Anxiety Continuum
This level of anxiety can increase alertness, focus, and motivation.
Mild anxiety
This type of coping involves taking action to manage the source of stress.
Problem-focused coping
This type of anxiety is temporary, situation-related, and proportional to the stressor.
Normal anxiety
This disorder may occur after exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
This medication class can reduce anxiety quickly but may cause sedation, dependence, and falls.
Benzodiazepines
This level of anxiety narrows the client’s focus but still allows some learning with simple teaching.
Moderate anxiety
This type of coping helps manage emotional distress through breathing, journaling, prayer, or relaxation.
Emotion-focused coping
This occurs when anxiety is excessive, persistent, difficult to control, and interferes with functioning.
Anxiety disorder
Flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive memories are examples of this PTSD feature.
Re-experiencing symptoms
These anxiety medications may take several weeks for full therapeutic effect.
SSRIs or SNRIs
This level of anxiety greatly reduces perception and makes problem-solving difficult.
Severe anxiety
These unconscious psychological strategies protect the person from anxiety.
Defense mechanisms
This behavior involves an intense, irrational fear of a specific object, place, or situation.
Phobic behavior
Avoiding places, people, conversations, or feelings related to trauma is this PTSD feature.
Avoidance
Clients taking anxiety medications should avoid this substance because it can worsen sedation and impair safety.
Alcohol
This level of anxiety may involve terror, disorganized thinking, and inability to focus.
Panic-level anxiety
In children, anxiety may appear as stomachaches, headaches, school refusal, or this return to earlier behavior.
Regression
These are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges.
Obsessions
Irritability, sleep problems, exaggerated startle response, and feeling on edge are examples of this PTSD feature.
Hyperarousal or hypervigilance
Muscle tension, racing thoughts, irritability, sleep changes, and avoidance are examples of these.
Early warning signs of anxiety
This is the nursing priority when a client is experiencing panic-level anxiety.
Safety - stay with the patient
In older adults, anxiety may appear as restlessness, sleep disturbance, somatic complaints, irritability, or this confusion-like symptom pattern.
Altered cognition or confusion
These are repetitive behaviors or mental acts used to reduce anxiety from obsessions.
Compulsions
This trauma-informed nursing action helps restore control for a sexual assault survivor.
Asking permission before touching
Explaining each step before care
A client is pacing, trembling, hyperventilating, and unable to process teaching. The nurse stays with the client, lowers stimulation, and uses short, calm statements.
Caring for a client with severe or panic-level anxiety