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Daniel Kevins

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Discussion 1 reply 200 words: A teenage is a young adult between the age of 13–19 years old. At this age the teenager’s body is growing, going through a lot of changes, hormonal changes, and sometimes they may become anxious. Anxiety disorder is when someone worries excessively most often occurs daily for 6 months or more over common everyday interactions, work or their health (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2018). At this age the teenager needs a good support system, not just their family but their community. A community is group of people that lives in the same area/place, they care about each other and they feel that they belong together (Children’s Bureau, 2019). Teenagers may have the fear of not belonging and this may cause them anxiety but if they have peers in the community, it will give them a sense of belonging so it can lessen their anxiety. Benefits of a community for teenagers’ emotional support, builds confidence, practical support, conflict resolution and helps with preventing selfishness (Children’s Bureau, 2019). As a teenager they tend to lack confidence, self-esteem, a healthy community is a good place for the teen to get support by participating in activities with other teens and community leaders to be able to guide them to make good decisions, assist with conflicts by helping them resolve it properly. If the teenager is left alone and does not talk about their anxiety it can interfere with their growing emotionally, mentally and the anxiety can consume them. In health care we need to cognitive of how much anxiety is already present in teenagers, there is so much pressure out there and if they do not have a health family and community support available their anxiety can worsen. Nurses can work in the community by setting up support groups for teenager with anxiety to teach them coping skills, ways to manage their anxiety and also to assess if they need in-depth professional help, such as psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or therapist. If the teenage present needing this help, then the nurse can assist with facilitating them access to it. Education is very important in helping teenagers but it does not have to be formal, it can be informal and this will the help so it won’t intimidated them especially if they have anxiety already. Having activities in the community of helping others in need, or the elderly with yard work will promote teens to work with different ages and doing this physical activity will promote the teen to sleep better and this too will decrease anxiety. When the teenagers are in these support groups the nurse can assess them and how they are managing their anxiety and if they may require more help such as a social worker, psychiatrist or psychologist then the can assist the teenager with setting up further care.

References

Children’s Bureau. (2019, March 22). The Importance of a Community for Teenagers. All 4 Kids. all4kids.org/news/blog/the-importance-of-a-community-for-teenagers/

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2018, May 4). mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syv-20350961

Discussion 2 reply 200 words: Mental illness in the community does not discriminate. It can impact women, men, young children, adolescents, the elderly, and any nationality.

Choose one population along with one mental health disorder and describe how the disorder impacts that population as they attempt to be part of the community.
Finally, explain one nursing intervention that would assist them to be successful.

For this discussion I choose to write about the elderly population. Choosing a mental health disorder for this specific population was difficult as there were several disorders that are common amongst the elderly. Although, I did decide to go with one that is ranked amongst one of the highest for elders-anxiety. Orrange states, that an estimated 10-20 % of adults over the age of 65 experience General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), “ excessive, long-lasting worry about many things.” Per Dr. Orrange, anxiety disorder often goes hand and hand with another disorder to include panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and other phobia-related disorders. (Orrange, S 2020). With the overwhelming multitude of stressors that are placed on our elderly population daily, such as, loss of a loved ones, financial difficulties, fear of falling, fear of being left alone and unable to afford living expenses. All of these stressors begin to take a toll on their quality of life, and they begin to suffer.

A recent study of 75 elderly adults who had generalized anxiety disorder showed a worsening of their quality of life over individuals that had recently had an acute myocardial infarction or type II diabetes. Their anxiety disorder was compared to individuals with major depression disorder. Common occurrences seen in conjunction with the two disorders was their physical and mental anguish. Increased anxiety may lead to use of alcohol and substance abuse, which may hide or make symptoms worse. (Wetherell, J, et al, 2014).

As a nurse professional if you suspect an older adult may have anxiety problems, you should inquire and ask if there have been any changes in their daily routine. Do they appear worried all the time? Are they taking any medication, or have they had any recent changes in their prescriptions? Are they more tearful or withdrawn? As you are engaging in conversation with this resident try to remain calm, and reassuring. Acknowledge their fears but do not play into them. Encourage them to join some type of activity to preoccupy their mind. Offer them assistance with getting help from a physician or mental health specialist. There are pharmaceutical measures that a physician may take as well, although it will not a cure anxiety disorder but will aid in keeping them under control. (Sakauye, K. M., 2008).

References

goodrx.com/blog/how-does-anxiety-look-different-in-older-adults/

https://ww.aagponlie.org

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15003436/

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Daniel Kevins

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