A patient has been hospitalized after her house was destroyed in a hurricane.
She has spent two weeks in the intensive care unit and has now been transferred to the surgical floor for continued respiratory monitoring and completion of IV antibiotic therapy.
The patient reports a pain level of 2 on a scale of 0 to 10. She requests sleeping medication, explaining that she is haunted by distressing thoughts and memories of the house collapsing, which prevent her from sleeping.
She says, “I used to be so happy before all of this happened.
Now I can’t seem to get out of this funk I am in.”. She would also prefer a quieter area of the unit as she is currently near the nurses’ station and is disturbed by the noise.
After listening to the patient’s symptoms, the nurse suspects that she likely has:

Choice A rationale

Phobia is characterized by an excessive and irrational fear response. In this case, the patient’s symptoms do not indicate a specific fear, but rather general distress and intrusive thoughts related to a traumatic event.

Choice B rationale

The patient’s symptoms, which include distressing thoughts and memories of the house collapsing, difficulty sleeping, and a significant change in mood, are indicative of acute stress disorder related to traumatic stress exposure. Acute stress disorder can occur within a month of experiencing a traumatic event, like a natural disaster.

Choice C rationale

Hallucinations involve perceiving something that is not present. The patient’s symptoms do not include any indications of hallucinations.

Choice D rationale

Separation anxiety involves excessive fear or anxiety about separation from those to whom the individual is attached. The patient’s symptoms do not indicate a fear of separation, but rather distress related to a traumatic event.