Exam 12: Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders

A patient,just laid off from his job of 15 years,is pacing rapidly in the waiting room.His behavior is disorganized,he is trembling,and he can be heard admonishing himself that he should have worked harder.He told the triage nurse that he would like to get some medication to calm him down so he can "think straight." Which of the following would constitute a therapeutic rationale for the use of antianxiety medication as his initial treatment?

When interviewing and planning care for a patient with fear of public speaking,the nurse must be aware that social phobias are often treatable with:

A patient is seeking treatment for her fear of cats;even a picture or a thought of a cat causes her to sweat,tremble,become very apprehensive and uncomfortable,and become sick to her stomach.The nurse has established the nursing diagnosis as Anxiety related to exposure to phobic object (cats).A realistic indicator for the outcome Anxiety self-control would be that within 10 days,the patient will:

A soldier serving in the Middle East was in a convoy when an improvised explosive device (IED)killed three fellow soldiers in the vehicle in front of hers.Five weeks later,she began to report intrusive thoughts of missiles screaming toward her and exploding,and loud sounds began to trigger an involuntary re-experiencing of the IED explosion.Three months later,she reported continuing sleep impairment,nightmares,social withdrawal,disrupted relationships,and flashbacks.This soldier's presentation most suggests:

A patient with severe anxiety has been pacing the hall and suddenly begins to run,shouting "I'm going to explode!" over and over.The nurse who has been walking with him should:

The nurse plans to encourage an anxious patient to talk about his feelings and concerns.The rationale for this intervention is that:

When working with a patient with posttraumatic stress disorder who has frequent flashbacks as well as persistent symptoms of arousal,effective nursing interventions would include:

While working with an anxious patient,the nurse begins to feel tense and jittery and notices that she is having difficulty concentrating on what the patient is telling her.How can this be explained? The nurse is experiencing:

A secretary is asked by her boss to take on additional work.She initially agrees but feels resentful.A day later when the boss asks for the completed work,the secretary explains that she has been working on another priority job and hasn't been able to complete it.When asked several hours later,she states someone else was using the files,so she hasn't been able to do the necessary research before typing the report.The secretary's behavior demonstrates:

A nurse is counseling a patient with an anxiety disorder by using cognitive therapy strategies.She gives the patient a homework assignment to keep a diary in which he records the symptoms of anxiety he experiences and the events that transpired just before the onset of symptoms.What is the rationale for this strategy?

A patient is scheduled to undergo a biopsy of a mass in his lung tomorrow morning.He seems to have difficulty grasping the procedure as the nurse explains it to him and repeatedly asks questions such as "What do you mean I'm going to have surgery? What are they going to do?" His voice is tremulous.His respirations are 28/minute,and his pulse is 110/minute.Which of the following initial outcome indicators would be most appropriate?

A nurse has been counseling a patient with generalized anxiety disorder to increase the patient's anxiety self-control.The patient has identified several stressful situations that cause physical and psychological manifestations of anxiety.Which indicator should the nurse monitor relative to the Nursing Outcomes Classification outcome of anxiety self-control?