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PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MENTAL DISORDERS
Phenomenological approach to schizophrenia:
Name: Erica Sanders
Gender: Female
Age: 29 years
Marital status: Unmarried
Residence: Sunnyvale lane, Lexington, KY
Occupation: Currently working in a consultancy as junior analyst
Medical history: Having frequent and continual audible and visual hallucinations
Family background: Very supportive parents. Keeping check on activities as much as they can. Only younger sister (Joey) lives in Mexico.
Diagnosis according to DSM-V:
Has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, since the age of 19, which is a chronic and tenuous disease according to DSM-V. She has delusions and almost continual hallucinations (audible and visible). Speech becomes derailed and gives tangential answers to questions sometimes. Shows age-inappropriate silliness and gets agitated easily. Little negative symptoms are seen at times of increased paranoia. Catatonic behavior has also been noticed.
My journal:
30.11.2015
Hi diary,
Mom came to wake me up today. It was early for me. The sedative pills that I take do not kick in before 1 am and 10 hours sleep is a necessity for me. But today I had to go to the support center and thus, waking up early was a necessity. When I went into the shower, little Annie started to speak to me. She is the voice that I keep on hearing the most. She told me that I am being watched continuously. I know that this is a voice and it is not real but I failed to drown it down. While driving towards the center I put my favorite song on repeat – a sky full of stars by Coldplay and raised the volume a few notches up that I usually prefer. This made me ignore Annie. She is so mean and nasty. Always keeps on scaring me. Every time I enter the drop-in it pretty much wracks up my nerves but I try to keep myself calm. Today’s activity was painting whatever we felt like. I was nervous

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