Dysthymic Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder - Essay Example

In the case of Dysthymic disorder, there are certain aspects from the interview that point to this and give various evidence of the disorder. Situations where Jane was tearful during the interview and appeared to be fatigued and sluggish clearly illustrate the aspect of depression, fatigue, and insomnia in our client Jane.
A situation where Jane does not like her job at the restaurant but seems unwilling to look for other employment when she says that she feels "very jittery" whenever she gets ready for work, and gives excuses to take days off from work indicates a feeling of hopelessness in her.

We again find that a clear problem of self-esteem is developing in her when she now avoids seeing both Morris and her parents, fearing that they will disapprove of her
In the beginning, we find that Jane has an interest in pursuing further education, but at the end, she also says she has lost interest in further education a clear sign of hopelessness in her.
Jane led a relatively inactive daily life. She was the star pitcher for her high school softball team, although she quit abruptly during her junior year. Last year, she joined a recreational softball league, but she quit after only a few weeks, explaining that she was just not enjoying herself and this clearly shows a feeling of hopelessness.

In the case of Borderline personality disorder, we find that at some point she was experiencing suicidal ideation, though it was not evident at the time of her interview. Throughout her high school life, we find that Jane obscured her diverse custom from her classmates by not allowing friends over to her home as she was embarrassed by this, and she suspects that her parents realized what she was doing. She denied affiliation to any race and this portrays her borderline personality in her.

A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation is portrayed when she reports being anxious about boys and ends up unsure of how to deal with their advances in school thus ending up dating men sporadically.
She experiences chronic feelings of emptiness and thus does not want to associate with colleagues at work like she used to, and she is uncomfortable when she was hosted at a surprise birthday party.

We find that whatever Jane is going through cuts across the two diagnoses and they give us a review of what she is going through. According to Dysthymic Disorder, emotional depression persists for many years and it characterizes depressive disorders in the client. This as we see in the extract, it majorly leads to poor appetite, insomnia, fatigue, low self-esteem, poor concentration, and a feeling of hopelessness among the clients.

Whereas, Borderline personality disorder, tells us that there is a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts. In borderline personality disorder, we find that there are, frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment, a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation, identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self, impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging, recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior, affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood, chronic feelings of emptiness and inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger, transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

A borderline personality disorder is the best diagnosis for the client as it cuts through all she is going through and it gives clear evidence of her undergoing. This also helps in establishing a way of resolving the client's problems as we can look at the frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment, a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation, identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self, impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging, recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior, affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood, chronic feelings of emptiness and inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger, transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms thus be able to handle the client appropriately.

Basic information from the client's parents, workmates, and schoolmates will come a long way in helping to diagnose the client accordingly as this gives you profound and satisfactory information to back up the much-acquired information from the client, thus ensuring a satisfactory and precise diagnosis. Read More