Abnormal Psychology- Diagnostic Paper

Abnormal Psychology- Diagnostic Paper

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Abnormal Psychology- Diagnostic Paper

The primary role of the film Horse Girl, Sarah, has been identified as having paranoid schizophrenia. Sarah’s primary occupation was working as a saleslady at a craft store. She had a family history of mental illnesses, with her mother and grandmother diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. Her mother committed suicide after being diagnosed with depression. In the film, Sarah is introverted and has very few friends. However, things change after her birthday. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria have been used in this paper alongside examples used to diagnose Sarah of the disorder. The report also includes a journal that has a possible treatment for Sarah. Since the journal with the treatment options is recent, it will have better treatment solutions that could have helped care for Sarah.

Diagnostic Criteria According to DSM-5 about the Movie

Schizophrenia can significantly negatively influence a person’s physical and mental health. This is because it obstructs your subconscious natural processes, making it difficult for you to think, reason, and effectively use your senses, amongst many other factors. Schizophrenia often destroys interpersonal, professional, and personal relationships (Davidson, 2019). Furthermore, it may be challenging for an individual to order his or her thoughts, and they might take actions that raise their risk of getting into fatalities or contracting severe illnesses. Schizophrenia occurs in three stages. The first stage, known as the onset, involves some changes, which include withdrawal, anxiety, lack of motivation, and poor hygiene. The next stage is the active stage, where the changes take full effect. The main visible signs include delusions, hallucinations, unusual movement, and incoherent speech. People need to be portraying at least two signs to consider the diagnosis. The last stage is residual, where a person has signs and symptoms that do not appear severe (Viher et al., 2016). At some point, the person may seem healed entirely. However, after some time, the person returns to the active stage.

Schizophrenia cannot be spread from one person to another. According to DSM-5, for a diagnosis to be made, the person being diagnosed should meet several requirements. One of the requirements is two of the five main symptoms (Davidson, 2019). The symptoms need to have lasted for one month, and their effects need to be evident after six months. The condition should have also affected their professional and social lives. The diagnosis requires several tests. One of the tests includes imaging tests of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computerized Tomography (CT) scans. These tests rule out brain tumors, stroke, and brain injuries (Viher et al., 2016). Blood and urine sample tests are done to see if the changes are explanatory hence ruling out infections or poisoning. The mind’s electrical activity can be found and recorded using an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Instances where Sarah Portrayed Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenia

There are several incidences where Sarah portrayed the disorder. The first instance is when her roommate’s boyfriend, Brian, finds her in the kitchen, standing very still. Brian was also the first to point out that Sarah sleepwalks (Baena, 2020, 00:21:42). Another time is during her birthday, her roommate, Nikki, invited her boyfriend and his roommate. The four spent the night drinking and smoking until Sarah started nose bleeding. That night she started a relationship with Darren. She later dreamt about being in white surroundings lying next to a man and a woman (Baena, 2020, 00:24:16). She was, however, not aware of her surroundings. This dream takes place many times in the film. Every time she had a dream, she would wake up in a place she could not recognize.

In one instance, Nikki found Sarah sleeping on many pillows on the living room floor with scratches on the wall. Sarah also saw the man from her dream immediately after experiencing another nosebleed at work. She once lost her car, only to find it later at a tow station. The state in which she found the car suggested she was the one who had left it but could not remember where and when (Baena, 2020, 00:37:05). She also found herself on a sidewalk after sleepwalking but can not explain the time lapse that took place. All these occurrences convince Sarah that aliens are abducting her because she is her grandmother’s clone. Her friend at work advises her to visit the family doctor due to her known history of mental illness.

Later in the movie, Sarah tries to convince her boyfriend to dig up her mother’s grave so that she can take her DNA and find out she is her grandmother’s clone. Darren gets confused and does not agree to the plan making Sarah accuse him of plotting against her (Baena, 2020, 01:05:35). Sarah is admitted to a psychiatric hospital after stripping naked at work. She continues to sleepwalk at the hospital while having dreams about aliens. She meets the woman in her dream in the hospital. Sarah is later discharged from the psychiatric hospital, considering that her social worker could notice no improvement.

Schizophrenia Treatment and Management: Article Summary

Although schizophrenia cannot be cured, it is frequently treatable. Sometimes people with schizophrenia are capable of completely recovering from it. This does not constitute a solution because it is impossible to anticipate who will encounter a recurrence of this condition and who will not. Medical practitioners, therefore, presume that those who recuperate from this ailment are in remission (Davidson, 2019). Schizophrenia is frequently treated using a combination of medications, therapy, and unconscious techniques. Although therapy can successfully cure most mental health issues, medications are often required to manage schizophrenia. Early identification and action are essential because they raise the chances of a good outcome. Two classes of medications are used to treat schizophrenia: standard antipsychotics and atypical antipsychotics (Davidson, 2019). Typical antipsychotics, also known as 1st generation antipsychotics, restrict dopamine, a neurotransmitter the brain processes for cell-to-cell interaction. Drugs known as atypical antipsychotics work in different ways from antipsychotics of the first generation. As 2nd generation antipsychotics, they are indeed recognized. Both dopamine and serotonin, which are crucial for transmission, are inhibited by these.

A doctor may also recommend other drugs to address symptoms that develop concurrently with or as a result of schizophrenia symptoms. Additionally, they may recommend drugs to aid with antipsychotic side effects, including tremors (Davidson, 2019). The medical care practitioner is the ideal person to discuss potential prescription drugs with. They can provide more detailed information about a particular issue, such as individual opinions, living conditions, and past health records. One psychotherapy method that can help people with schizophrenia manage and sustain their disease is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (Davidson, 2019). Lengthy therapy may be beneficial for schizophrenia treatment and linked issues like substance misuse, depression, and anxiety. If particular medications are tried, a person’s schizophrenia does not improve, and they are at risk of harming themselves or others, medical practitioners may recommend getting Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). When medication alone takes too long to act, this procedure can deliver immediate relief.

Application of the Treatment in the Article

Different people in the movie acknowledged that Sarah had a mental illness. Her family history of mental illness also demonstrates that Sarah had a mental illness. From the article, early diagnosis is likely to have better results than when the patient is diagnosed late (Davidson, 2019). Due to Sarah’s family history, she should have taken tests to determine if she was at risk of carrying a mental illness gene. It is most likely for the gene to be passed on. For example, in the film, Sarah’s grandmother had paranoid schizophrenia. Her signs and symptoms were noticed in Sarah by other people and even by Sarah herself. The people did not have a broad knowledge of what happened to Sarah or her grandmother. They said that they were crazy.

As much as Sarah had signs and symptoms of schizophrenia, no tests were done on her. She was once admitted to the psychiatric hospital for stripping at work. This is because everyone assumed she was crazy. The necessary tests would have confirmed a positive schizophrenia diagnosis, and the doctors would have taken her to a medical facility which would have provided better help for Sarah. The social worker was no help to Sarah since he just spoke to her on the first and last day of her admission to the psychiatric hospital (Baena, 2020, 01:13:59). Sarah needed a doctor who would prescribe medications and work through the recovery journey with her. She would have especially gained assistance with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It is observable that Sarah left the psychiatric hospital worse than when she arrived due to the decisions she took after.

As per the article, a sound support system would have helped Sarah recover better. Her roommate focused more on her boyfriend to observe that Sarah needed help. Her boyfriend Darren was confused and did not know how to help Sarah (Baena, 2020, 01:05:35). As for her ex-stepfather, all he seemed possible to offer was money. Her only possible support system was Joan, a workmate. Joan knew about Sarah’s family history and tried to help Sarah where she could. The people in Sarah’s life, such as her roommate and boyfriend, should have also gotten counseling on how to help Sarah get better.

References

Baena, J. (Director). (2020). Horse Girl [Film]. Douglas Brothers Production. Netflix.

Davidson, M. (2019). Cognitive impairment as a diagnostic criteria and treatment target in schizophrenia. World Psychiatry, 18(2), 171. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6502436/Viher, P. V., Stegmayer, K., Giezendanner, S., Federspiel, A., Bohlhalter, S., Vanbellingen, T., … & Walther, S. (2016). Cerebral white matter structure is associated with DSM-5 schizophrenia symptom dimensions. NeuroImage: Clinical, 12, 93-99. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213158216301115