During the initial interview at the crisis center, a patient says, "I’ve been served with divorce papers. I’m so upset and anxious that I can't think clearly." What could the nurse say to assess personal coping skills?

Choice A reason: Offering reassurance does not assess coping skills. Divorce triggers amygdala-driven stress responses and cortisol release, but this response fails to explore the patient’s prior adaptive strategies, missing the chance to evaluate prefrontal cortex-mediated coping mechanisms. Choice B reason: Asking about past coping strategies assesses the patient’s ability to manage stress, reflecting prefrontal cortex and serotonin-mediated resilience. This explores adaptive behaviors, identifying strengths or deficits in handling amygdala-driven anxiety, making it the most effective question for assessment. Choice C reason: Asking what the patient wants focuses on immediate needs, not past coping skills. Stress from divorce involves HPA axis activation, but this question does not evaluate historical coping mechanisms, limiting insight into the patient’s neural adaptive capacity. Choice D reason: Suggesting deservedness is judgmental and non-therapeutic, potentially increasing amygdala-driven guilt. It does not assess coping skills or explore prefrontal cortex-mediated strategies for handling stress, making it irrelevant to understanding the patient’s coping abilities.