A patient who is a university student states that before taking an examination he feels a heightened sense of awareness, a sense of restlessness, and a mild degree of apprehension. Which nursing intervention is most therapeutic?

Question

a. Normalize his symptoms as resulting from mild anxiety and calmly discuss how they may actually help his performance.
b. Advise the patient to discuss his experience with a physician or psychologist, as these symptoms suggest a more serious psychiatric disorder.
c. Offer to explore the possibility of obtaining an order for an anxiolytic medication to be used when necessary.
d. Acknowledge the patient's experience and suggest that he consider counseling to bring this anxiety under control.

Answer 1

A
Teaching about symptoms of anxiety, their relation to precipitating stressors, and the positive effects of anxiety will serve to reassure the patient. Mild anxiety, as suggested by the symptoms noted here, is not pathological and is rarely disruptive to functioning. It can serve to sharpen perceptual focus and lead a person to attend to important matters at hand. Medications and psychotherapy are important treatment modalities of more severe forms of anxiety, especially for disabling anxiety disorders such as panic disorder with agoraphobia, but are not indicated for mild anxiety.