NRNP 6635 Week 4 Assignment
Week 4: Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, And OCD
Your own experiences might tell you that expectations from family, friends, and
work—as well as your own expectations regarding achievement, success, and
happiness—can create stress. Stressors are a normal part of life, and stress traditionally has been viewed as an adaptive function with a set of physiological responses to a stressor. In a situation where stress is perceived, the organism is physiologically prepared to attack or flee from the threat.
Those with effective fight or flight responses tended to survive long enough to
reproduce, so we are descended from those who are genetically hardwired for
self-protection. When you experience stress, your biology, emotions, social support, motivation, environment, attitude, immune function, and wellness all feel the ripple effect.
This stress response is an adaptive response the human body has to threats; however, stress can also be difficult to handle and—depending upon the nature and intensity of the stress—can result in anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or traumaand stressor-related disorders. This week, you will focus on these disorders and explore strategies to accurately assess and diagnose them.
Learning Objectives – NRNP 6635 Week 4 Assignment
Students will:
■ Apply concepts, theories, and principles related to patient interviewing,
diagnostic reasoning, and recording patient information
■ Formulate differential diagnoses using DSM-5 criteria for patients with anxiety
disorders, PTSD, and OCD across the lifespan
Learning Resources
Required Readings
1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety disorders. In Diagnostic and
statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author.
doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm05
2. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Obsessive compulsive and related
disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Arlington, VA: Author. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm06
3. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Trauma- and stressor-related
disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
Arlington, VA: Author. doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm07
4. Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., and Ruiz, P. (2015). Kaplan & Sadock’s synopsis of
psychiatry (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
■ Chapter 9, Anxiety Disorders
■ Chapter 10, Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
■ Chapter 11, Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
■ Chapter 31.11 Trauma-Stressor Related Disorders in Children
■ Chapter 31.13 Anxiety Disorders in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
■ Chapter 31.14 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Childhood and
Adolescence
Assignment: Assessing And Diagnosing Patients With Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, And OCD
“Fear,” according to the DSM-5, “is the emotional response to real or perceived imminent threat, whereas anxiety is anticipation of future threat” (APA, 2013). All anxiety disordersbcontain some degree of fear or anxiety symptoms (often in combination with avoidant
behaviors), although their causes and severity differ.
Trauma-related disorders may also, but not necessarily, contain fear and anxiety
symptoms, but their primary distinguishing criterion is exposure to a traumatic event.
Trauma can occur at any point in life. It might not surprise you to discover that
traumatic events are likely to have a greater effect on children than on adults.
Early-life traumatic experiences, such as childhood sexual abuse, may influence the physiology of the developing brain. Later in life, there is a chronic hyperarousal of the stress response, making the individual vulnerable to further stress and stress-related disease.
NRNP 6635 Week 4 Assignment
Week 4: Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, and OCD
You may have personally experienced how expectations from family, friends, work, and your own expectations about achievement, success, and happiness can lead to stress. Stressors are a normal part of life, and stress has traditionally been seen as an adaptive response with a set of physiological reactions to a stressor. When faced with stress, our bodies are physiologically prepared to either confront or flee from the threat.
Those who possessed effective fight-or-flight responses tended to survive long enough to reproduce, and thus, we are descendants of individuals genetically hardwired for self-protection. When you experience stress, it has a ripple effect on various aspects of your biology, emotions, social support, motivation, environment, attitude, immune function, and overall wellness.
While this stress response is adaptive, it can also be challenging to manage and, depending on the nature and intensity of stress, can lead to anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or trauma- and stressor-related disorders. This week, you will focus on these disorders and explore strategies for accurately assessing and diagnosing them.
Learning Objectives – NRNP 6635 Week 4 Assignment
Students will:
Apply concepts, theories, and principles related to patient interviewing, diagnostic reasoning, and recording patient information.
Formulate differential diagnoses using DSM-5 criteria for patients with anxiety disorders, PTSD, and OCD across the lifespan.
Learning Resources
**Required
