Symptoms of the Anxiety Disorder
There are different kinds of anxiety disorders including phobia, panic disorder and agoraphobia. Julie, the woman from the video, seems to have a panic disorder. According to Burton, Westen and Kowalski (2018), the common symptoms of panic disorder are the lack of breath, rapid heart rate and pain in the chest. Moreover, people with this disorder are afraid of dying or losing their mind when they have another attack. In some situations, Julie becomes nervous and excited, which results in her heart racing and chest aching. She does not want to do certain things like visit pubs or make love to her husband, because she is afraid of having an anxiety attack. At the same time, Julie believes that if her heart starts to beat faster, she might have a heart attack. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that Julie shows symptoms of panic disorder.
Nature versus Nurture
As with most mental illnesses, it is hard to say precisely whether the panic disorder is primarily caused by nature or nurture. Bandelow, Michaelis and Wedekind (2017) suggest that anxiety disorders could be influenced by both psychosocial factors and “genetic vulnerability” (p. 94). However, it is easier to identify social drivers that could cause the development of the disorder than various biological factors. For instance, childhood events like the experience of trauma or violence may lead to the emergence of anxiety. What is more, stress is reported to be among the main drivers of panic disorder in adults (Burton et al., 2018). Kim (2019) overviews several models that were proposed to explain panic disorder from the neurobiological perspective. All these approaches tried to link the emergence of anxiety to the processes in the human brain. Due to the fact that neurobiological factors can be hardly observed, much research should be done to understand their role in the development of the anxiety disorder better.
Treatment of the Anxiety Disorder
In the video, the doctor offered Julie two possible ways of treatment: one that includes taking medications and another that suggests more communication between the patient and the physician. First of all, the doctor should talk to Julie again and explain the situation and potential procedures more accurately. Although both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy have proven to be successful in curing the anxiety disorder, one should consider the side effects of “pharmacological treatments” (Kim, 2019, p. 2). The case of Julie does not seem to be hopeless, as she has had the disorder only for a short time. However, in the video, she looked very frightened by her disorder and she actually seemed to believe that she can die from a heart attack. The doctor should avoid medications at first and try to use a psychological approach, but she needs to ensure that Julie accepts this method of treatment.
Application of the Findings to My Life
I find it useful to be aware of the potential symptoms of anxiety, and particularly, panic disorder, which are described by Burton et al. (2018). Now I know that frequent palpitations, chest pain and difficulty breathing may be caused not by regular excitement but by serious mental disease. It is especially crucial for me to know this being an architecture student because sometimes my studies are associated with a vast amount of stress. Thus, it is assumable that one day, as in the case of Julie, anxiety may suddenly emerge in my life.
References
Bandelow, B., Michaelis, S., & Wedekind, D. (2017). Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 19(2), 93-107.
Burton, L., Westen, D., & Kowalski, R. (2018). Psychology (5th ed.). Milton, Australia: Wiley.
Kim, Y.-K. (2019). Panic disorder: Current research and management approaches. Psychiatry Investigation, 16(1), 1-3. Web.