Mental-Health Nursing, Case Study of Lisa

Running Head: MENTAL-HEALTH NURSING 1
Mental-Health Nursing, Case Study of Lisa
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MENTAL-HEALTH NURSING 2
Mental-Health Nursing, Case Study of Lisa
When dealing with victims of drug abuse, being in a position to understand the root cause
of their habits is very important. It is the foundation when determining the best approach to help
them out of the condition. This is in consideration to the fact that drug addicts find themselves in
the habit because of different reasons. The reasons behind drug abuse are called risk factors.
These are the factors which motivate the victims of drug abuse into the practice. A research
carried out by Leigh & Lee (2008) revealed that most victims of drug abuse get into the practice
as they try to fix some of the disturbing issues in their lives. According to this research, the
increasing number of youths and young adults were getting into drug and substance abuse as a
result of depression. Peer pressure was also listed among the key motivators into drug abuse
especially among the youths. Considering the two factors revealed by Leigh & Lee (2008), it was
clear that victims got into the trap hoping to get solution out of their problems but ended up more
distressed. There are other victims who get into drug abuse as a way of self-medication. For
example, a person with chronic health problem or any other kind of mental disorder may opt for
drug and substance abuse to cool down the severe symptoms of their condition. The case of Lisa
has been scrutinized in this paper as presented in “https://youtu.be/83i2MWMqph8”and three
factors identified as the reasons behind her problematic substance use. The three factors include
meantal health problem, loniliness and family conflict.
The video revealed that Lisa had a mental illness before and was undergoing medication
until she moved in with Jonah. Research by the National Bureau of Economic Research
identified a close link between substance abuse and mental illness. According to the research,
most of the substance users are people who have had mental illnesses or those undergoing
treatment on mental health disorders (Sousa-Poza, 2018). Further research has confirmed that

MENTAL-HEALTH NURSING 3
people with mental illness such as post-trauma stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and others are
at high risks of getting into drug and substance abuse. Mainly, people getting into drug and
substance abuse are those who fail to adhere to the third principle of trauma-informed care,
choice. This principle entails the recognition of the need to adopt a solution which honors
individual dignity. Just like in the case of Lisa, most of the victims of mental illness end up into
drug and substance abuse as they try to cope with the hard feelings they undergo.
In Lisa’s case, the video also revealed that she has been under a counseling session in a
local drug service for some time after being admitted in a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed
with a mental illness problem. She was later discharged but under antipsychotic medication.
From the discussion in the video with Jenny in the counseling session, after moving in with her
boyfriend Jonah from her parent’s residence, she has not been using the prescribed drugs and that
might have affected her mental health negatively. The assumption holds true because she even
attested that she was not seen her drugs since she left her parents’ house. From a healthcare point
of view, medication works effectively if the dose is taken as prescribed by the doctor. Patients
are therefore entitled to take the full dose as prescribed by the doctor in order to witness a
positive outcome. That was not the case in Lisa’s scenario and hence her mental illness which
had been diagnosed earlier on might have embarked on her and hence intensifying drug and
substance abuse with an aim of alleviating the severe symptoms.
Another issue which might be causing a problematic substance use on Lisa according to
the video is loneliness. According to the first principle of trauma-informed care, safety, space
should be created for a person to feel culturally, emotionally and physically safe as well as
awareness of discomfort and unease. There is no space for Lisa to feel culturally, emotionally
and physically safe in Jonah’s house. Lisa is staying alone after relocating from her parents’