Jayne had seen her GP on and off for 3-4 years complaining of numbness and tingling in her whole body, chest pain, chills and hot flushes, nausea, dizziness and a fear of dying.
She believed that she had a terminal illness that was not being diagnosed by the GP. She had had various physical tests and investigations which all proved non-conclusive. She had been prescribed beta blockers and anxiolytics by her GP before referral to mental health services.
She was assessed in primary care. This revealed a pattern of panic and anxiety which appeared to stem from early life experiences including: her grandmother dying and a time when she almost drowned in a local swimming pool. The therapist began with psycho-education, understanding and normalising anxiety. This was followed by a programme of graded exposure and re-socialisation. She was then referred to The Decider Skills Group.