Schizophrenia Case Study Essay
The thoughts, feelings and actions of an individual constitute his/her personality. As a person grows physically, they go from wanting to satisfy their desires to making conscious, realistic decisions, and finally to developing conscience based on the values of society and culture. Freud proposed that these three stages make up the personality of an individual. Maintaining a reasonable balance among all three components is important for developing good mental health. The study of psychological disorders has shown that they do not just happen out of the blue. They are usually caused by certain experiences in our childhood, which result in a conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind. Such is the case of Jessica in case study 1,
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While away from work, she either stays in bed all day or watches TV. Her difficulty in concentrating at work has caused a decline in her performance, making her feel worthless. In addition to that, she is fatigued, lacks interest in sex for several weeks. These changes in Jessica’s behavior can be associated with major depressive disorder. While some of her symptoms can be associated with other mental disorders, her diagnosis was based on certain specifics as described in the diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 or (DSM -5). The DSM-5 classifies a disorder as depression based on the presence of at least five symptoms, two of which must be depressed mood and lack of interest in activities that the person would normally partake in. Also, these symptoms must not be due to the direct effects of drugs or another medical condition, should result in significant impairments in self and interpersonal functioning and must be experienced for two or more weeks. As described in the case study, Jessica’s symptoms, which are not caused by drugs or other illnesses have tremendous effects on her work as well as her relationship with her husband and have lingered on for weeks. Her depressed mood (withdrawal and feeling of worthlessness) and lack of interest in sex coupled with symptoms such as fatigue, difficulty in concentrating at work, sleeping during the day, and difficulties falling asleep at night for weeks make it certain that she is suffering from major
While away from work, she either stays in bed all day or watches TV. Her difficulty in concentrating at work has caused a decline in her performance, making her feel worthless. In addition to that, she is fatigued, lacks interest in sex for several weeks. These changes in Jessica’s behavior can be associated with major depressive disorder. While some of her symptoms can be associated with other mental disorders, her diagnosis was based on certain specifics as described in the diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 or (DSM -5). The DSM-5 classifies a disorder as depression based on the presence of at least five symptoms, two of which must be depressed mood and lack of interest in activities that the person would normally partake in. Also, these symptoms must not be due to the direct effects of drugs or another medical condition, should result in significant impairments in self and interpersonal functioning and must be experienced for two or more weeks. As described in the case study, Jessica’s symptoms, which are not caused by drugs or other illnesses have tremendous effects on her work as well as her relationship with her husband and have lingered on for weeks. Her depressed mood (withdrawal and feeling of worthlessness) and lack of interest in sex coupled with symptoms such as fatigue, difficulty in concentrating at work, sleeping during the day, and difficulties falling asleep at night for weeks make it certain that she is suffering from major