Case Study: A Female Presenting the Symptoms of Schizophrenia. (Case Study Sample)

Case Study: A Female Presenting the Symptoms of Schizophrenia.Name:Course:Department:Instructor:Due Date: Case Study: A Female Presenting the Symptoms of Schizophrenia. Student ID: Case Study Number: 3. Patient Name: Ms. Melanie Cuttall NHS Number: 68425934 Case Summary: The case is about a 32-year-old female who resides in East Sussex, but her motherland is Scotland. She is a human resources assistant. She reported that her ex-boyfriend sexually abused her, which led to some physical injuries. The accused, however, denied the accusations, necessitating Melanie to provide evidence in court. She was reluctant to talk about the incident and requested that the details be obtained from her medical records. Moreover, she was unwilling to talk about it with anyone, not even her closest friend, who hosted the party where the sexual assault took place. Nevertheless, a week later, she discussed it with a co-worker friend after they found her crying. Melanie has been coping with the sexual assault by working overtime and concentrating on her work. She isolates herself from social gatherings. Melanie is very tearful, and small things trigger her. She constantly feels flustered, hot, and restless. She is naturally nervous, and her co-workers call her "stressy Nessy." She cannot get adequate sleep due to her constant, weekly nightmares. She experiences hallucinations and thoughts of seeing her attacker, which trigger panic and passing out thoughts. She is hopeless and feels she should end the case instead of testifying. She was previously involved in a car accident. The accident caused the death of a passenger and her mobility issues that necessitated surgery and the use of a walking cane. The area of concern is her mental health. Diagnosis: The diagnosis, in this case, is schizophrenia, which could be particularly paranoid schizophrenia. Schizophrenia disorder is characterized by remarkable behavioural alterations and impairments in reality testing (ICD-11-Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, 2022). Symptoms like persistent hallucinations, delusions, disorganized behaviour, negative symptoms like lack of motivation, psychomotor disturbances, sloppy thinking, and experiences of control and passivity manifest the condition. The symptoms occur with adequate intensity and frequency and deviate from cultural or subcultural norms. Paranoid schizophrenia is manifested by paranoid delusions and hallucinations, especially of the perceptual and auditory variety (ICD-10 Version: 2019, 2019). Severe symptoms of the onset include social withdrawal, neglect of personal hygiene, anxiety, and a lack of motivation. As the disorder progresses, a patient experiences decreased pleasure or enjoyment, reduced emotional expression, and limited speaking (Cleveland Clinic, 2022). In Melanie's case, she experiences delusions and hallucinations where she perceives or sees her attacker, which leads to panic feelings. She also has disorganized thinking since she thinks that she sees her ex-boyfriend on her way to work. Moreover, Melanie has negative symptoms where she lacks hope and feels that she should end the case instead of testifying in court. Melanie is also experiencing social withdrawal symptoms since she has not attended any social gatherings and is reluctant to talk about the incident. She also has anxiety symptoms since she cannot relax and is frequently nervous. Therefore, Melanie has schizophrenia. Precipitating factors (i.e. triggers, causal mechanisms, risk factors and maintenance cycles): Based on the bio-psychosocial model, precipitating factors for schizophrenia could be biological, social, and psychological factors. Biological factors contributing to schizophrenia include brain damage, genetics, hormones, drugs, toxins, diet, and brain chemistry, among others. Social factors associated with schizophrenia include traumas, stresses, culture, relationships, and discrimination. Psychological factors related to schizophrenia, on the other hand, include aspects like beliefs, coping skills, behaviour, cognitive biases, and emotions, among others (Delphis, 2019). These forces in the bio-psychosocial model have a cumulative effect that causes a person to develop a mental disorder like schizophrenia. The triggers associated with schizophrenia are the events that cause people to develop the condition. Stressful life events that could be associated with psychological, biological, or social perspectives are the significant triggers of schizophrenia. They include bereavement, sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, divorce, loss of a job or home, or the end of a relationship (NHS, 2019). The risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing schizophrenia include biological factors like gender, age, and genetics; social factors like a person's environment; and psychological factors like a person's behaviours and coping skills. Schizophrenia starts at different ages based on the gender of the patient. The men at risk of developing the disorder are between 15 and 25 years old, while the women are between 25 and 35 years old. Genetics, where there is a family history of schizophrenia, is also a risk factor. An individual's environment, including exposure to too much stress and drug abuse, exposes them to the disorder. (Cleveland Clinic, 2022). There are specific causal mechanisms related to schizophrenia in people with triggers and risk factors. According to studies, individuals with schizophrenia have profound differences in their brain structure. The suggestion is that a brain disorder causes schizophrenia. In addition, neurotransmitters are part of the causal mechanisms of schizophrenia. A change in levels of serotonin and dopamine neurotransmitters could cause schizophrenia in people with triggers or those at risk of the disorder. Other causes of schizophrenia are birth and pregnancy complications, where there could be asphyxia or low oxygen during birth, premature labour, or low birth weight (NHS, 2019). The maintenance cycles are the factors that keep, prolong, or maintain the problem at hand (GetSelfHelp, 2022). These cycles are used in cognitive-behavioural therapy to modify a patient's behaviours and thoughts. In order to positively progress in reducing mental issues, a person ought to consider what they should avoid doing to minimize the problem. They should also think about the things they can start, do more of, stop doing, or do less to have a better outcome. For instance, a person with schizophrenia can start a healthy diet and fitness program, manage stress, and get adequate sleep to manage their stress. In addition, they could stop or minimize a trigger that increases a particular symptom (HelpGuide, 2022). In Melanie's case, specific biological, social, and psychological forces contributed to her mental disorder. The biological factors of age and gender were significant in causing the disorder. As a 32-year-old female, she is within the age bracket of 25 and 35, a risk factor for women. Moreover, stressful life events also played a significant role in developing the disorder. Melanie's stressful life events are the experience of sexual assault committed by her ex-boyfriend and the physical injuries she suffered following the assault. Melanie also went through a terrible accident that left her with mobility issues and subjected her to surgery. She also experienced a traumatic event when she witnessed a passenger being killed during the accident. In addition, the fact that her colleagues referred to her as "stress Nessy" could trigger the disorder. Being separated from her family and motherland could also be a stressful social factor that caused Melanie to develop schizophrenia. All these forces in the bio-psychosocial model contributed to Melanie's schizophrenic mental disorder. Certain constructs could prolong Melanie's mental disorder. They include her social isolation, prolonged stress, and unwillingness to share her problems. Moreover, she prefers to focus on work and overtime instead of facing her issues. Melanie could adopt certain activities to reduce the maintenance cycles that could prolong her mental disorder. She should stop isolating herself from social gatherings since being involved with others could help manage the disorder. Since she is naturally nervous, she could join a support group, drama, music, or art therapy lesson to manage her symptoms. These would alleviate her nervousness and help her manage the stressors in her life. She could also use medications as prescribed by her doctor to maintain a healthy life and reduce the progression of schizophrenia. In addition, she could adopt new techniques like self-management, relaxation techniques, regular physical activities, and a healthy diet (HelpGuide, 2022). Moreover, she can keep concentrating on her job but avoid too much overtime work to create some free time to be involved in leisure activities. Consequently, she would be able to manage the symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Treatment Plan: Unfortunately, schizophrenia is not curable, but it is often treatable. There are only a tiny percentage of cases in which people can completely recover from schizophrenia. Nevertheless, this is not a cure since a person can have a relapse of the condition. Schizophrenia can be treated by combining different techniques, including medication, therapy, and self-management methods. Therapy can be used solely to treat and manage many mental health disorders effectively. However, medication is needed to treat and manage schizophrenia. Timely diagnosis and treatment are necessary to increase the effectiveness and chances of getting better results in treating and managing schizophrenia (Cleveland Clinic, 2022). Based on clinical research findings, schizophrenia can be treated using two main types of medications. First-generation antipsychotics, or typical antipsychotics, block how the brain uses dopamine n...