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Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Rethinking Diagnosis and Rating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Extract

Faye is a 44-year-old woman who presented complaining of tension. She felt tense in her muscles, her whole body felt “on edge,” and she was unable to relax or to fall asleep easily. The tension was not only physical but also mental, she experienced anxiety on and off throughout the day, had multiple worries, and often felt irritable. Ever since she could remember, she had been somewhat highly strung, but in her thirties she took a more stressful job, and there were often times when the physical symptoms became more intense and even interfered with her work function. During these periods of increased anxiety, she resorted to using benzodiazepine tablets prescribed by her primary care physician for poor sleep.

Type
Pearls in Clinical Neuroscience
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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