Difference between General Anxiety Disorder and Panic Disorder

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Question 1:
Introduction:
General anxiety disorder and panic disorder are both anxiety disorder and disturbs the
physical and mental well-being of the individual (Cuijpers et al., 2016). However, there is a fine
difference between the two disorders which is discussed in the essay.
Discussion:
General anxiety disorder is stated to cause excessive worry, which disrupts the normal
standard living. The individual suffering from this order tends to worry pervasively which
becomes difficult to control and becomes unmanageable. The physical symptoms observed in the
case of individual suffering from GAD includes, insomnia, fatigue, muscle tension, restlessness
and irritability (Lader, 2015). It interrupts the individual's ability to perform day to day activities.
Apart from the physical symptoms other symptoms which are observed includes, excessive
worrying, loss of concentration, overthinking regarding worst case outcomes, difficulty in
handling situation, fear of making the wrong decision all time. They perceive normal situations
as threatening even if they are not. Panic disorder is also somewhat similar to that of the general
anxiety disorder but is more severe than that of the general anxiety disorder as it is associated
with panic attacks, which can give rise to severe symptoms.
In the case of panic disorder, recurrent and unexpected panic attacks are often observed.
The panic attacks also occurs in the absence of any actual danger (Milrod et al., 2016).
According to the diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorder, panic disorder is
considered as the sudden onset of the intense fear which can give rise to several pernicious signs

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and symptoms which include increased heart rate, excessive sweating, shaking or trembling,
shortness of breathing, chest pain, numbness and fear of death (Bovin et al., 2016). Therefore
panic disorder is more intense and harmful than that of the general anxiety disorder which is the
only and major difference between the panic disorder and the general anxiety disorder. General
anxiety disorder is also not considered under the DSMIV as it is not associated with any kind of
attacks which can lead to more adverse outcomes.
Conclusion:
From the above essay, it can be concluded that general anxiety disorder and panic
disorder is different from each other. By critically reviewing both anxiety disorder, it xan be
stated that the major difference between the two is severity that is the person suffering from
panic disorder have chances of getting panic attack which is more harmful than the symptoms
observed in the case if general anxiety disorder
Question 2:
Introduction:
Therapeutic relationship in the healthcare care setting is considered as one of the most
important aspects that can enhance the patient outcomes as well as patient experience (Newman
et al., 2015). To maintain an effective therapeutic relationship with the patient several methods
are applied by the nurses, one among them is empathy which is discussed in the essay. The essay
includes the role of empathy in maintaining an effective therapeutic relationship with peter in
order to provide improvise the treatment procedure.

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Discussion:
Therapeutic relationship in the nursing is crucial for the appropriate treatment of the
patient. It helps the nurse to make the care plan of the patient according to the needs, as patient
centered has been proved to increase the health outcomes of the patient (Zugai, Stein-Parbury &
Roche, 2015) To maintain an efficient therapeutic relationship, nurse use different tools with the
aid of effective communication. Empathy is also considered as an important aspect in nursing
that helps them to maintain therapeutic relationship. Empathy is considered as the magical
emotion which will assist peter to identify the feelings which need to suppress (Reynolds, 2017).
It is frequently observed that the patient suffering from any anxiety disorder refuse to share their
feelings due to fear of getting judged as a crazy individual. In this case, peter is suffering from
general anxiety disorder due to which he overthinks of the unrealistic situation. Empathy will
help the nurse to make him more comfortable with the health care setting and the environment so
that he can share his feelings without the fear of getting judged. One of the major concern related
with the general anxiety disorder is the fear of doing wrong which can be managed through
effective counselling therapy. By empathizing peter, nurse should make him believe nothing
wrong is going to happen with him. Using empathy as a tool, nurse will make him understand
that they are able to understand his perception and conditions from which is going through. As
making comfortable with the nurse and the health care environment, is the most important to
establish a therapeutic relationship with the patient.
Conclusion
To conclude, empathy helps the nurses and the other healthcare staff who are involved in
the patient care to get more information regarding the needs and preferences of the patient. In