Question

Read each case below and determine what psychological disorder each patient might have. In your own words, state your reasons why. Type your answer directly below each case. This assignment requires Level 1 Writing guidelines.

Case: James had a very difficult time in Kindergarten. He could not perform simple functions such as cutting, drawing, and writing. His teacher said that he had trouble staying in his seat and paying attention. Instead, he often spent his 4 hours a day in class laying on the floor under the table or wandering aimlessly through the classroom touching everything. James was unable to stay on task no matter what he chose to do.

Case: Isabel is intelligent but failing her first period class in biology because she is constantly late to class. She wakes up at five o'clock with every intention of getting to school on time. Isabel spends three hours taking a long shower and then repeatedly changes her clothes until she "feels right." Finally, she packs and repacks her books until they too are just right. When she opens the front door and prepares to walk down the front steps, Isabel goes through a ritual of pausing on each step for a certain length of time. Even though she understands that her thoughts and behaviors are irrational, she still feels compelled to complete her rituals.

Case: Carla was the driver of a car that was involved in an accident. Her friend, who was in the car with her at the time, was killed. After that, Carla became very preoccupied with her health and thoughts of death. She reports that her health anxieties came in waves and describes one of the worst episodes. Shortly after college, Carla became convinced she had lupus and the idea totally consumed her. She says that all she could think about was dying, lupus, and being sick for the rest of her life. Though her doctors and friends and family tried to reassure her, Carla’s thoughts persisted.

Case: Michael appears to have it all—good job, lots of friends, nice house. People who know him well, however, aren’t always sure what to think of him. He might throw a big party one week, inviting everyone over for a lavish dinner, and then refuse invitations for the next month. While his job seems fulfilling and pays well, Michael often talks about finding a job at another company or even changing careers. Michael dates, but hasn’t had a steady girlfriend in many years. Instead, he tends to date one woman for a while, and then move on quickly.  

Answer 1

Case 1 (James): By going through the description of James' behavior, we observe that James is unable to pay attention to particular task for long time and also unable to stay at one place. James shows hyperactivity by wandering aimlessly and touching everything. Here, deficit in attention and increased in aimless activity noted. This behavior resembles individual who is affected by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), hence we can say James might have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Case 2 (Isabel): We can observe repetitive behavior as Isabel changes clothes and packs books repeatedly. Also, it should be noted Isabel is spending 3 hours on shower, which is very much above normal average duration. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder includes behavior pattern of having obsessive thoughts (like hygiene, health consciousness, fears) that result in compulsive behavior like repeatedly washing hands, spending long hours in shower, doing tasks repeatedly. We can say Isabel might have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as her behavior pattern resembles with individuals who are affected with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Case 3 (Carla): In this case, Carla involved in traumatic event and even witnessed loss of her friend in that traumatic event. Now, Carla is anxious about everything and gets thoughts of death. This kind of issue happens when an individual experiences life-threatening event and this may result in extended anxiety causing increase in fear and abnormally cautious behavior. This behavior pattern is consistent with characteristics of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) like having persistent thoughts about death, extreme anxiety, etc. By going through behaviors explained in case, we can say that Carla might have Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as individual affected by Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) demonstrate behavioral pattern similar to Carla's behavior.

Case 4 (Michael): In this case, we observe that Michael's behavior resembles the behavior pattern of individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Individuals with borderline personality disorder have difficulty with regulating emotions, maintain consistency in behavior, mood swings, unstable personal relationships, etc. We can observe Michael keeps on having mood swings, changes partners, also talks about changing career, hence we can conclude Michael might have Borderline Personality Disorder.