Anxiety - Answers An alert to the human condition of impending doom, either real or imagined,
accompanied by autonomic responses that serve as a protective mechanism.
Anxiety vs Fear vs Normal Anxiety - Answers Anxiety: Apprehension, uneasiness, uncertainty, or
dread from real or perceived threat
Fear: Reaction to specific danger
Normal anxiety: Necessary for survival
Mild to Moderate Anxiety - Answers May have a positive impact (depending on the person or
situation); if the impact is not positive, increased anxiety levels can result.
Severe anxiety to panic - Answers Can lead to injury to self or others (in some cases, suicide,
primarily due to impulsivity).
Panic - Answers Can lead to death if not managed
Risk Factors for Anxiety - Answers Affect all persons across the life span
Lifetime prevalence is higher among females
Highest lifetime prevalence is between the ages of 30 to 44 years
Non-Hispanic whites have a higher incidence compared with Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks
Familial patterns appear in certain anxiety disorders
What are the diagnostic tests to confirm anxiety? - Answers No specific tests to confirm anxiety;
some diagnostic tests may be useful to detect conditions that contribute to anxiety.
Primary Prevention for Anxiety - Answers Well visits across the life span
Fostering healthy parent-infant and parent-child relationships
,Parental education: tasks related to stages of growth and development
Crisis intervention when applicable
Secondary Prevention for Anxiety - Answers Drug screening when applicable
Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale
Acute Panic Inventory
Covi Anxiety Scale
Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Collaborative Interventions for Anxiety - Answers Behavioral therapies and counseling
Complementary and alternative medicine
Rehabilitation
Examples of complementary/alternative medicine for anxiety - Answers Meditating
Exercising
Breathing exercises
Natural remedies (St. John's wort, kava kava, valerian root).
Examples of rehabilitation for anxiety - Answers Psychosocial
Vocational
Examples of behavioral therapies and counseling - Answers Family intervention and family
therapy
Group therapy
Cognitive and behavioral therapy
Prolonged exposure therapy
Mindfulness
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
Peer support
B-adrenergic receptor antagonists - Answers Propanolol
, Metoprolol
Clonidine
Atenolol
Some individually only episodically or situationally experience anxiety above the clinical
threshold.
B-blockers treat varied expressions of anxiety (performance anxiety, traumatic nightmares, and
EPS of antipsychotics).
They work by binding to b-adrenergic receptors and blocking NE and Epi.
Side effects: hypotension, dizziness and bradycardia.
Benzodiazepines - Answers BZDs enhance the effect of the neurotransmitter GABA, which
elicits short-term management of anxiety symptoms.
They are highly addictive, and can be potentially life-threatening in withdrawal.
It is meant for short term NOT long term.
SSRI's - Answers SSRIs are generally well-tolerated agents but demonstrate an increased risk
for a life-threatening condition (serotonin syndrome) when combined with other agents that
agonize serotonin. Abrupt discontinuation of SSRIs can lead to discontinuation syndrome.
SNRI's - Answers The SNRIs indicated for anxiety include venlafaxine (for panic disorder, social
anxiety disorder, and GAD) and duloxetine (for GAD). Like SSRIs, abrupt discontinuation of
SNRIs can lead to discontinuation syndrome.
They block both ST and NE
TCA's - Answers TCAs influence a number of different neurotransmitter receptors potentially
relevant to anxiety. Doxepin is the only drug in this group that has an FDA indication for the
treatment of anxiety. Although effective, this is considered third- and fourth-tier treatment
choice due to its significant side effects, potential for suicidal thinking and lethality if used as an
overdose agent.