Marcus is a 25 year-old male referred to your clinic by his cardiologist. In the past 3 months, Mark has visited urgent care 4 times for what he thought be a heart attack. During these periods he experienced shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, and tingling in his hands and feet. These symptoms caused him to fear that he was dying, prompting him to have his friend drive him to the hospital. Each time the symptoms seemed to “come out of nowhere,” becoming increasingly more intense, peaking in a matter of minutes. These experiences left him feeling physically exhausted, scared, and certain that he narrowly “dodged a bullet.” During his emergency visits to urgent care Marcus received a thorough physical examination and blood work that yielded nothing unusual; the staff suggested he schedule an appointment with a cardiologist. The cardiologist discovered nothing physically amiss with Marcus, suggesting he seek a psychiatric evaluation.
Marcus has recently graduated with a degree in software engineering from the University of Nebraska. While attending college, he lived in the dorms for his first 3 years, but lived…show more content… He had moved in with his parents intending to stay only a couple of months until he found a job, but job hunting proved more difficult than he anticipated. After 8 months, Marcus accepted an entry level position with a company close to his parents’ home. Feeling comfortable with his living situation, and enjoying the convenience of living with his parents, he decided to stay indefinitely. He has lived with his parents for 2 years, however, currently he has started dating a woman at work, who is encouraging him to find a place of his own. Marcus states that he is happy “where he is”, that he has “plenty of privacy”, and that it is “easy to save money”. He worries that his living situation may jeopardize his relationship with his girlfriend and he doesn’t “want to lose