Possible Clues:

• In a group of
• In the midst of uneasiness, gulping a short time
• Surrounded by stress, including short time
• In the company of, in Cornwall
• In company of doctor, beset by great worry
• Great worry about very short time surrounded by ...
• In the midst of anxiety, a case for doctor
• Surrounded by dreadful feeling about how one operates
• Famous novel by John McGahern: '... Women'