Running Head: MENTAL DISORDERS 1

Mental Disorders

Institutional Affiliation

Author’s Name
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1. Question 1

Catherine, the patient in the case study, has a condition termed bipolar disorder characterized by

manic and depressive episodes, or “high’ and “lows.” From the case study, Catherine describes

periods where she becomes “hyperactive “with lots of energy but consequently is subject to

irritability and erratic behaviors.

Risk Factors

Genetics

Bipolar disorder is often inherited from a parent. Rowland & Marwaha (2018) suggest that first-

degree relatives had seven times higher chances of developing bipolar than the general

population risk. However, the genetic risks may arguably transcend the diagnostic category

seems relatives to bipolar patients have higher chances of developing unipolar depression than

BD.

Environmental risk factors

1. Certain viral infections during the prenatal period are associated with bipolar. These infectious

agents include T. gondi and cytomegalovirus.

2. Childhood maltreatment is also highly associated with the development of bipolar in later

stages of life. These include emotional abuse and neglect from parents during childhood years.

3. Psychological stressors such as childbirth, parental loss, or disposal loss may contribute to the

onset of bipolar disorder.

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4. This use of substances such as cannabis, cocaine, alcohol, and sedatives increase the risk for

the development of the bipolar disorder.

Resiliency factors

Resiliency factors that reduce vulnerability to the bipolar disorder include stress coping

mechanisms, compliance to medication after diagnosis, practicing a balanced lifestyle, and a

good social support network.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis for bipolar disorder includes a physical exam, psychiatric assessment, personal mood

chatting.

Evidence-based management practices.

The primary recommended treatment is drug therapy by treating their maniac stage using lithium

or valproic acid (Griswold & Pessar, 2000). Additionally, collaborative care approach involving

the family and friends of the patient should be implemented (Griswold & Pessar, 2000).
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References
Griswold, K. S., & Pessar, L. F. (2000). Management of bipolar disorder. American family

physician, 62(6), 1343-1353.

Rowland, T., & Marwaha, S. (2018). Epidemiology and risk factors for bipolar

disorder. Therapeutic Advances In Psychopharmacology, 8(9), 251-269. doi:

10.1177/2045125318769235
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Question 2

Anxiety

Bandelow (2017) defines anxiety as “stimuli attempted by the brain to avoid danger “the four

main types of anxiety disorders including, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and

phobias. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by feelings of extreme worry,

which is often unrealistic. Topics often considered mundane such as health, work, school, and

relationships, maybe a source of worry. (GAD) is often characterized by feelings of restlessness,

interrupted sleeping patterns, and reduce concentration (Bandelow, 2017).

Panic disorder is associated with more intense feelings of worry. Patients describe panic disorder

with close association to a heart attack. Symptoms associated with the panic disorder include

sweating, heart palpitations, chest pains, numbness, shortness of breath, nausea. Individuals with

panic attacks should receive immediate medical care.

Phobias are the third type of anxiety characterized by intense fear towards certain situations or

objects. Social anxiety disorder is characterized by self-consciousness in public spaces.

Agoraphobia is associated with a fear of environmental spaces such as lines and crowds, public

transportation. Separation anxiety disorder, which affects children and adolescents, is the fear of

being separated from their parents or caregivers.

Measurement tool
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The GAD-7 is a proven seven-item anxiety scale efficient for screening for generalized anxiety

disorder (Spitzer, 2006). It consists of a series of questions where the patient is required to

answer based on the responsive categories “not at all,” “several days,” or “nearly every day.”

The GD has an 89% sensitivity rate and 82% specificity rate against GAD. The tool is also valid

against other anxiety disorders such as panic disorder (74% sensitivity and 81% specificity),

social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (Spitzer, 2006).

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References

Bandelow, B., Michaelis, S., & Wedekind, D. (2017). Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues

in clinical neuroscience, 19(2), 93.

Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing

generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Archives of internal medicine, 166(10), 1092-

1097.