Anxiety Disorders: A Case Study

The Three A’s

Anxiety, acute stress, and adjustment can be internal responses to external events that can trigger mental or physical illness (Butcher, Hooley, & Mineka, 2014). The shared characteristic between the three A’s is stress. Fear, worry, and mental pressure can also be the result of inner conflict between what is desired and what is conventionally correct (Butcher, et al, 2014). Efforts toward the grouping of smaller disorders that share obvious symptoms began with the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), and continued in DSM-5 (Butcher, et al, 2014). Variation between disorders can best be determined by the nature of situation or substance feared (Butcher, et al, 2014).

Anxiety disorder differs from Adjustment disorder

Anxiety is a reaction to an intricate mix of unpleasant emotions and cognitions associated with future events that reoccurs. Fear is the reaction to a present dangerous situation (Butcher, et al, 2014). Anxiety disorder(s) are a collection of varied symptoms generated by excessive and unreasonable

This stress-related event could be familiar and singular, such as a divorce, or linked to various events such as a delinquent teenager at home and a problem supervisor at work (Butcher, et al, 2014). The inability to manage stress levels beyond a few months that leads to depression or failure to function could signal the presence of the disorder (APA, 2013). As the influence of the stress-event lessens, so do the symptoms adjustment disorder. This differs with acute stress disorder, which is a sustained, repetitive response (within the first month) to traumatic events of a violent nature (APA, 2013). Physical assault, combat, or disasters—natural or manmade—bring about symptoms of withdrawal, intense anxiety, and difficulty concentrating, that generally occur in response to stimuli (APA,