Working with anxious people

Abstract

Matthew has been complaining of a variety of bodily symptoms for some time, but underlying all these are his persistent feelings of fear resulting in a severe ‘anxiety state’. This fear incapacitates Matthew to such an extent that he finds it difficult to do the simplest of tasks. The nature of his anxiety clouds his thinking to such an extent that he finds it difficult to pinpoint any specific area that causes it. This is generally known as ‘free-floating anxiety’. However, anxiety can present in a multitude of ways, and may occur as a symptom in any psychiatric disorder. Another form of anxiety is where a specific fear can be isolated, which results in a ‘phobic state’. Phobias such as fear of open spaces (agoraphobia) can be totally incapacitating and require very specific nursing interventions (see p. 68).

Matthew sat wringing his hands and rocking backwards and forwards with a strained facial expression.

‘Hello, Matthew, is there anything I can do to help you at the moment?’

‘I’m scared sick, I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t seem to think straight, everything is so difficult. My head aches, my heart is pounding, it is as if I’ve got some dreadful disease.’