Prof: James Moskalewicz
Kaplan University
Aug. 12, 2014
By: Heather Leigh Bradley
Case Study 2 Sylvia is 28 years old, stay-at-home mother raising two small children with her husband, who travels frequently for his work. Sylvia finds herself feeling bored and isolated a lot of the time. She finds herself overeating and then feeling bad about her weight gain. She has trouble sleeping at night and takes frequent naps during the day. She has persistent thoughts that she is an unlikable person and cannot manage to do anything right. She feels guilty that she is not a good enough mother to her children. When her husband is home, she questions if he loves her and secretly wonders if he does not. She feels hopeless that her life will get better and no longer enjoys doing things that she once did. It appears that Sylvia is struggling with Major Depression. In regard to case study 2, Sylvia’s husband is traveling a lot and not home very much. She is raising two children and doesn’t work. Sylvia questions if her husband still loves her and she feels hopeless, and no longer enjoys things she once did. Sylvia finds herself over eating and feeling bad about her weight. In addressing these issue Sylva is having, I’d like to address Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory. The need to belong, having social bonds with family, friends, co-workers, our spouse creates a sense of happiness and joy in people. Humans are social beings by nature and when something good is happening in their lives and they share it with others, it makes them even feel better about the good news. People spend a great deal of time thinking about relationships, the joy and happiness these relationships bring them. When our need for social bonding is satisfied in balance with two other basic psychological needs, autonomy (a sense of personal control) and competence, we experience a deep sense of well being, and our self-esteem
References: 1. Grohol, J. (2006). Depression Treatment. Psych Central. Retrieved on August 12, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/depression-treatment/000646 2. Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology with Updates on DSM-5, 9th Edition. Worth Publishers, 06/2014. VitalBook file. 3. Psych Central. (2013). Major Depressive Episode Symptoms. Psych Central. Retrieved on August 11, 2014, from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/major-depressive-episode-symptoms/