Nicole
Miller
“Paradise”
by Coldplay
Case Study, classified. Available to
members of the American Psychiatric Association only for review. Below contents entail the case of patient
Alyssa Grimes and diagnosis. Case to be reviewed and examined for accuracy of
the primary assessing psychologist.
Case Study
of Alyssa Grimes, eighteen years of age. Requesting case review for accuracy of
diagnosis.
From my
experience and three years spent working with the patient, instances that have
concerned me have been surfacing at an alarming rate. Currently, symptoms of
schizophrenia, severe depression, and psychosis have been developed and spotted
as recently as six months ago. I would like advice on the proper course of
action as well as the evaluation of my current actions.
Patient Alyssa Grimes, eighteen
years of age, has been exhibiting strange behaviors that are not normal. Up to
recent months, she has been rather healthy, with only slight changes in her
demeanor and minor non-severe issues emerging occasionally. Currently, Alyssa
has been exhibiting signs of severe depression, psychosis, and schizophrenia.
Alyssa uses her dreams as a form of escape, and thus has been forcing herself
to sleep much longer than necessary with over the counter substances. She is exhibiting
extremely unhealthy behavior, and her desire to escape into her subconscious
fantasies are affecting her life. Patient has formed an unhealthy association
of sleeping and fictional fantasies, and is verging on addiction with sleep
aids. I am concerned that she may end up overdosing accidently in attempt to
remain in her constructed “reality,” or that her depression may take a turn for
the worst. The patient is extremely volatile when discussing a lessening of her
time asleep, and she is having difficulties separating her delusions from
actual reality. I am requesting an
evaluation on my actions up to date, as well as recommendations on a future
course of action.
Case Study:
Patient:
Alyssa Grimes, eighteen.
Current
Diagnosis: Psychosis, schizophrenia, and depression.
Starting as
early as six months ago, Alyssa has been exhibiting concerning signs of
psychological disorders. She has constructed delusional realities in her
dreams, and believes them to be a better alterative to actual reality. Her need
to escape from reality into dreams has sparked an addiction with sleeping aids,
and she has been sleeping between twelve-twenty hours each day. Her obscene
amount of sleep has begun to effect her everyday life, and she has frequently
been missing school. Alyssa has an unhealthy definition of sleep, as she uses
it as a way to hide from reality and life in a dream-world that she has
created. Alyssa claims this dream-world to be her paradise, where she has
everything she has ever wanted and achieved every goal she has ever set for
herself. She believes this delusion to be real, and an alternate reality where
she chooses to live for the majority of her days. She is loosing her grip on
reality, and continues to state how she can no longer take it. Reality is too
much for her to bear, when she can choose to live in paradise instead of the
real world. Every time she wakes from her dreams, and leaves this paradise,
reality becomes harder and harder to bear. Every time she is forced to wake up,
she realizes that she is not actually in this delusional paradise, and is stuck
again and again with the realization of actual reality. I am afraid that soon
she will no longer be able to take actual reality, and may attempt suicide to
escape.
Symptoms and
reasons for diagnosis:
Alyssa has an unhealthy view on
sleep, as she views it as a portal to an alternate reality that is extravagant.
Her delusional paradise is where she chooses to spend the majority of her time,
and she is beginning to lose her grasp on reality. Her excessive sleeping is a
symptom of her depression, as her delusional fantasies and alternate reality is
a symptom of her psychosis.
Additional symptoms of Alyssa’s
depression include persistent feelings of sadness and loneliness, her decreased
energy when she is forced to wake up from her dream-world, and her feelings
that she is unable to change her reality and her actual life outside of her
perfectly constructed paradise are instances of hopelessness. Alyssa has also
been exhibiting alarming signs of possibly contemplating suicide, as her time
asleep has escalated to twenty hours, and she continues to talk about her need
to remain asleep in her dream-world. She also discusses how reality is too much
to bear when she can live in her delusions.
Symptoms of Alyssa’s schizophrenia
include delusions, social withdrawal, suicidal thoughts accompanied by her
depression, and depersonalization. She has constructed a world of fantasies
with all of her hopes and desires already obtained, which she strongly believes
to be an alternate reality. Occasionally, she cannot sort between this
constructed delusion and actual reality. She does not associate with others, as
she sees no point when presented with her delusions. Following suit, she has
been showing signs of suicidal thoughts, as she discusses her dream-world and
how she wishes she could remain there forever. Her final symptom is
depersonalization, which is shown from her intense anxiety when told to choose
between delusion and reality, as well as her feelings that reality is not real;
it is her delusions that she believes to be true.
I am
requesting for the review of my current case study, and alternate opinions on
my findings. I am concerned about Alyssa, and would like other perspectives on
her case to offer further insight, as well as thoughts on treatment courses.
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