Nursing care for Cathy: depression, pregnancy, and adolescent coping

¶ … Health Screening

Biographical Data

Cathy is a 17-year-old female. She is suffering from a certain amounts of loneliness and depression (DSM-IV). This is because her mother died in Iraq 10 years ago when serving in the Army Reserves. She is currently living with her uncle and often deals with these issues from not being able to talk to her mother. She never knew her father and has no way to contact him. To account for them, she hides her feelings by turning to social networking sites as a way to connect with others. In the process, she places her entire life history for everyone to see and often takes pictures of herself. At the same time, she was elected class President and hides these feelings by being engaged in variety of activities (such as: Future Business Leaders of America and track). Yet, underneath it all, she feels like the world is very challenging to her in comparison, with friends and classmates.

Family History

This is following a similar pattern as her mother, as she was single parent and supported Cathy. From a well-being and behavioral health standpoint, she is dealing with issues which make her feel all alone. She is fearful that the unplanned pregnancy (PG) could jeopardize her ability to participate in track at the University of California. Her mother was diagnosed with a similar form of depression (DSM-IV) prior to being deployed to Iraq 10 years ago. These issues are illustrating how it can affect her behavior, perceptions and the ability to cope with a variety of challenges. (Ackley, 2013) (Ladwig, 2013)

Review of Systems

There are series of symptoms which are showing how Cathy's depression (DSM-IV) could become worse. The most notable include:

Persistent sadness, anxiety and mood swings.

The loss of interest in pleasurable activities.

Difficulty concentrating or making decisions.

Persistent physical symptoms disorders such as recurring headaches.

Feeling an overwhelmed by various events which are unfolding in her life.

These areas are compounded by the fact that she recently found out how she is pregnant and does not know what to do. (Ackley, 2013) (Ladwig, 2013)

Develop Three Nursing Diagnosis for the Client based on Health History and Screening

To deal with these challenges, nurses need to relate to Cathy based upon her experiences. In this case, they should talk about these issues and build upon them through discussing the health problem. They will state how the individual shows clear signs of (DSM-IV) attributed to the loss of her mother and a sense of helplessness from the pregnancy. This is further adding to her sense of isolation. These insights are important, as the nurse can diagnose the problem and gain greater understanding about the influence it is having on the patient. (Ackley, 2013) (Ladwig, 2013)

Wellness diagnosis involves the individual switching to higher levels of empowerment. This occurs through talking with Cathy about her problems and the impact it is having on her. They can encourage Cathy to build stronger relationships with her family members and friends. These individuals can support her and offer advice about how to address the various challenges in her life. These areas are significant, as they will help Cathy to have greater amounts of control and change her state of mind for the better. This is the key for reversing the early symptoms of (DSM-IV) she is experiencing. (Ackley, 2013) (Ladwig, 2013)

The risk for diagnosis, is illustrating how if the problem is not dealt with, there is the probability it will become worse. To prevent this, the nurse must talk about how the current form of (DSM-IV) is hurting Cathy. They will then, focus on the way Zoloft is a temporary solutions. Yet, it is not a long-term solution for dealing with the root causes of the problem. Instead, it is something that will adversely impact her state of health and make the situation worse. This is when they can link more pain to the challenges she is experiencing and illustrate how she can move into pleasure through consciously taking control of her life. These insights are important, as they help the person to become more empowered. This is achieved by using the ideas from the wellness diagnosis to improve their underlying situation. It is at this point, when they can address these challenges and transform their lives for the better. In many ways, one could argue that this helps Cathy to take a unique prospective in understanding and addressing these issues in the longer term. (Ackley, 2013) (Ladwig, 2013)