For this forum please share an example of an individual case of depression that you think is relevant to our psychopharmacology course. This can be from clinical experience, personal experience of friends or family, or the literature. Please use protect confidentiality of clinical example by using fictitious name.

  Very briefly describe the individual’s: age, course of illness, symptoms and diagnosis, and their response to treatment. Include any interesting issues such as choice of treatment modality, issues around suicidality, or adverse medication effects.
What is one lesson learned from this case? respond to the main dq

RONS RESPOND TO THE MAIN POST

In my clinic, clients are admitted due to substance use disorder. Yet, comorbid with this disorder is generally some form of depression. Most notably is a major depressive disorder or persistent depressive disorder. As indicated in Preston, ONeal, and Talaga (2017), it is ubiquitous for those with depression to utilize medication and recreational drugs to ameliorate symptoms. Alcohol is often used in times of emotional distress in order to cope.

    One client, in particular, is a woman by the name of Charlotte who 39 years old and is an alcoholic that has been depressed for that last 2 years. The course of illness initiated with a number of events ostensibly out of her control, namely her husbands passing, her rift with her family, and her current isolation. The consideration of depression because of events out of her control is in confluence with the locus of control theory, that those with an external locus of control have a higher susceptibility to pathology (Yu & Fan, 2016). As time has progressed, she has indicated that her depression has gotten worse, with avolition, anhedonia, weight loss, insomnia, difficulty concentration, psychomotor retardation, and suicidal ideation. She has been prescribed many medications, such as those mention by Preston et al. (2017) like Zoloft and Prozac as well as tricyclic antidepressants like Anafranil. It is interesting that Anafranil is also used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder. Charlotte has indicated that nothing works. According to her the only medicine that relieves her depression is alcohol.

      Kalat (2009) advances that alcohol affects neurons within the brain influencing both inhibitory and excitatory sites within the brain. Furthermore, alcohol increases stimulation at both dopamine and opiate receptors. Despite the immediate relief that Charlotte discusses, a novel point learned is that alcohol is delineated by Preston et al. (217) as a drug that causes depression. This may be a contributory explanation for her description of the depression getting worse over time. The reason is that her alcohol intake has increased over the course of the depression, perhaps contributing to her symptoms become more severe. In our clinical meeting, the treatment plan indicates that her alcohol use must be dealt with first.

References

Kalat, J. W. (2009). Biological psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Preston, J. D., ONeal, J. H., & Talaga, M. C. (2017). Handbook of clinical psychopharmacology. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Yu, X., & Fan, G. (2016). Direct and indirect relationship between locus of control and depression. Journal of health psychology, 21(7), 1293-1298.