Anxiety/OCD Check-in

Brian has repetitive and unwanted thoughts that he will harm himself. He does not want to harm himself, but cannot get out of this repetitive thought loop. These thoughts occur multiple times throughout the day and are very time consuming.

Answer explanation

OCD

Katrina has an irrational fear of thunderstorms. Every time there is a thunderstorm she is anxious and cannot leave her home. This is greatly impacting her social and work life. She is also fearful of flying. This fear has prevented her from being able to go on business trips and visit family members.

Answer explanation

Specific phobia

Linda thinks that her home is dirty and she will become contaminated if she does not clean her kitchen. This daily cleaning takes hours to complete. Her hands are rubbed raw, she has not been able to maintain friendships, and she is struggling to keep up with work.

Answer explanation

OCD

Lucinda always feels tense and jittery. Her worry shifts from one concern to another. Sometimes she is bothered by her job and other times she is worried that she cannot get everything done on her “to do list.” She is constantly uneasy and her friends are always remarking how she is irritable, on edge, and hard to get along with.

Answer explanation

Generalized anxiety disorder

Maya was studying for exams late at night when she was suddenly overwhelmed with fear. She was short of breath, her heart was pounding, she was sweating, and she was very nauseous. It felt like she was losing control. Since then she has unexpected attacks that have been separated by weeks or months and she never sees them coming.

Answer explanation

Panic disorder

Michelle was once trapped in an enclosed water slide and now has an irrational fear of narrow, enclosed spaces. She has been interviewing for a new job and there is a perfect match, but her new place of employment would be on the 14th floor. She cannot use the elevator at her workplace because of her irrational fear and she doesn’t know what to do. Other areas of her life are also being negatively impacted by this fear.

Answer explanation

Specific phobia

Pete is fearful of being scrutinized when he is eating. This greatly impacts his social life. He is unable to go out to dinner with his friends and he struggles on dates. He worries every day leading up to a date, because he might spill food or have food caught in his teeth.

Answer explanation

Social anxiety disorder

Suzy fears being judged by others. When she has to do a speech for school in front of her classmates she fears being judged as “crazy” and thinks that everyone will just stare at her. Her fear controls her life and she repeats the speech for days in advance.

Answer explanation

Social anxiety disorder

Tammy is always tired and worn out. It seems that she is always worried but is never sure why. This constant worry has led to muscle tension, horrible headaches, and a disrupted sleep schedule. The worry is pervasive and she is distressed.

Answer explanation

Generalized anxiety disorder

One day as Susan was relaxing by the pool she suddenly had difficulty breathing, her heart pounded like crazy, her fingers got numb, and she started sweating uncontrollably. It felt like she was having a heart attack. This abrupt sense of fear lasted minutes, but then she quickly resumed to normal. These strange occurrences have been happening once a week for several months. Susan has started to change her behaviors due to these occurrences.

Answer explanation

Panic disorder