[Dyspnoea and Anxiety]

Any acute state of dyspnoea will lead to feelings of insecurity and anxiety. In this context the paper elucidates the conceptual horizon of anxiety, stretching from its status as «normal», essential element of conditio humana, to representing a symptom of another (somatic or mental) illness and to constituting a psychiatric disorder of its own. In any case of acute dyspnoea it is important to «normalize» the patient's anxiety, i.e. to contextualize it as a comprehensible reaction to the stressing experience and not as proof of personal weakness. If dyspnoea and anxiety occur in a patient with a preexisting psychiatric disorder, defining the appropriate therapeutic steps will be more complex and demanding, especially with regard to a targeted interdisciplinary cooperation (consultation liaison psychiatry). The paper highlights the principles of psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutical interventions, a stable therapeutical relationship always defining the center of any treatment procedure.