Competence Assessment: Mental Disorders

Each person experiences traumatic events during their life, and sometimes it impacts the mental well-being significantly, and the episodes from the past may still have consequences in the future. Acute stress disorder (ASD) is not widely common but still can regularly appear in individuals who have gone through terrifying incidents. In the case of Melissa, who is struggling a lot due to the regular absence of her partner Samantha because of the work, there are several symptoms of ASD. Thus, this paper aims to identify the biological, psychological, and social variables and assess the competence that primarily impacts the individual’s mental state.

Biological Variables

Considering the biological variables, Melissa does not have any intense demonstrations of ASD. She has never been exposed to alcohol or drug addiction, her appetite is normal, and her body keeps the constant weight. However, Melissa experienced trouble sleeping due to the anxiety caused by the absence of her partner at home. She manages to fall asleep only by the morning, which is untypical behavior for her and does not correspond to her daily schedule because she works in the daytime.

Psychological Variables

Despite all the stress, Melissa does not have any signs of suicidal behavior and claims that she has no death thoughts or intentions. Although, most of the time feel overwhelmed by negative emotions and sorrow. It results in crying and the guilt of experiencing those feelings because she believes significant reasons to act that way. After Samantha began working with the new schedule, it gave Melisa the impression of abandonment and loneliness. Usually, if the symptoms do not disappear within one month, it can be diagnosed as a post-traumatic stress disorder, and it has been two months since the beginning (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Moreover, she had affirmed similar variables when her relationship ended, and Melissa felt extremely depressed and anxious. Still, after she turned for help during the month, she recovered. The most probable reason she faced ASD is that it strongly reminds her of the past trauma and triggers her. Therefore, despite the long period of the symptoms’ demonstration, when her partner returns to the regular schedule, ASD will cease.

Social Variables

In addition, the social aspects also demonstrate some signs of the disorder. Certain variables play critical roles in the process of identification. Firstly, her romantic relationships that are an essential part of Melissa’s life now drastically changed and activated her trauma (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). However, her work as a secretary gives her the feeling of stability and grounding, and during the shift, she feels normal and is not affected by anxiety. Still, outside of the job or home, Melissa is not socially active, contributing to her mental state. The loneliness and numbness caused by the reduced amount of time spent with her partner only worsen because she does not include additional activities or social connections (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Thus, all those variables can directly influence ASD in both a negative and positive way.

Overall, Melissa has a mild form of acute stress disorder. Biological, psychological, and social variables demonstrate some of the signs of ASD, such as sleep disturbance, heaviness, avoidance of social contacts and the experience of the same worries as in the past. Since she had the highly traumatic experience of ending relationships and was recovering for a month after that, it might have resulted in trauma. Therefore, when her partner almost disappeared from daily life because of work, it triggered Melissa, and she started experiencing the ASD symptoms. Although it lasts a little longer than usual, it is most likely that it disappears when Samantha returns to the regular schedule.

Reference

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Web.

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