Mental health articles

Anxiety case study for Mary:

Mary, a 37-year-old secretary, is single and lives alone. She usually has a good network of friends within and outside the workplace. Recently, while on a shopping trip in the town, Mary was attacked and thrown to the ground, during which she sustained bruising to her face and a fracture to her wrist. Her handbag was also snatched during this attack, which contained, amongst other things,her house keys. Consequently, Mary now feels frightened to leave the house and any attempts to encourage Mary to do so are met with great resistance.She is currently on sick leave from her job and now relies on her friends to do her shopping. Within the past week, Mary has called the police to the house in the early hours of the morning on three separate occasions. She is unable to sleep at night and believes that she can hear somebody trying to use her stolen keys to gain entry to her home. On the third occasion, while the police were at the house, Mary suddenly collapsed and her heart stopped beating.She was taken to the local hospital, where she was successfully treated.

While in hospital, she was referred to and seen by a psychiatrist, who is currently treating Mary for anxiety.

Tags: anxiety, case study