Identification of Mental Unrest in Chung
According to the case-study, 35 year old Chung is a struggling medicine practitioner who is striving hard to become an emergency medicine consultant, however has been subjected to a number of events that has led to the occurrence of mental and emotional turmoil in him, leading to the manifestation of the initial symptoms of mental unrest (Admon et al.,2013). In compliance with the standards of the mental state examination, a number of factors can be held accountable that depict the degrading mental stability of Chung. Typically it can be said that the thought content and the behaviour of the subject significantly points out to the development of depression and anxiety. The case study clearly states Chung to be feeling low most of the times and preoccupied with disturbing thoughts. On proceeding with the interview, the midwife could perceive suicidal thoughts and continuous frustration. Chung also explains himself as a worthless father that proves that he feels incapable and possesses a pessimistic attitude. In context to his behaviour, Chung is seen to be extremely fatigued and tired and in dire need of sleep. He is also seen to be resting with rounded shoulders and is seen to be detached from the interview. He finds it difficult to focus on the questions and is found to struggle with his responses. These features can be linked to the thought content and the general behaviour category of the MSE guidelines and it can hence be inferred that Chung is at a high risk of developing a mental disorder.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, in the year 2013, the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder that has been updated pertaining to the current trends prevalent in the critical diagnosis of the psychological disorders, it can be commented that Chung is on the verge of steeping into depressive disorder that would ultimately lead to the development of the initial phase of neurodegenerative disorder such as communication disorders (Von Gontard,2013). This is evident from Chung’s inability to perceive and quickly respond to the questions asked by the midwife and the midwife having to repeat her questions in order to derive a ‘one-word’ substantial answer from Chung. In addition to the above stated fact, Chung’s persistent feelings of anxiety, stress and concomitant sadness pertaining to the fact that he is not being able to devote ample amount of time to his dear wife and his new born baby Juliette and his absence due to the bizarre long hours is ultimately leading to an emotional turmoil. These factors can hence be correlated to the guidelines of mental disorders as highlighted by the DSM V and can be tagged as the precursor symptoms that would lead to the development of bipolar disorder. This would involve episodes of intense depression and feelings of hopelessness and irritation over every minute instance (Briere & Scott, 2014). It is important to identify the initial symptoms as early as possible and seek counselling interventions so as to combat with the ongoing emotional trauma (Regier et al., 2013).
Criterion for the Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Chung
The stress vulnerability model has been conceptually designed in order to provide a framework to the patients and their family members to understand the underlying reason behind the occurrence of various mental disorders and the associated complications and also the exposed vulnerability in these conditions that lead to taking up substance-abuse (Simon et al.,2013). It is critical to note here that the vulnerability factor differs from individual to individual and it can be said to be dependent on two factors broadly, mainly the genetic susceptibility to develop a mental disorder and the physiological stress exerted by the familial environment or the work environment (Slade et al.,2013).
Many factors can be co-related with the generation of the effect of stress in Chung. As identified by the case study, it can be inferred that prolong work hours, insufficient sleep and unable to cope with the change in the familial environment can be said to directly affect the thought process of Chung. Research studies reveal that prolong hours of duty in healthcare lead to the cause of excessive physical exhaustion that drains the energy unit of the body and as a result it causes reduced performance output and also mental fatigue that in turn leads to feeling of emotional breakdown (Sonnentag & Fritz,2015). Studies also reveal that, insufficient sleep or disruptive sleep pertaining to waking up and finding it difficult to get peaceful sleep for a long period of time leads to the development of feelings of anxiousness, hallucinations and due to the inadequate amount of sleep, feelings of irritation and mental fatigue are reported to persist in patients which lead to the damage of mental health (Trzepacz et al.,2013). Another important factor that can be co-related as a degenerative effect of stress would include, change in familial structure. In the case study, it can be perceived that Chung is extremely affected with the birth of his daughter Charlotte and the over-involvement of his in-laws in taking care of the new born baby. This makes him detached from his baby and his wife and he is not able to spend quality time with them, which leads to the trigger of stress and frustration.
The mental health recovery model is primarily based on two broad principles which include the fact that it is possible to dispense mental health treatment to a disturbed patient and the approach adopted focuses mainly on the patient. It is important to understand the fact that the mental health recovery model focus on the mental health improvement of the patient pertaining to the maintenance of a holistic care giving approach (Mellor et al.,2013). In the context of the case study, Chung can be provided aid based on the mental health recovery model which would involve several characteristics ranging from the behaviour of the family members to Chung to the language used by the people who stay in close association with Chung throughout the day could help him in dealing with the mental stress and emotional turmoil in a convenient manner. According to the guidelines laid down by the substance abuse and mental health administration (SAMHSA) the intervention to help the patients with mental stress has been categorised under four following heads, that critically comprise of the factors such as, community, home, purpose and health (Zannas & West,2014). Each of the above mentioned domains are considered for promoting mental wellness to the patient dealing with stress. Approaches that could be taken up in order to plan a quick recovery of Chung would include administering care on the basis of the Developing Recovery Enhancing Environments (DREEM) that would include, accessing the level of the recovery service and carry out extensive research so as to develop better methodologies to improve the treatment procedure. It must be also highlighted that thorough counselling sessions can be undertaken in order to ensure that both Chung and his family members are enlightened about the complexities that Chung is facing with regards to the status of his mental health and also empowering them with the drastic effect of the prolonged manifestation of the symptoms. Chung can be counselled by the Midwife on the basis of the specific information gathered about his condition and accordingly mould his family members to be more compassionate and understanding towards him so that he is able to cope up faster with the scenario and heal at a speedy rate. Interventions could also include counselling the in-laws of Chung and making them aware of the critical situation faced by their son-in-law and they could adapt minimalistic changes in their daily activities by handing over Charlotte to her father after Chung arrives home from duty and ensuring that Chung plays with his baby girl to his heart content. This would ensure that Chung is satisfied with the quality time that he gets to spend every day with his wife and his daughter. In addition with the above said, Chung could also participate in certain mind-refreshing activities such as reading to his baby daughter or going out with his family that would help him deviate his mind from work related stress and help him in achieving mental satisfaction. Chung is at risk and it is important to prevent him from entering into terminal depression and for that it is necessary to prevent his mind from developing suicidal thoughts and consequently instil the feeling of optimism and hope in him so that he is able to overcome the feelings of being a worthless husband and an irresponsible father and at the same time work on hope in order to feel loved and provide security to his family. Depression or any other disorder related to mental instability is highly sensitive and patients going through the process are unable to comprehend the scenario based on their analytical ability and hence end up harming their own-self or developing suicidal tendencies, hence it is important that appropriate steps are taken in order to focus on the mental health well-being of patients like Chung who are stressed on grounds of many factors pertaining to personal life or even professional life and are unable to voice their expressions and end up feeling more miserable (Zannas & West,2014). It is important to ignite in them a feeling of hope so that they are able to lead a decent standard of living.
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