HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination

2

Case of Aera

Name

Course

Institution

Course instructor

Date

F41.1 Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

F40.10 Social Anxiety Disorder (Social phobia)

Z81.8 Family history of other mental and behavioural disorders

Briefly summarize your case, highlighting the diagnostic symptoms seen in the case.

Aera is a 27-year single Korean female who demonstrates several anxiety disorder symptoms. Although it is normal to feel anxious from time to time, excessive and persistent worry becomes challenging to control and interferes with our daily activities. Anxiety disorders may develop in both children and adults. As Aera demonstrates, there is evidence of feeling extreme and unfounded tension. In some instances, there is no trigger for the feelings. Aera worries about many things since she was a teenager, including difficulty concentrating in school and the inability to engage in relationships. Anxiety disorders may be caused by several factors, including hereditary and environmental factors. For the case of Aera, undergoing trauma during her childhood might have increased the risk of the illness. Symptoms of anxiety disorders identified in the case scenario are described as follows.

Persistent worry: an individual diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder worries about many things that may only be imaginary (DeMartini et al., 2019). For example, it is stated that Aera is always worried about something. This makes her heartbeat very fast, and she often has sweaty palms during the day. Additionally, Aera fears going to class since she might say something stupid.

Inability to concentrate: Aera has difficulty concentrating and staying focused. In essence, it has affected her ability to attend school. It is stated that Aera has to re-read her class material severally before she can grasp the concept. The feeling has made her contemplate leaving school.

Trouble sleeping: Aera shows a lack of sleep or difficulty sleeping for long. As reported, she sleeps for a few hours each night and has difficulty falling asleep when she wakes up in the middle of the night.

Describe your decision-making process for identifying the critical problems in the case and the differential eliminations for your case.

F90.9Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, unspecified type (ADHD): ADHD is characterized by the inability to concentrate, which affects an individual's daily routine (Septier et L., 2019). Although Aera shows some signs of ADHD, I decided to reject the diagnosis since Aera does not showcase explicit signs of hyperactivity, such as being in constant motion. There was no adequate evidence to showcase that Aera is impulsive in her behaviour.

G47.00 Insomnia: an individual diagnosed with insomnia has difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. It is also characterized by feelings of tiredness that affect an individual's health (Hertenstein et al., 2019). Although insomnia is one of the relatable differentials to the treatment of GAD, the lack of adequate evidence in the treatment of insomnia led to the rejection of the diagnosis.

Identify the diagnosis of the client in the case.

Aera can be described as having a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). From the identified symptoms, it is evident that Aera has difficulty sleeping and concentrating (DeMartini et al., 2019). Evidence from her childhood showcases that she has been through difficult situations that have led to the development of the stated disorder. One treatment approach I would utilize to diagnose Aera is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It is an effective approach for the long-term management of anxiety disorders since clients are likely to develop a tolerance for medication if used for long. The approach aids in pattern recognition and working to correct them.

References

Andersson, G., Rozental, A., Shafran, R., & Carlbring, P. (2018). Long-term effects of internet-supported cognitive behaviour therapy. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 18(1), 21-28 https://doi.org/10.1080/14737175.2018.1400381

DeMartini, J., Patel, G., & Fancher, T. L. (2019). Generalized anxiety disorder. Annals of internal medicine, 170(7), ITC49-ITC64 https://doi.org/10.7326/AITC201904020

Hertenstein, E., Feige, B., Gmeiner, T., Kienzler, C., Spiegelhalder, K., Johann, A.F., Jansson-Fröjmark, M., Palagini, L., Rücker, G., Riemann, D., & Baglioni, C. (2019). Insomnia as a predictor of mental disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep medicine reviews, 43, 96-105 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2018.10.006

Septier, M., Stordeur, C., Zhang, J., Delorme, R., & Cortese, S. (2019). Association between suicidal spectrum behaviours and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 103, 109-118 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.022