Anxiety

When you are in some professions it is difficult to separate yourself from work because people like to ask for advice. This is something that I experience quite often because I am a social worker. When people find this out they like to ask my opinion about what they should do about different situations, usually involving one of their relatives or neighbors. This can get bothersome, but being in a helping profession this is part of the job.

Many people do not know where to turn to access services for mental health needs so they find it more comfortable to ask someone they know how to do this. Most of the members of our faith community know that I am a social worker. We had an incident that happened during a church function that called for my expertise.

We were gathered in our fellowship area for a potluck supper one Sunday evening. One of the parish members was sitting off by themselves. I have talked with her at other functions and she has shared with me that she has problems with anxiety.

When I saw her I noticed that her complexion was flushed and she seemed to be having a difficult time regulating her breathing. I recognized the early symptoms of an anxiety attack. I knew that they would get worse rather quickly. I quietly asked our minister if he would open his office. I went over to the woman and asked her to come into the minister’s office with me.

As we were walking towards the office she told me that she was having sharp chest pains. She does not have a history of heart disease so I assumed that the pains were another of the symptoms of an anxiety attack.

When we were in the office I had her concentrate on doing some deep breathing exercises with me. I calmly rubbed her hands and kept repeating the instructions for the breathing that I was doing with her. She had been heavily perspiring so I opened a window, even though it was very cold outside. The cold air along with the deep breathing began to calm her.

She admitted that she had been quite anxious over the past few days and that she had not taken her medication that day. As we talked most of the symptoms of the anxiety attack dissipated. Our church is very close to a hospital and I asked her if she wanted to be checked there to make sure that the chest pains had been part of the anxiety.

She told me that she was sure they were and that if she had just a few more minutes to compose herself she thought she would be able to leave for home. I told her that no one in the gathering had noticed our departure because they were visiting and having appetizers. She agreed to join me in the group with the promise that I would take her home the minute she asked. She ended up staying for most of the evening.

She told me when I drove her home that if she had been alone she would have called an ambulance because she thought the symptoms of the anxiety attack were a heart attack instead. I assured her that this was a common mistake and that she needed to be more aware of how her anxiety affects her.

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