A young woman sought psychological services after her cardiologist referred her

A young woman sought psychological services after her cardiologist referred her for stress management and treatment of “heart attack” symptoms. This 36 year old woman had the world by the tail. Marketing director for a local high-tech firm, she was in line for promotion to vice president. She drove a new sports car, traveled extensively, and was socially active. Although on the surface everything seemed fine, she felt that, “the wheels on my tricycle are about to fall off. I’m a mess.” Over the past several months she had attacks of shortness of breath, heart palpitations, chest pains, dizziness, and tingling sensations in her fingers and toes. Filled with a sense of impending doom, she would become anxious to the point of panic. Every day she awoke with a dreaded feeling that an attack might strike without reason or warning.
On two occasions, she rushed to a nearby hospital emergency room fearing she was having a heart attack. The first episode followed an argument with her boyfriend about the future of their relationship. After studying her electrocardiogram, the emergency room doctor told her she was “just hyperventilating” and showed her how to breathe into a paper bag to handle the situation in the future. 1. Identify the signs and symptoms of stress in the case study. 2. What stress management teaching will you provide to the patient? 3. What stress management techniques can you provide to her that she can use on a regular basis?