Read the text and answer the following questions
A person Y constantly complains of experiencing sudden intense fears. He says that many a times, these fears get at such a peak that he feels like he is going crazy, has shortness of breath, feels losing control or dying. Other clinical features reported are dizziness, trembling, palpitation, chest pain, choking and nausea. He was assured that he would recover, but he was unable to accept it, which caused more trouble for him. His family and friends got very concerned as his overall functioning in all the spheres of his life are being severely affected. While taking case history of person Y, it was found that his younger brother has difficulty being in a room by himself, going to school alone and clings to and shadows his parent’s every move.
Identify the disorder in the younger brother of person Y on the basis of reported symptoms:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Separation anxiety disorder
Option (1) Panic disorder — Incorrect. It consists of recurrent anxiety attacks of intense terror, with shortness of breath, palpitations, choking and a fear of going crazy or dying. That is Y’s own problem, not his brother’s.
Option (2) Specific phobia — Incorrect. It is an irrational fear of a certain object or situation, such as a type of animal or an enclosed space. The brother’s fear is about being away from his parents, not about an object.
Option (3) Generalised anxiety disorder — Incorrect. It consists of prolonged, vague fears not attached to any particular object, with worry about the future, hypervigilance and motor tension. The brother’s fear has a clear focus, his parents.
Option (4) Separation anxiety disorder — Correct. Individuals with SAD are fearful and anxious about separation from attachment figures to an extent that is not right for their age. The case history describes the younger brother in the very words used for children with SAD: difficulty being in a room by himself, going to school alone, and clinging to and shadowing his parents’ every move.
Note: The case of Y is put together from NCERT’s lines on anxiety disorders. Y’s symptoms are the book’s list of the clinical features of panic disorder, and his younger brother’s behaviour is its description of children with separation anxiety disorder. A symptom list in the disorders chapter is never just a list for NTA; it comes back as a person in a case study.
NCERT (2025-26): “Anxiety Disorders … Another type of anxiety disorder is panic disorder, which consists of recurrent anxiety attacks in which the person experiences intense terror. A panic attack denotes an abrupt surge of intense anxiety rising to a peak when thoughts of a particular stimuli are present. Such thoughts occur in an unpredictable manner. The clinical features include shortness of breath, dizziness, trembling, palpitations, choking, nausea, chest pain or discomfort, fear of going crazy, losing control or dying.…” “Anxiety Disorders … Separation anxiety disorder (SAD) is another type of anxiety disorder. Individuals with separation anxiety disorder are fearful and anxious about separation from attachment figures to an extent that is developmentally not appropriate. Children with SAD may have difficulty being in a room by themselves, … going to school alone, are fearful of entering new situations, and cling to and shadow their parents’ every move.…” |