Alzheimer’s Delirium and Dementia Q 51
The nurse describes a client as anxious. Which of the following statements about anxiety is true?
A. Anxiety is usually pathological.
B. Anxiety is directly observable.
C. Anxiety is usually harmful.
D. Anxiety is a response to a threat.
Correct Answer: D. Anxiety is a response to a threat
Anxiety is a response to a threat arising from internal or external stimuli. Anxiety is linked to fear and manifests as a future-oriented mood state that consists of a complex cognitive, affective, physiological, and behavioral response system associated with preparation for the anticipated events or circumstances perceived as threatening.
Option A: Pathological anxiety is triggered when there is an overestimation of perceived threat or an erroneous danger appraisal of a situation which leads to excessive and inappropriate responses. Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders but the true prevalence is not known as many people do not seek help or clinicians fail to make the diagnosis.
Option B: The significant mediators of anxiety in the central nervous system are thought to be norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The autonomic nervous system, especially the sympathetic nervous system, mediates most of the symptoms. The amygdala plays an important role in tempering fear and anxiety. Patients with anxiety disorders have been found to show heightened amygdala response to anxiety cues. The amygdala and limbic system structures are connected to prefrontal cortex regions, and prefrontal-limbic activation abnormalities may be reversed with psychological or pharmacologic interventions.
Option C: Anxiety disorders have very high morbidity including substance abuse, alcoholism, and major depression. In addition, constant anxiety also increases the risk of adverse cardiac events. In others, anxiety impairs the ability to develop social relationships and worsens the quality of life. Severe anxiety has also been linked to high rates of suicide.