CNA256 Mental Health

Developmental factors play a crucial role when it comes to the functional as well as the interpersonal relationships .In this assignment there was an adult with the age of 60 years who was observed. The rationale as to why the adult man was selected was that because at the age of 60 years, that is when the adults psychological functioning and interpersonal relationships are at their functional peak.

According to research, the age of 60 years is the age at which the psychological and interpersonal relationships have matured up completely (Han, Compton, Jones, & Cai, 2015, p. 1470). It is at this stage that the adult should exhibit proper psychological and interpersonal relationships. However, this is not the case especially if an adult is suffering from mental disorders. Mental disorders is a wide umbrella that include conditions such as personality disorders. Some common features of this condition include social impairments as well as extreme feelings such as sadness (Jacobi et al., 2014, p. 310). To obtain consent for the observation, I had to seek a form from the ethics and Review board which could allow me to go ahead with the observation. The participant then signed the form after being assured of his safety. In this assignment, the process of observation, the interpretation and finally the personal experiences of the observation will be highlighted.

Observation process

After obtaining consent from the ethics and review board, the next step was conducting the observation. The Adult was observed while at the graduate school on how he carried out his daily activities when he was alone. The adult would be observed in a cool and calm environment like the backyard of his home and would be observed four sessions in a single day. Besides, the adult would also be observed at serene environments like the Library when he was conducting his private studies alone. The duration for the observation was 20 minutes for each session. However, there were a lot of challenges in the process of observation of the adult frequently of since this could create panic and anxiety. This had the potential of false positive results regarding mental health.

Key observations

There were several observations that were made on the 60 year old adult. One of the key observation was the prolonged depression. This would be shown by the manner in which the adult would sit for a long time while starring at the roof of the library when he was having his private studies alone .I once realized that the eating patterns of the adult also had changed .I once observed him at his home while he was eating alone and I realized that the amount of food he was consuming was reducing gradually each day .I also realized that the adult was experiencing hallucinations since he could look up immediately as he was being called by someone.

 The adult would complain of several physical issues that included stomachaches, headaches. On subjecting the adult on treatment so that I would continue with the observation, the participant could not respond to medications properly. The participant was also full of guilt. He could easily loose concentration while reading alone at the library (Hofer et al., 2018, p. 421). Fatigue was another observation made. As compared to other adults, we realized that our participant got tired quickly. The sleeping patterns of the adult also changed considerably during the observation period .There were days where he could sleep so much yet he would be sleepless on certain days. I also observed that the duration he was sad or angry was longer as compared to his age mates.

Interpretation of observations

Based upon my observations, I suspected that the adult might be suffering from some form of mental health disorders. Hallucinations was one of the notable observation made.The nursing intervention in this case include role playing with the adult with his acceptable social skills that will assist him get some needs in an effective and appropriate manner(De Onis, 2017, p. 121). The rationale behind this intervention is to come up with different ways in which hallucinations can be reduced. The nurse should then understand one skill that the participant prefers and work hard with the patient so as to bring out the best of the patient.

Strong feelings of anger that were observed might as well imply chronic low self-esteem in the adult. Low self-esteem in adults according to studies might be due to feelings of persistent shame and guilt as well as lack of the ego boundaries. This can be seen in different ways such as continuous seeking of assurances and the adult should also evaluate himself regularly as being unable to deal with different events like reading alone (Dammeyer & Chapman, 2017, p.811). The nursing interventions in this case includes reviewing the types of cognitive distortions in the adults that might be affecting self-esteem. The rationale behind this is to identify the common distortions that people utilize and this is the initial step in correcting what forms an individual’s self-view.

I was also keen to note how the participant uses blames to defend himself against low self-esteem. Studies have shown that individuals who experience personality disorders will always strive to cover feeble sense of self (Chaibal, Bennett, Rattanathanthong, & Siritaratiwat, 2016, p. 24). This feelings usually indicate the client’s interpersonal difficulties in their relationships. It is therefore the role of the nurse to provide a calm and neutral environment so that the patient values himself as very respected even though his behavior might not be that good.

Personal experience

Mental health disorders is a branch of several conditions that affects the mental well-being of an individual. I had a chance to observe a man who was 60 years old. The rationale behind this age group is due to the fact that at this stage, the psychological and interpersonal relationships are at their peak. Any abnormalities in either of the two aspects would signify some form of mental disorders. The consent was obtained from the ethics and review board.

There were several issues that were observed and they include strong feelings of anger towards himself, low self-esteem and feelings of excessive worries as well as anxieties.. This conditions are typically to an individual with personality disorders. I learnt a lot of new aspects during the observation sessions. One thing I learnt is that adults are very sensitive. During the first days of observations, the adult would stop all their activities and try to figure out who I was and what was my intention. I therefore had to hide and watch from a distance without distracting him.

Finally, I would like to say that actually the observation sessions were a success. The set objectives were well achieved. I learnt that developmental factors play a crucial role the psychogical functioning and interpersonal relationships. However, there were different challenges that were encountered during the observation period. Since the adult was very mature, asking him some questions was quite difficult and it appeared as though we were infringing on his privacy. Another important challenge was monitoring the sleeping patterns. Since the adult sleeps at night, I would hardly get first hand data on the sleeping patterns (Erbe, Eichert, Riper, & Ebert, 2017, p. 19). To evaluate the concentration ability of the participant, I was supposed to attend some of his classroom sessions .This again would create panic and anxiety among the participants.I would wish to as well encourage the Nursing Department to allow students observe first hand data like in this scenario. The sessions are very educative and enjoyable at the same time.

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