Diagnostic of Mental Disorders: The Case Study

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Table of Contents

Potential Causes of Armella’s Distressing Physical Symptoms
DSM-5 Diagnosis
Differential DSM-5 Diagnoses
References

Potential Causes of Armella’s Distressing Physical Symptoms

Armella noted that over the last month, she experienced distressing physical symptoms. The first potential cause of such symptoms can be the anxiety disorder that Armella experiences. Specifically, panic attacks, nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, agitation, sleep disturbances, and nightmares are part of a separation anxiety disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The second and third causes can be related to her comorbid conditions, including Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and blood pressure issues. The research has found that sleep disturbances and nocturnal awakenings are associated with T2D in adults (Zhu et al., 2018). Her blood pressure can be one of the causes of her memory loss and general cognitive decline (Hajjar et al., 2016). Thus, three potential causes for Armella’s distressing physical symptoms can be her anxiety disorder, T2D diagnosis, and blood pressure issues.

DSM-5 Diagnosis

Armella’s condition most likely approximates the separation anxiety disorder (SAD) of DSM-5. Manual highlights that individuals experiencing this type of anxiety disorder are fearful or anxious about separation from attachment figures to the extent that it is developmentally inappropriate (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Armella mentioned that she started constantly feeling “uneasy and nervous, restless, and on edge” since her partner died. These words indicate that she is suffering from SAD. She does not meet the criteria of anticipation of separation since she has already experienced loss. However, the manual highlights that such anxiety can form when the separation from attachment figure is anticipated or occurs (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Her physical condition also correlated with the physical symptoms of SAD emphasized in the manual – headaches, nausea, vomiting (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Hence, Armella’s DSM-5 diagnosis is SAD.

Differential DSM-5 Diagnoses

Armella’s condition can also be related to other DSM-5 diagnoses such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Manual mentions sleep disturbance, feeling on edge, restlessness, fatigue as some of the critical features of GAD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). PTSD can apply to her condition since she is experiencing disorder aftermath of a major stressful event, the death of her closest person. Nevertheless, the audience should differentiate PTSD from SAD since she is not avoiding thoughts about a traumatic event, but this event constantly concerns her ( (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Hence, although differential DSM-5 diagnoses can be comorbid, SAD seems to be the specific disorder Armella’s suffering.

References

American Psychiatric Publishing. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (Dsm-5®).

Hajjar, I., Goldstein, F. C., Martin, G. S., & Quyyumi, A. A. (2016). Roles of arterial stiffness and blood pressure in hypertension-associated cognitive decline in healthy adults. Hypertension, 67(1), 171–175.

Zhu, B., Quinn, L., Kapella, M. C., Bronas, U. G., Collins, E. G., Ruggiero, L., Park, C. G., & Fritschi, C. (2018). Relationship between sleep disturbance and self-care in adults with type 2 diabetes.Acta Diabetologica, 55(9), 963–970.

Click Here To Order Now!

Diagnostic of Mental Disorders: The Case Study

Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?

We have qualified writers to help you.

We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.

You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)