A 33-year-old clothing sales associate, Steven, was showing…

A 33-year-old clothing sales associate, Steven, was showing a particularly fussy customer a suit seven months ago and suddenly began to sweat profusely. His heart started to pound, he felt dizzy, nauseous, had chest-pains, and became fearful that he was about to die. The customer didn’t notice his condition and continued to question him about the suit in minute detail. Steve, feeling faint, abruptly left the customer and went to lie down in the back of the store. The customer became insulted, complained to the manager, and left. When the manager found Steve, he was slumped in a chair in the back room, trembling. Approximately 10 minutes later, his symptoms began to subside. He saw his physician the next day, who found no evidence of any medical problems. Two weeks later, he had another similar unexpected episode. Since that time he has worried continuously about having another episode. His friends and colleagues have noticed that he is no longer as spontaneous and outgoing as he had been in the past. At work, he avoids any customers that require “high maintenance”, which is causing him problems with his co-workers. And the likely diagnosis is…

Karen, a 28-year-old married Caucasian woman, came to you fo…

Karen, a 28-year-old married Caucasian woman, came to you for counseling. She reported experiencing mood swings, tension, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, bouts of hypersomnia, and irritability for the 6-8 days leading up the start of her menstrual cycle. The symptoms stop after the beginning of each menstrual cycle. These episodes have occurred since the age of 20, in almost every menstrual cycle. She reported having a difficult time functioning during these “mood cycles.” And the likely diagnosis is…

For 10 years, Mrs. Jones has been very concerned about havin…

For 10 years, Mrs. Jones has been very concerned about having a heart attack, although no doctor has found anything wrong with her heart. Whenever she feels the slightest twinge of discomfort in her chest, she calls emergency services. She has called 10 times in the last 6 days. She cannot work anymore and lies in bed most days with debilitating worry that she will have a coronary. And the likely diagnosis is…

For the past three weeks, Donna has felt extremely tired and…

For the past three weeks, Donna has felt extremely tired and finds it difficult to concentrate at work. Her coworkers have noticed that “the typical funny, talkative Donna” is more irritable and withdrawn. She has called in sick five times in the last three weeks, which isn’t like her at all. On these days, she didn’t get out of bed all day but either watched TV or slept. Donna’s husband, Ned, has noticed changes as well. She doesn’t call her best friend anymore when she used to talk to her every night. She isn’t eating much these days and has lost 11 pounds, even though she didn’t need to lose weight and wasn’t even trying. He hears her crying, but when he asks her what is wrong, she says, “Nothing. Just leave me alone.” She hasn’t considered suicide but is dissatisfied with her life. She knows she should be “happy” but can’t seem to get rid of her sense of “doom and dread.” “And I feel sad almost all the time these days.” And the likely diagnosis is…

Jimmy survived a horrible airplane crash three months ago. F…

Jimmy survived a horrible airplane crash three months ago. Four days after the crash, he began having intrusive memories of the event, as well as extreme anxiety and dissociative episodes. He continues to suffer flashbacks, hypervigilance, and avoidance behavior. He also has distressing memories and dreams, can’t concentrate, engages in reckless behavior, feels detached from his family, doesn’t engage in activities he used to enjoy, and is often irritable. And the likely diagnosis is…

Margaret and her young son were driving through an intersect…

Margaret and her young son were driving through an intersection when another car ran through a red traffic light and struck them. The two were trapped in the car until a fire department rescue team freed them. She was bruised but not seriously hurt. Her son had a broken leg. The first few days after the accident, Margaret was preoccupied with arranging care for her son and getting the car repaired. However, it’s now a week after the accident and she is having recurrent distressing thoughts and images of the accident. The memory of her son’s screams after the car was struck is particularly vivid, so she goes out of her way to avoid driving down the street where the accident occurred. She just can’t get the memory of him screaming out of her head. In addition, she still has nightmares about the accident, experiences flashbacks, stays away from the accident site, becomes very “jumpy” whenever she hears a loud sound, can’t sleep, can’t concentrate, is irritable, and no longer her happy self. This caused her to be late to work several times. And the likely diagnosis is…