Mental Health Emergencies
Create a 8 pages page paper that discusses mental health emergencies. He appears angry and argumentative. He is also delusional, speaking incoherently in a stream of words and thinking how screwed up the world is. His wanting desperately to speak to his sister is also part of his delusion, most likely thinking that his sister may be in grave danger and that he may be suspicious of everyone else but his sister. Such behaviours are associated to the diagnosis as outlined specifically by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which specifies the above symptoms as possible symptoms of schizophrenia. Authors First and Allan (2011) also discuss how these symptoms, particularly auditory hallucinations and delusions, are key symptoms of schizophrenia which, coupled with agitation can really further support a strong diagnosis for schizophrenia. Glick, Berlin, and Fishkind (2008) also discuss how agitation among these patients is one of the main causes of their hospital or emergency room visits. They associate this symptom with the increase in dopamine levels for patients (Glick, et.al., 2008). Based on such condition and behaviour, this paper shall now provide an evaluation of the patients symptoms. It will first defend the diagnosis, detailing reasons why the symptoms match the diagnosis. This paper will then evaluate the medical assessments which would be conducted on the patient in order to determine the medical cause for his behaviour. A discussion on schizophrenia would then follow, including its incidence, current theories and current management strategies. This paper will also discuss the biological causes and social factors associated with schizophrenia. A conclusion will finally summarize and establish an overall evaluation of the patient and his associated condition. Body I believe that the patient has schizophrenia. The patient manifests delusions, specifically, delusions about how screwed up the world is. This delusion is based on a false belief to which the person sticks even when other people prove these delusions to be untrue. Schizophrenic patients often have bizarre delusions, including delusions of persecution about what they believe other people are doing to them (Van Os and Kapur, 2009). The fact that the patient is mumbling things to himself, claiming how screwed up the world is implies that he has some ideas or some thoughts about the world which are bizarre and not based on reality. His delusions and thoughts are also associated with thought disorders which are seen among schizophrenia patients (Van Os and Kapur, 2009). He cannot answer coherently, choosing instead to mutter a stream of words which are very much unresponsive to the question being asked. He is also talking in a garbled fashion, which further supports his incoherence and disorientation (Buckley, et.al., 2009). The patient also manifests thought blocking, when he suddenly stopped talking and stood still in the middle of his muttering and pacing (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). Schizophrenia patients also manifest movement disorders which can manifest as agitated body movements. These individuals may repeat movements over and over and some may become catatonic (National Institute of Mental Health, 2009). For this patient, he displayed agitated and repetitive movements by pacing up and down the restaurant.
