Differential diagnosis and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder

Differential Diagnosis Table for a Patient with a Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Digestive Disorders / Nutritional Deficiencies

Slight overweight

Poor eating habits

Consumption of more chocolates and coffee than normal or tolerable

Father had GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease

Endocrine Disorders

Thyromegaly

Neck pain and soreness

135/90 blood pressure

Father and mother both had hypertension

Psychiatric Disorders

Acute distress

Pulsating tension or stress headache that develops in 1 hour

Inability to sustain work because of headaches

Sister suffered from migraine headache

Treats headaches with over-the-counter medicines

Sleeps for only 5 hours a night

Poor adjustment to recent divorce

Poor adjustment to being a single mother to three toddlers

Severe headache

Migraine runs in the family: sister had them too.

Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

Nasal congestion

Runny nose

Allergy

Mother had allergic rhinitis

Cardio-pulmonary Disorders

Hypertension

Inherited hypertension from both parents

Neurologic Disorders

Recurring, frequent, pulsating and unexplainable headaches

Sensitivity to light with nausea

Pupils react to light

Psychological Strategies for General Anxiety Disorder

Education -- the patient should be made aware that her distresses, particularly her recurring and intense headaches, can be her body's response to her emotional state as a newly divorced and single mother. She should be helped to self-affirmation strategies and to develop a sense of personal worth.