Sleep/wake Disorders
Case Number 7
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Case Number 7. The case of physician do not heal thyself
Questions
1. Have you recently engaged in risky behaviors such as binge eating, unsafe sex, gambling, drug and substance abuse, or risky driving?
1. How would you describe your relationships with people such as your spouse, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and strangers while considering aspects of anger, irritability, and violence?
1. Do you have a recurring problem of variant moods that result to interpersonal stress, feeling of emptiness, and other challenges that are stress-related and they push you towards suicidal thoughts?
People to speak to
It is crucial to identify the right people to provide essential details for the assessment of the patient. Some of the most important people include the spouses, siblings, family friends, personal friends, and neighbors. Furthermore, the patient’s colleagues can provide important information regarding the behaviors of the patient and help in identifying issues that the patient could be hiding. Speaking to the people to whom the patient exercises authority is important in attaining the true image of the person.
Physical exam and diagnostic test
The disorder is mental, but it can be assessed through physical exams that indicate how the brain is working in relation to actions ( Stahl 2013). Fixing a puzzle would be an effective way of testing the patient and how stable they can be. The other approach is engaging the patient in a physical exercise and observing their participation. Physical exams provide a diagnostic insight to test how the patient relates with others.
Diagnoses
Personality Disorder
Mood Disorder
Depression with psychotic features
Pharmacological agents
Application of antidepressants
Use of antipsychotics
Administering mood-stabilizing drugs
Contradictions or Alterations
It is a complex situation to treat a complex and long-term unstable disorder of mood because the patients experience different emotions even during therapy (Yasuda & Huang 2008). It becomes difficult to separate mood disorder from personality disorder especially for difficult patient like in this case. Furthermore, there are no specific drugs that can be used for treatment without additional therapy since this patient is able to adjust or play with their own treatment as a physician. The mental condition observed in the patient requires a careful approach due to the delicate situations involving suicidal thoughts and aggression.
Lessons Learned
In the case study “The case of physician do not heal thyself,” the lessons include the importance of conducting a complete assessment of the patient and including other people who interact with the patient. It would be more effective to treat such conditions if the patients had stable emotions, but strategic approaches can help to streamline the treatment process ( Stahl 2014b).
References
Stahl, S. M. (2013). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (4th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Stahl, S. M. (2014b). The prescriber’s guide (5th ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.