Alzheimer’s Delirium and Dementia Q 20

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When nurse Hazel considers a client’s placement on the continuum of anxiety, a key in determining the degree of anxiety being experienced is the client’s:

  

     A. Perceptual field

     B. Delusional system

     C. Memory state

     D. Creativity level

    

    

Correct Answer: A. Perceptual field

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Perceptual field is a key indicator of anxiety level because the perceptual fields narrow as anxiety increases. The impact of anxiety on cognitive function is a major contributing factor to these costs; anxiety disorders can promote a crippling focus upon negative life-events and make concentration difficult, which can lead to problems in both social and work environments. In such situations, the state of anxiety can be seen as maladaptive.

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Option B: A more or less logically interconnected group of delusions held by the same person. Delusions that are tightly logical, but based on a false premise, are characteristic of persecutory type delusional disorder.

Option C: State-dependent memory or state-dependent learning is the phenomenon where people remember more information if their physical or mental state is the same at time of encoding and time of recall.

Option D: Over the past few decades, a growing body of research suggests that there may be a link between creativity and mental illness. Just as scientific research has found that anxious people tend to be more intelligent, there seems to also be a link between anxiety and being more creative.

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