anxiety disorders p1

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious strategies to protect the mind from anxiety and maintain emotional stability.

Who Uses Defense Mechanisms

Everyone: children, adults, patients, healthcare providers use them to cope with stress or trauma.

Characteristics of Defense Mechanisms

Often unconscious, can be adaptive or maladaptive, not inherently bad.

Sublimation

Redirecting unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities.

Suppression

Consciously choosing to avoid distressing thoughts.

Rationalization

Justifying unacceptable behavior with logical excuses.

Intellectualization

Focusing on logic to avoid emotional distress.

Undoing

Trying to reverse a previous action to reduce guilt.

Displacement

Redirecting emotions to a safer target.

Reaction Formation

Acting opposite to true feelings.

Repression

Involuntary blocking of distressing thoughts.

Regression

Reverting to earlier developmental behaviors.

Projection

Attributing one’s feelings to others.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality.

Mild Anxiety

Heightened awareness, restlessness, increased motivation.

Moderate Anxiety

Narrowed focus, tension, faster speech, selective inattention.

Severe Anxiety

Difficulty concentrating, dread, hyperventilation, trembling.

Panic Anxiety

Loss of control, irrational behavior, hallucinations, terror.

Nursing Care: Mild to Moderate

Use open-ended questions and active listening; encourage verbalization of feelings; teach relaxation techniques (deep breathing, mindfulness)

Nursing Care: Severe to Panic

Ensure safety, stay with patient, use short sentences, reduce stimuli.

Biological Factors of Anxiety

Neurochemical imbalances, overactive amygdala, genetic predisposition.

Psychological/Environmental Factors of Anxiety

Early trauma, learned behaviors, chronic stress, substance use.

Panic Disorder

Sudden intense fear with physical symptoms like chest pain and fear of dying.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

Persistent worry across life domains, muscle tension, fatigue.

Agoraphobia

Fear of places where escape is difficult, avoids crowds and public transport.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Fear of being judged, avoids public speaking and eating in public.

Specific Phobia

Irrational fear of specific object or situation (e.g., spiders, flying).

Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Post

Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)