Genevieve only attends social events when a family member is also present. She exhibits behavior typical of which anxiety disorder?
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Solution
Agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a disorder characterized by avoidance of situations in which escape may not be possible or help may be unavailable.
During a community visit, volunteer nurses teach stress management to the participants. The nurses will most likely advocate which belief as a method of coping with stressful life events?
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Solution
Control over one’s response to stress is possible.
When learning to manage stress, clients find it helpful to believe that they have the ability to control their response to it. It is impossible to avoid stress, which is a normal life experience.
Option A: Stress can be positive and growth enhancing as well as harmful.
Option C: The belief that one has some control is the significant factor in minimizing stress response.
Mandy, a nurse who works at Nurseslabs Rehabilitation Center is assessing a client for recent stressful life events. She recognizes that stressful life events are both:
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Solution
Positive and negative.
The concept of stressful life event is based on the research of Holmes and Rahe, who found that both positive and negative changes result in stress.
Options A and C: Stressful life events are not always desirable and growth promoting, nor are they always undesirable and harmful.
Option D: Some stressful life events can be predictable and controllable; however, many life events are entirely unpredictable.
Nurse Martha is teaching her students about anxiety medications; she explains that benzodiazepines affect which brain chemical?
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Solution
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
Antianxiety medications stimulate the neurotransmitter GABA, which is a chemical associated with relaxation. The other options are not affected by benzodiazepines.
Marty is pacing and complains of racing thoughts. Nurse Lally asks the client if something upsetting happened, and Marty’s response is vague and not focused on the question. Nurse Lally assess Marty’s level of anxiety as:
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Solution
Severe.
When the client has difficulty focusing and exhibits excessive motor activity, the level of anxiety is severe.
Option A: Mild anxiety is characterized by increased alertness and problem-solving ability.
Option B: Moderate anxiety is characterized by the ability to focus on central concerns but the inability to problem-solve without assistance.
Option D: Panic level of anxiety is characterized by complete inability to focus and reduced perceptions.
The psychiatric nurse uses cognitive-behavioral techniques when working with a client who experiences panic attacks. Which of the following techniques are common to this theoretical framework? Select all that apply.
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Solution
Answer: B, C, D, F
These are all appropriate techniques based on the framework of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Which outcome is most appropriate for Francis who has a dissociative disorder?
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Solution
Francis will deal with uncomfortable emotions on a conscious level.
Dissociative disorders occur when traumatic events are beyond an individual’s recall because these memories have been “blocked” from conscious awareness. Bringing the feelings associated with these events into conscious awareness and coping with these feelings will decrease the need for dissociation.
A group of community nurses sees and plans care for various clients with different types of problems. Which of the following clients would they consider the most vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder?
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Solution
A 20-year-old college student with DM who experienced date rape
Post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by the experience of severe, specific trauma. Rape is a severely traumatic event.
Although the situations in options A, C, and D are certainly stressful, they are not at the level of severe trauma.
A nurse at Nurseslabs Medical Center is developing a care plan for a female client with post-traumatic stress disorder. Which of the following would she do initially?
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Solution
Encourage the client to verbalize thoughts and feelings about the trauma.
Planning care for a client with post-traumatic stress disorder would involve helping the client to verbalize thoughts and feelings about the trauma. This will help the client work through the strong emotions connected with the trauma and, therefore foster the belief that she is able to cope.
Options A and D: Avoiding discussion and using distraction techniques would be inappropriate.
Option B may be possible later after the client is able to verbalize strong emotions.
Chuck is a 20-year-old student diagnosed of having obsessive-compulsive behavior. A psychiatrist prescribes clomipramine (Anafranil) to treat his condition. Nurse Nicolette understands the rationale for this treatment is that the clomipramine:
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Solution
Increases serotonin levels.
According to the psychobiologic theory, dysregulation of the neurotransmitter serotonin is thought to contribute to obsessive-compulsive behavior. Clomipramine (Anafranil) is used to increase serotonin levels, thereby decreasing the need for obsessive-compulsive behaviors.