We can all agree that nobody really wants to be sick at the hospital; patients would rather be at home and healthy. This leads to stress, anxiety, pain, and fear in the hospital setting and unfortunately are all common emotions experienced not only by patients and families, but healthcare workers as well.

The ability to address patient concerns is one of many important characteristics of a health care professional, nurses included. How can you as a healthcare professional deal with anxious patients? Let's get started. 

What Is Anxiety?

Types of Anxiety

• Panic disorder - Severe fear occurring without any warning.
• Agoraphobia - This is fear that comes when you feel it would be a hassle escaping.
• Social anxiety disorder - Fear of being embarrassed or humiliated.
• Specific phobia - Fear that results when you are trying to avoid something.
• Generalized anxiety disorder - This is fear or worry that persists for a long time, though, without any panic attacks.
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder - Obsession refers to repetitive thoughts or impulses while compulsions refer to what you do to get out of the anxiety. 

 
7 Proven Ways to Deal with Anxious Patients 

 1. Greet Your Patients 

 2. Play them a Soothing Music 

A study by Science Daily reported significant improvements in patients with anxiety when you play them soothing music. Patients who listened to music before surgery were more relaxed than the other group. They were more satisfied after their surgery.

While music is often overlooked in most medical offices, playing soft music in the examination room will go a long way to help patients feel better. And because anxiety is common in the exam room, this technique can help medical staff enhance a calm environment.

 3. Help Your Patients Relax 

Anxiety tends to vary from every individual. Patients who are critically ill manifest their anxiety through sarcasm, anger, or withdrawal. Nurses can tell the level of anxiety after the initial examination or with the help of an anxiety scale. Non-verbal signals in a patient's gestures and facial expressions will help determine anxiety. While the patient might deny feeling anxious, check out for symptoms that might not be common.

If you notice anxiety in your patients, please ask them what you can do to help them relax. Some patients are open enough to talk about it, but if they don't, it might be time to execute some relaxation techniques. For example, you can ask them to breathe in and out. Meanwhile, take note of the critical signs to make sure that the patient isn't anxious. Also, giving the patient some space will help ease anxiety. 

 4. Make them Understand the "What" and "Why" 

 5. Listen to Your Patients 

Good listening skill is critical to all healthcare professionals who handle patients every day. When you take your time to listen to every patient, they feel respected and more relieved that they will get better care from you. While it's true that you have a busy schedule throughout the day; attending to other patients, listen to all patients.

Most patients will feel confident if you can listen to their concerns and address those concerns. Even though most people will come into your patient's room to check on them, make it a habit of asking them how they are fairing on if they have any issues they want to be addressed, and so on. This will help minimize the anxiety that comes with being in the hospital. 

 6. Be Empathetic 

Understand your assumptions and biases and put yourself in the patient's shoes. Different people will react to different situations, and so you shouldn't conclude that someone else will behave the same way. Make your patients understand that many others have passed through the same situation and that they will be fine.

Your patients have every reason to feel anxious because being in the hospital is something nobody would ever like. However, learning how you can manage anxiety in your patients is a skill that you will have throughout your entire life. Be empathetic to your patients and share with them the anxiety so that they can feel a little bit secure.

 7. Make Comforting a Top Priority 

One of the reasons why most patients don't feel comfortable going to the hospital is because they anticipate that they will feel pain. It doesn't matter how sick they are - what they worry about is the injections or operations that they may undergo. That is why you need to reassure your patients that they will feel less pain if you apply a topical anesthetic.

When it comes to managing anxiety in different patients, there are a lot of factors that will come into play. From the patient's age, the experience they once had when they visited the hospital, to their personality, or their reason for visiting the hospital will all factor in. Once you have a good understanding of the above factors, you can comfort your patients by reassuring them that all will be well.

Master of Science in Healthcare Administration 

Managing anxiety in patients is still a significant concern in many health facilities. It needs health professionals with top-notch anxiety managing skills, such as empathy, being tolerant, good listening skills, and most importantly, someone with vast knowledge and experience in healthcare.

American Vision University Master of science in Healthcare Administration can help you acquire the required knowledge to help better manage the anxiety in your patients even better. It gives you an upper hand to understand different psychological situations that would help you come up with better ways to manage anxiety in patients.