Leon has struggled with depression and anxiety his entire life. He recalls feeling depressive and anxious starting in the first grade. Leon presents behaviors that are consistent with the indicators with Major Depressive Disorder, as well as Social Anxiety Disorder. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is characterized by five or more symptoms being present for at least two weeks. Symptoms include having a depressed mood for most of the day, diminished interest in activities, weight loss, or weight gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, inability to concentrate, or recurrent thoughts of death. These symptoms must cause significant impairment on one’s social and/or occupational functioning …show more content…
The chance of developing SAD is two to six times greater in individuals with relatives that live with SAD. In addition, individuals with first-degree relation have two to four times greater chance of developing MDD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Both SAD and MDD have a large genetic connection in their risk factors and causation. There is no mention of Leon’s family or genetic background, therefore, a family history assessment should be conducted to assess if he was genetically pre-disposed to these disorders. In contrast, SAD does not have a strong environmental connection in terms of causing the disorder to development, however, childhood maltreatment could be a risk factor in the development of SAD. Child maltreatment is also a large risk factor for the development of MDD. IN addition, stressful life events can also be precipitants (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Leon does not mention any occurrences of childhood maltreatment, though it should be discussed. Instead the stressful life events may have had a role in causing his depression to develop. Social Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder are often comorbid (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), and the anxiety and stress that came along with being in school may have made him vulnerable to developing depression. In addition, chronic isolation can impact one’s mood and result in Major Depressive Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These considerations could be used to justify his diagnosis, or they should be assessed to justify his