Hi, I’m Cathy with Level Up RN. In this video, we
will be discussing generalized anxiety disorder, as well as a few key specific anxiety disorders.
At the end of the video, I’m going to give you guys a little quiz to test your knowledge
of some of the key points I’ll be covering, so stay tuned for that. And if you
have our Level Up RN Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Flashcards, I am just starting
in the disorder section of this deck. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time and
that is a normal thing.However, with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, an individual will have
persistent and excessive worrying that will cause significant physical and/or psychological
symptoms. Females are more likely than males to experience a generalized anxiety disorder, and
symptoms include excessive anxiety and worry that lasts for more than six months, as well
as symptoms such as fatigue, restlessness, irritability, muscle tension, as well as insomnia.
In terms of diagnosis, it’s important to rule out any underlying disorders, such as hyperthyroidism.
Treatment can include talk therapy, as well as cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. I covered
CBT in a previous video in this playlist, so if you need a review of that therapy then
definitely check that out. Medications used in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder
include SSRIs, SSNRIs, as well as benzodiazepines, and atypical anxiolytics such as buspirone.
In terms of nursing care, we want to teach our patient how to recognize the
signs of escalating anxiety and teach them interventions to help decrease their
anxiety, such as deep breathing and exercise. It should be noted, however, that if a patient is
experiencing severe or panic-level anxiety, then problem-solving is not going to be possible and
our nursing care should be focused on the patient’s safety as well as their physical needs.
Moving on to specific anxiety disorders now.Two specific anxiety
disorders that I would be familiar with include social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia. With
social anxiety disorder, an individual will experience anxiety related to social situations
due to fear of humiliation or rejection. Agoraphobia translates to fear of the marketplace,
and an individual with agoraphobia will experience anxiety related to public transportation,
crowds of people, and being outside the home. Some patients have anxiety that is produced by
a specific object or situation. For example, arachnophobia is the fear of spiders and
claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. Treatment of specific anxiety disorders can
include behavioral therapy, such as systematic desensitization and anti-anxiety medications,
which we covered earlier in this video. All right, it’s quiz time. Are you guys
ready? Question number one. Is generalized anxiety disorder more common in females or
males? The answer is females. Question number two. Name one or more drug classes that are
used to treat generalized anxiety disorder. All right, if you said SSRIs, SSNRIs,
benzodiazepines, or atypical anxiolytics, such as buspirone, then you are right.
Question number three.What do you call anxiety that is produced by fear of
public crowds and being outside the home? The answer is agoraphobia.
All right, that is it for this video. I hope you found it helpful.
Take care and good luck with studying. Two specific anxiety disorders
that I would be familiar with.
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