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Running Head: DIAGNOSIS JUSTIFICATION DRAFT 1

DIAGNOSIS JUSTIFICATION DRAFT 5

Diagnosis Justification Draft

Stephanie Badio

Southern New Hampshire

Justification of major depressive disorder

The overall descriptor of the diagnosis

The major depressive disorder may be described as a mood disorder that causes sadness and victims may lose interest in many activities. The disorder affects how people think and behave and is associated with several physical and emotional challenges. Victims of the disorder may see life as meaningless and may go to the extent of attempting to take their own lives. The diagnosis of the disorder involves a systematic physical and blood examination (Misaki et al., 2016). Doctors should keep track of the patient's medical history, as medical events such as accidents may contribute to such a disorder. It also requires a long-term treatment for one to recover completely.

The criteria that must be met for the diagnosis

According to DSM 5 criteria, a patient must display at least two or more of the following symptoms; insomnia, appears to be depressed most of the time, the rapid loss of weight, diminished interest I most activities, frequent fatigue, a lot of guilt and feeling worthless, indecisiveness, poor concentration, and attempting suicide. A person experiencing these symptoms may have impaired social and occupational functioning (Park et al., 2017). The symptoms may lead to a diagnosis of major depressive disorder if they are not attributed to any other condition or abuse of drugs and substances.

Client behaviors that are used to meet the diagnosis criteria

Sarah, the client presented in the case study displays some behavior that may be used to meet the criteria for diagnosing the major depressive disorder. Sarah experiences restless nights and on several occasions, she has had nightmares reminding her of the phone call about the death of her fiancée. She is withdrawn and has lost interest in many activities she used to love. Sarah's father reveals that the client has been emotionally detached, and no longer goes out with family and friends. She has lost appetite and has noted a drastic loss of weight too.

Cultural limitations that are known about the identified diagnosis

Different cultures have different perceptions about mental health and in such a diagnosis, the treatment may be limited by cultural perspectives. One of these limitations is that the stigma associated with poor mental health may make some patients fear to seek medical attention. In some cultures, depression is not regarded as a disease, and those suffering from depression do not consider medication as a way of treating the disease. In countries like China, they deny that emotional depression exists. These cultural perceptions hinder the successful treatment of depression through counselling and medical treatment processes.

Developmental patterns of the client

Sarah has an unpredictable pattern because she seems to display different symptoms at different phases of the disorder. Immediately the fiancée was involved in an accident, she stared hang restless nights that were accompanied by nightmares. The anxiety rolled out to her work and she was forced to quit the job because she could not concentrate anymore. Later, she became withdrawn and lost interest in what she loved most, as revealed by her father. She later lost appetite, and the last observable symptom is that she has lost a lot of weight.

Observable behaviors of the client

Sarah also displays some behaviors that can be observed. One of them is the restless nights that were full of nightmares. Also, the workplace became unbearable and she returned home earlier than usual. It is also observable that she is no longer that fun-loving and outgoing girl as she spends most of the time alone. She does not work out as she used to, because she seems to have lost interest in managing her body.

Other diagnoses that should be ruled out

When diagnosing a patient with major depressive disorder. Doctors may have to rule out suspected diseases that may have similar or related signs and symptoms. One of the disorders is seasonal depression which may have similar symptoms as major depression. However, contrary to major depression, patients who have seasonal depression usually gain weight instead of losing. Another disorder that should be ruled out is bipolar or manic depression which may also have related symptoms. The slight difference between maniac and major depression is that bipolar victims have too much confidence and self-esteem. They may also have too much energy which does not happen with patients suffering from a major depressive disorder. The last disease that needs to be ruled out is situational depression, whose only difference from major depression is that victims of situational depression often experience body pains and patients may cry often.

Limitations of this diagnosis

Using DSM to diagnose mental health is limited for various reasons. The first limitation is the possibility of over-diagnosing or misdiagnosing a patient. Based on the DSM criteria, a client may be diagnosed with a mental disorder simply because one's actions and behaviors do not match with what the society considers to be ideal. The process may also lead to stigmatization because therapists may label patients if they do not work carefully and professionally (Ogasawara et al., 2018). Other critics also argue that the DSM criteria are oversimplified, and people may lose the human touch or element in the diagnosis process. It is advisable hat therapists should be professional to enhance the accuracy of the diagnosis

References

Misaki, M., Suzuki, H., Savitz, J., Drevets, W. C., & Bodurka, J. (2016). Individual variations in nucleus accumbens responses associated with major depressive disorder symptoms. Scientific reports, 6, 21227.

Ogasawara, K., Nakamura, Y., Kimura, H., Aleksic, B., & Ozaki, N. (2018). Issues on the diagnosis and etiopathogenesis of mood disorders: reconsidering DSM-5. Journal of Neural Transmission, 125(2), 211-222.

Park, S. C., Kim, J. M., Jun, T. Y., Lee, M. S., Kim, J. B., Yim, H. W., & Park, Y. C. (2017). How many different symptom combinations fulfill the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder? Results from the CRESCENT study. Nordic journal of psychiatry, 71(3), 217-222.