Case Overview
Anxiety disorder involves worrisome feelings, anxiety, and apprehension interfering with the victims’ routine activities. Soyara manifested anxiety disorder symptoms due to stress experienced from the increasing job obligations. She felt more nervous and fatigued any time she thought about her work. She believed that she was successful but the intense tasks worried her. Her feelings interfered with her sleeping cycle, and she could only get 4 to 5 hours of sleep. She was probably suffering from insomnia due to a lack of sufficient sleep.
Main Diagnosis and Diagnostic Tests
The main anxiety disorder diagnosis involves physical examination by a medical doctor who could recommend other tests for illnesses, such as insomnia, associated with the anxiety disorder. Comorbid diagnosis is often recommended when two or more disorders occur simultaneously (Weiss et al., 2021). Soyara suffered from anxiety disorder and a probable sleep disorder necessitating the comorbid diagnosis. The doctor may use various diagnostic tests like Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to asses the level of the anxiety.
Differential Diagnosis, Target Symptoms, and Treatment
Differential diagnoses for anxiety disorders include among others acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute gastritis, alcohol-related psychosis, Addison disease, and amphetamine-related psychiatric disorders. The target symptoms for the patient are extreme nervousness, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, worry, and sleeping problems. The doctor would examine the symptoms to identify effective treatment. Soyara’s negative ways of thinking fueled negative emotions and fear. Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) would help identify and correct her negative thoughts since changing her thoughts would change her feelings (Kazantzis et al., 2021). CBT with routine counselling would be the most efficient method of treatment for the anxiety disorder (Straw et al., 2022). The doctor could also opt for antidepressants like Benzodiazepines that are effective in enhancing neurotransmitter activity. The antidepressants would be effective for a quick sedative effect (Straw et al., 2022). Therefore, a combination of CBT and antidepressants would help Soyara recover quickly.
References
Kazantzis, N., Luong, H. K., McDonald, H. M., & Hofmann, S. G. (2021). Contemporary cognitive behavioral therapy. Web.
Strawn, J. R., Mills, J. A., Suresh, V., Peris, T. S., Walkup, J. T., & Croarkin, P. E. (2022). Combining selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioral therapy in youth with depression and anxiety. Journal of affective disorders, 298, 292-300.
Weiss, K. E., Steinman, K. J., Kodish, I., Sim, L., Yurs, S., Steggall, C., & Fobian, A. D. (2021). Functional neurological symptom disorder in children and adolescents within medical settings. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 28(1), 90-101.