Question

For the past month Yeunjoo has been feeling depressed most of the day. She feels very unmotivated often going in late to work. She goes right to bed the minute she gets home and finds that she can't stop eating carbohydrates - she has put on 10 pounds this month alone. Last week she told her boyfriend that she doesn't see any point to life and she would be OK if she just fell asleep and didn't wake up. Yeunjoo would likely be diagnosed with:

Answer 1

This question is missing the options. I've found them online. They are the following:

[...] Yeunjoo would likely be diagnosed with:

a. Dysthymia

b. Bipolar Disorder

c. Major Depressive Disorder

d. Seasonal Affective Disorder

Answer:

I believe she would probably be diagnosed with:

c. Major Depressive Disorder

Step-by-step explanation:

We can immediately eliminate options B and D. The symptoms described are typical of depression. However, we must differentiate between dysthymia and major depressive disorder.

Dysthymia is also called persistent depressive disorder. It lasts for years, and the person suffering from it does not seem to remember a time when she was happy or not depressed. This person can be seen as gloomy, since her mood is constantly down. Her energy levels are low, and she loses interest in normal activities.

Yeunjoo's case, however, seems to be of major depressive disorder. Unlike what happens with dysthymia, the person with MDD shows symptoms for weeks, but then they go away. The symptoms are similar to the ones explained above: low energy levels, low self-esteem, difficulty doing daily activities. All those things impact the person's relationships and performance. For a person to be diagnosed with dysthymia, symptoms must have persisted for over 2 years. To be diagnosed with MDD, symptoms must have persisted for at least 2 weeks. According to the instructions, Yeunjoo's symptoms have been noticed over the past month. It is safe to assume, thus, that she has major depressive disorder.