A client with depression is not attentive to personal hygiene, uses television watching as a means of escape from responsibilities, and describes an inability to enjoy the things that once gave them pleasure. Which coping strategy should the nurse include in the plan of care?

A) Moving to a quiet area and providing peanut butter with crackers may help address the client’s nutritional needs, but it may not adequately address the client’s agitation and pacing. The immediate priority is to stabilize the client’s behavior before focusing on nutrition.

B) Encouraging the spouse to eat lunch with the client may create an opportunity for social interaction, but it might not be effective in calming the client’s agitation. If the client is already highly agitated, the spouse's presence alone may not help diffuse the situation.

C) Walking with the client to the cafeteria and staying while the client eats is the best intervention at this time. This approach allows the nurse to provide a calming presence and guidance while encouraging the client to eat. It also helps redirect the client's energy and agitation into a structured activity, promoting both physical movement and nutrition, which is crucial after several days without food.

D) Requesting a full lunch tray from the dietary department could provide a more substantial meal; however, it might not address the immediate need for calming the client. If the client remains agitated and loud, it may be challenging to ensure that they can eat peacefully, making this intervention less effective than accompanying the client directly to eat.

A) Becoming the faculty sponsor for Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) is a proactive and constructive behavior that indicates the client is coping well with her anxiety related to the student’s death. This action demonstrates her ability to channel her grief into positive advocacy, suggesting that she is processing her emotions and seeking to create meaningful change, which is a strong indicator of healthy coping.

B) Describing alternatives to becoming depressed over the student’s death is a positive step, as it shows the client is engaging in cognitive strategies to manage her emotions. However, while this indicates some progress, it is less impactful than taking active steps to address the issue, like becoming involved in advocacy or community efforts.

C) Confronting her parents about the hurt she felt as a child of alcoholic parents can be a significant therapeutic step, but it may not directly relate to her current coping with the loss of her student. While this confrontation may contribute to her overall healing, it does not necessarily indicate coping specifically related to the anxiety from the recent event.

D) Signing a safety contract with the nurse indicates that there may still be significant concerns regarding self-harm or emotional distress. While this is an important safety measure, it suggests that the client is not yet fully coping well with her anxiety, as it implies she is still in a vulnerable state rather than demonstrating effective coping mechanisms.