Tina meets the criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia

Understanding Tina’s Disorders:

1. How would the Socio-Cultural Perspective explain Tina’s GAD?
Tina was brought up in a humble background that was considered poor. Basically as she grew up, she has never experienced loneliness. She always had someone around her whom she could lean on. she got married at such an early age that she has always felt cared for and need to care for someone. Loosing her husband was therefore a very devastating experience and this placed her in a lot of loneliness and independence that she never imagined.
2. Explain Tina’s GAD from the Existential Perspective.
she got married at such an early age that she has always felt cared for and need to care for someone. Loosing her husband was therefore a very devastating experience and this placed her in a lot of loneliness and independence that she never imagined.
3. Explain Tina’s GAD from the Cognitive Perspective (please identify any basic irrational assumptions that Tina is making, even if they may be unspoken).
Tina was exposed to her daughters every single day. She always felf irritated by their teenage related behaviours such as staying on the phone for too long.
4. Explain Tina’s Phobia from a Behavioral Perspective (please use classical conditioning as a possible example).
Tina had a phobia for failure and being alone. She expressed this by changing the way she dealt with the way she would deal with the daughters. Everytime she would be worried, she would get a smoke of a liquor to make her feel better. She had conditioned herself to behave in this manner whenever she experienced worry
5. Explain Tina’s Phobia from a Psychodynamic Perspective.
Tina had never been independent before. Whatever she experienced after her husband’s death was totally new.
6. Considering the biological correlates or causes of Tina’s panic disorder, what role does the neurotransmitter norepinephrine play in her panic disorder?
Biologically Tina’s disorder could be explained by the nerutransmitter norepinephrine. This nerve is responsible for causing the trembling in her hands and the shakes that she experienced regularly
7. What does Tina’s locus ceruleus have to do with her panic disorder?
Locus ceruleus is responsible for creating the feeling of anxiety as expressed biologically
8. What role might GABA play in her symptoms?
Gaba are basically receptors that respond to the neurotransmitter

Treating Tina

1. Which Psychodynamic technique has been found to be the most useful in the treatment of GAD?
Psychodynamic techniques are therapeutic in nature especially in the treatment of GAD. The most common one is humanistic appraoach.
2. Explain why a humanistic approach would be helpful in treating Tina’s GAD.
The maldaptions have to be revealed to the patient before these unconscious conflicts are resolved. The patient has to come to the acceptance of her situation.
3. How might you use Rational-Emotive Therapy to treat Tina’s GAD?
According to Rational emotive therapy, humans do not get emotional distress just because they are facing adversities. They do get emotional distress because they form perceptions and of reality through beliefs. Since tina had formed one of these negative perceptions, it would be better to make her change her perception about the reality of dealing with her teenage daughters and the loss of her husband
4. How would Systematic Desensitization be used to treat Tina’s phobia of bridges?
Systematic desensitization therapeutic techniques uses the classical conditioning to heal phobias and anxiety feelings. The phobia in tina’s life can be extinguished using pavlonian technique of classical conditioning.
5. What medications have proven useful for treatment with panic disorder?
The best medication that have unitl now proven effective in treating panic disorders are drugs for antidepressant and antianxiety
6. What role could cognitive therapy play in Tina’s treatment for panic disorder?
Cognitive behavioral therapy could help in Tina in the recognition of her unconscious maladies
7. Considering that Tina may be treated for comorbid disorders, how do you see the treatments for the various disorders complementing each other?
The treatments compliment each other in the sense that they are interlinked and success of one therapy would lead to success of administering the other therapeutic technique.
8. Is there any reason to think that any of the treatments would be contraindicated when utilized together? Explain why/how or why/how not.
There is no reason to think of possibility of contraindication in these treatments because of they are interlinked.

REFERENCE

HTTP://BCS.WORTHPUBLISHERS.COM/COMERFUND4E/CONTENT/CAT_070/CASESTUDIES/TINA.HTML