Question

Julia lost her job last year due to the economic recession, and although she has spent many months looking for any available work, she has not been able to find anything. Finally, deeply unhappy with her lack of success she has given up completely, claiming that it would be useless for her to search for a job any longer, that she is too stupid to train for any new career, and that no employer would ever want to hire her after so many months of unemployment. She now stays home, avoids concerned friends and family, rarely leaves her bed despite not being able to sleep, lacks the energy to do house-hold chores or even groom herself, and is often tearful and unhappy. a. If you were Julia's psychiatrist, what psychological disorder would you diagnose her as experiencing? What are the general symptoms of that disorder? b. What are some of the causes of Julia's disorder? (Please use at least THREE different perspectives in Psychology to answer the question: Psychodynamic, Biological, Behavioral, Humanistic, Cognitive, Cross-Cultural, and/or Evolutionary)

Answer 1

1. If you were Julia's psychiatrist, what psychological disorder would you diagnose her as experiencing?

Answer:

Julia could be diagnosed with major depression.

Explanation:

Major depression is a mood disorder; this disorder causes people feelings of deep sadness and hopelessness that make it difficult for people to carry out their daily activities.

2. What are the general symptoms of that disorder?

Answer:

The general symptoms are:

• Variations in his/her mood, presenting sadness and frequent crying.
• The decrease in his/her energy, showing an increase in fatigue that makes it impossible to perform daily activities.
• Difficulty falling asleep.
• Irrational recurring thoughts linked to their performance.
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Isolation.

3. What are some of the causes of Julia's disorder?

Answer:

Biological perspective: Julia may have a biological component that influences the suffering of depressive disorder, among these biological causes may be the decrease or lack of serotonin production, this is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate moods. Dopamine and norepinephrine levels may also be compromised, so she feels fatigued and lack of energy to perform even daily activities.

Behavioral perspective: Julia presents behavioral characteristics of depressive disorder such as isolation from family and friends, this isolation increases her thoughts of failure and sadness. Also, her insomnia, and subsequent fatigue that do not allow her to perform her daily activities.

Cognitive perspective: She shows irrational thoughts about her performance, feels frustrated, and causes feelings of hopelessness, cannot get a job, and not feel capable of doing it; These thoughts generate sadness. This affected their interpersonal relationships.

I hope this information can help you.