Metronidazole-associated mood changes: A case report.

Physicians and nurses working in intensive care units (ICUs) are routinely exposed to highly stressful clinical environments characterized by rapid patient deterioration, complex decision‐making, high mortality rates, and continuous exposure to traumatic events. Such conditions place ICU staff among the most psychologically vulnerable groups within the healthcare system. Recent evidence indicates that the prevalence of anxiety among ICU personnel is considerably high, with studies reporting rates ranging from 41% to 70% depending on workload, staffing shortages, and exposure to critical incidents [, ]. Anxiety in this population is strongly associated with impaired clinical performance, increased medical errors, burnout, and reduced quality of patient care [, ] Given the substantial psychological burden experienced by ICU personnel, identifying effective, nonpharmacological interventions to reduce anxiety has become a priority in occupational mental health research. One promising approach is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a structured psychotherapy developed by Shapiro and grounded in the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model. According to the AIP framework, unprocessed distressing memories remain stored in a maladaptive form, contributing to emotional dysregulation and anxiety. EMDR facilitates the reprocessing of distressing memories through bilateral stimulation—typically eye movements—leading to reduced emotional reactivity and the integration of more adaptive cognitions [, ] EMDR has demonstrated efficacy across a wide range of psychological conditions, including post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [], stress and anxiety in emergency medical technicians [], anxiety in myocardial infarction patients [, ], suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder [], and pandemic‐related PTSD in frontline healthcare workers []. These findings suggest that EMDR may be particularly suitable for healthcare professionals who are repeatedly exposed to emotionally challenging clinical situations.