Anxiety Disorder Homework: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

This assignment delves into the complexities of anxiety disorder, analyzing a case study presented in a video. The student identifies key symptoms such as panic attacks, irrational fear, and excessive worrying. The assignment then explores the interplay of nature and nurture in influencing anxiety, highlighting the role of age, neurological status, and environmental factors like workplace stress. Furthermore, it outlines two primary treatment approaches: medication to manage symptoms and exposure therapy to address the root causes of anxiety. The assignment concludes with a reflection on the student's enhanced understanding of the disorder, its assessment, and the implications for future professional practice, emphasizing a more informed and empathetic approach to clients suffering from anxiety.

Anxiety Disorder 1
Anxiety Disorder
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Institution
Date

Anxiety Disorder 2
Anxiety Disorder
Task B
Question 1
Based on the video, Julie presents some classic symptoms of anxiety but associating the
signs with a heart attack. Among the key symptoms reported are first, panic attacks that increase
the palpitation rate of the patient. The client reports that she has experienced this sign in all the
occasions, and sometimes it forces her to gasp for breath. Second, the client reports having an
irrational fear whenever her heart starts to beat faster (University of Nottingham, 2012). The fear
is a sign of anxiousness that is usually created by the uncertainty of what will happen next,
having experienced the same episode in the past (Jones, 2018). Lastly, excessive worrying is also
a sign of anxiety. As presented in the video, the client has even started worrying about his
relationship due to avoidance of situations that trigger anxiety.
Question 2
Anxiety is influenced by both nature and nurture. Age and neurological status of a person
determine the chances of being affected by anxiety. Furthermore, adrenaline secretion in the
body greatly influenced the degree of anxiety one experiences. On the other hand, nurture, that
is, the social environment can trigger anxiety in a person (Jones, 2018). For instance, workplace
condition can increase stress levels of a person leading them to develop anxiety in the long run.
As illustrated by the case of Julie in the video, her condition started at work when they were
given a new manager, and coping became stressful for her (University of Nottingham, 2012). In
this regard, it is possible for both nature and nurture to trigger anxiety either individually or
collectively with nature being a risk factor in most cases.
Question 3

Anxiety Disorder 3
Based on the assessment of the client, Julie, in the video, treating the anxiety disorder can
take two approaches. First, a therapist can recommend tablets that will be used to ease the
tension she experienced when her palpitation increases. However, this will not eliminate the
problem, but instead, control the impacts. Secondly, exposure therapy can be used to train her
cognitive abilities as well as the mind not to fear situations that trigger the anxiety (Abramowitz,
Deacon and Whiteside, 2019). This approach may involve exposing her to situations that create
fear in her while under the supervision of the therapist. This intervention may also involve
talking about the things that trigger anxiety in her to train her mind on how to handle the
situation without panicking.
Task C
Based on knowledge gained about anxiety disorder on how it is triggered, influenced by
both nature and nurture as well as how it can be treated, it gives me insights of what I need to do
as a person when faced with the same situation. It also adds to my knowledge about the
management of psychological disorder. With this knowledge in mind, it will be easier for me in
the future to handle any anxiety clients with a professional approach. The material also
enlightens me on how the assessment of clients is done and how to get them to reveal more
insights about their condition without feeling forced to disclose the information.

Anxiety Disorder 4
Reference List
Abramowitz, J., Deacon, B. and Whiteside, S. (2019). Exposure therapy for anxiety: Principles
and practice. 2nd Ed. New York: Guilford Publications Inc.
Jones, R. (2018). Network tools identify early signs of anxiety. Science Translational Medicine,
10(458), p.eaav0336.
Martyn, P. and Brymer, E. (2014). The relationship between nature relatedness and
anxiety. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(7), pp.1436-1445.
University of Nottingham (2012). Psychiatric Interviews for Teaching: Anxiety. [video]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Ii2FHbtVJzc [Accessed 21 May
2019].