Psychiatric Diagnosis Case Study

 

 

 

Psychiatric Diagnosis

 

 

Wayne Natoya

Psychopathology PSY645:

Hausch-Gwaltney Stefanie Dr. Instructor:

Campus Global Arizona of University

Dec 07, 2021

 

Introduction

A seventeen-year-old girl named Julia has a problem that requires psychiatric diagnosis and

intervention. She is a college student who participates in sporting events. She started dieting to

lose the extra weight and acquire the ideal body weight she needed to participate optimally in

athletics. However, she was determined to lose weight, which affected her mentally, physically,

and socially. The drastic measures she took was constantly worrying about her weight and

developed unhealthy eating habits. She barely ate any food and was still worried that she was too

fat when she was too thin. These symptoms lead to a suspicion that the patient, Julia could have

anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is a condition often classified as an eating disorder. It is characterized by

individuals having misperceptions about their body weight. Usually, their body weight is too low

for their body sizes, but they manifest fear of gaining any additional mass. They put too much

emphasis on the determination to reduce their weight that it disrupts their normative, day-to-day

function (Brockmeyer et al., 2018). The condition is often prevalent in females as teenagers or

young adult women. According to statistical evidence, 75% of those who grapple with the

disease are female (Wonderlich et al., 2020). It is harmful because it precipitates nutritional

deficiencies and other grave complications in the victims, such as dry skin, low blood pressure,

and increased risk of fractures due to brittle bones. Psychological Concepts in the Patient’s Presentation

The symptoms that Julia, the patient under study, presents with and her history can be

analyzed using psychological concepts. These symptoms included being overly concerned about

how much she weighs. Subsequently, Julia is always anxious about what she eats because of the

fear that it might increase her weight. Further, she isolates herself from other individuals, quickly

 

 

becomes irritated, and dissects foods into small portions. Her history indicates that she was often

ridiculed for having excessive weight when she was young. Her coach college also criticized her

significantly when she gained weight when joining the institutions and could not perform well in

athletics. Based on the patient’s presentation and her history, several psychological concepts can

explain her behavior and the symptoms that she presented with. Behavioral Concept Julia’s clinical manifestations and mannerisms can be explained using the behavioral theory.

According to the concept, individuals’ surroundings impact their behaviors significantly.

Therefore, the behavioral traits that the patient presented with can be attributed to the aspects

present in her surroundings (Jagielska & Kacperska, 2017). For example, when Julia joined

college, her coach criticized her eating habits and weight. Subsequently, she was out of shape

compared to her teammates.