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CNA256 Mental Health Assignment | Nursing Assignment

   

Added on  2020-05-28

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Running head: MENTAL HEALTH- NURSINGAssessment Task 2- Written Case StudyName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note

1MENTAL HEALTH- NURSINGAnswer 1The present state of mind of a certain individual is observed and specifically described bya structured pattern that is commonly referred to as the Mental State Examination (MSE). This isconsidered as an essential criterion for clinically assessing a patient in psychiatricpractice. Theexamination encompasses evaluation of the behaviour, appearance, attitude, orientation, mood,affect and level of consciousness of a particular individual (Feng et al. 2012). Therefore, theMSE is considered imperative for an accurate diagnosis of the mental faculties of a person. It isgenerally performed when cognitive abnormalities are observed while interviewing a person or ifany cortical function abnormalities arise. This examination describes thought content as theability to maintain a directed and coherent train of thoughts. It refers to assessment of anindividual’s thinking process (Larner 2012). There are several themes that are found to governindividual thoughts and perceptions. Therefore, it is necessary to have an accurate description ofthought content in order to gather valuable information on the phobias, delusions,preoccupations, ideas and obsessions that are manifested by the concerned individual. It is mostcommonly found that people suffering from mental distress are often susceptible to experiencingfearful thoughts. These thoughts often manifest in the form of agitation, delirium and suicidalideations that makes the individual inflict self-harm (Kaszás et al. 2012). Thus, creatingprovisions for an open-ended conversation will help to explore the mind and thought process ofthe person. In addition, the MSE describes thought form as the way of expression of a person’sbeliefs and thoughts in terms of his speech. Thus, thought form refers to the logical coherence ofone’s thoughts. It involves the way of production of ideas, in conjunction with their quantity.

2MENTAL HEALTH- NURSINGEvaluating the logical flow of ideas helps to discern whether they are fragmented or disoriented(Oosterwijk et al. 2012). Thus, thought form helps to identify presence of echolalia (repetition ofwhat is being said), perseveration (trouble in shifting to new ideas), and clang association (wordssimilar in rhyming and sound follow each other). Thus, people suffering from mental difficultiesoften manifest derailment in the form of social withdrawal and apathy. Speech vagueness alsogets emphasized by manifestation of circumstantialities and the concerned individuals fail to givespecific and short answers (Akiskal 2016).In the case scenario, the patient Annabelle is diagnosed with mental disorders in boththought content as well as thought form. She displays abnormal behaviour that is basicallydemonstrated by the constant fear and panic attacks (Carleton et al. 2013). She comes across asextremely agitated and afraid of some unreal events or entities. The factors that result indemonstration of such confused and fearful behaviour do not exist in the real world. She wasseen continuously wringing her hands, upon admission to the emergency department. Wringingof hands usually display a worry or concern over some serious matter (Judd et al. 2012). Thus,the continuous grasping and squeezing of hands explained nervousness and agitation in thepatient, probably due to fear. She was also found to change her topic of conversation, which inturn confirmed disoriented thoughts. There was a lack of logical coherence in her speech(Oosterwijk et al. 2012). The fact that she also suffers from suicidal ideations was confirmed bythe sore marks on her arms (Kaszás et al. 2012). Furthermore, catastrophic thinking and beingafraid of some impending danger was manifested when Annabelle displayed restlessness andsuddenly started to shout and sob, during the interview. Therefore, it can be stated that herthought form and content were not under control.

3MENTAL HEALTH- NURSINGAnswer 2The MSE defines perceptions as the experience of a person of the outer world, throughinterpretation and senses. Thus, all forms of sensory experiences that are acquired by anindividual are commonly referred to as perception. Abnormalities often arise in such perceptionsthat manifest in the form of several thought disorders such as, hallucinations, pseudo-hallucinations, delusions and illusions (Legault and Faubert 2012). Diagnosis or screening ofmental abnormalities gets facilitated by manifestation of these perceptual abnormalities. Patientswho are preoccupied with disordered thoughts are at an increased likelihood of suffering fromhallucinations. These sensory perceptions occur when external stimuli are absent (Berking andWupperman 2012). However, these stimuli are perceived by the patients as real. Assessment ofhallucinations is of utmost importance as it helps to evaluate the risk to self as well as tosurrounding people. Visual and auditory hallucinations are most commonly experienced by suchpeople (Amad et al. 2014). Patients suffering from psychotic disorders often hear voices orcommands that instruct them to perform certain tasks. Dissociative symptoms are alsomanifested by such patients that make them display indifference to situations, and they begin toconsider the surrounding environment as unreal (McCarthy-Jones et al. 2012). In this context, Annabelle was found manifesting hallucination symptoms in both visualand auditory forms. During the interview, she was constantly found to look up at the ceiling andsuddenly began to shout. This demonstrated presence of emotional disturbances. This disorientedbehaviour suggests that she was visualizing some terrifying event in front of her eyes that madeher agitated and aggressive. These frightful visions resulted in development of anxiety symptomsand stress, which were further manifested in the form of continued wringing of the hands(Berking and Wupperman 2012). She was also found shouting for forgiveness during the

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