Case Study Report: Part 1
Aastha Gulati
Psychology 3227A
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Cahalan (2012) presented a very realistic perspective of the confusion and sense of panic that arises when enduring symptoms of an unknown illness and the impact it has on ones entire life. As a young adult, close to Susannah’s age, it was easy to relate strongly to her daily life and the various problems involving relationships, family and work. Therefore, to witness her life, at a random moment, entirely change due to an illness was extremely sobering. It was alarming to see her disease progress throughout the memoir. As we learned in class, the symptoms for Anti-NMDAR encephalitis transition from psychiatric to neurological …show more content…
I became curious as to how her support group may have been impacted by her illness. Two studies explored the effects of illnesses on family caregivers’ mental and physical health using opposing methods. The first article by Chang, Chiou and Chen (2010) investigated the psychological and physical health of family members by measuring caregiver burden. Conversely, the second experiment conducted by Martens and Addington (2001) explored the mental health of family caregivers of schizophrenic patients using a variety of different …show more content…
The former supports caregiver burden, while the latter supports a more precise experiencing scale as a better measurement. How Susannah’s parents, brother, boyfriend and friends perceived her illness, and the amount of burden they felt may have had an affect on their physical and mental health according to these articles. As Susannah relationships with her family were complex and not always positive, further research regarding the implications of family problems on illness trajectory would be
Aastha Gulati
Psychology 3227A
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Cahalan (2012) presented a very realistic perspective of the confusion and sense of panic that arises when enduring symptoms of an unknown illness and the impact it has on ones entire life. As a young adult, close to Susannah’s age, it was easy to relate strongly to her daily life and the various problems involving relationships, family and work. Therefore, to witness her life, at a random moment, entirely change due to an illness was extremely sobering. It was alarming to see her disease progress throughout the memoir. As we learned in class, the symptoms for Anti-NMDAR encephalitis transition from psychiatric to neurological …show more content…
I became curious as to how her support group may have been impacted by her illness. Two studies explored the effects of illnesses on family caregivers’ mental and physical health using opposing methods. The first article by Chang, Chiou and Chen (2010) investigated the psychological and physical health of family members by measuring caregiver burden. Conversely, the second experiment conducted by Martens and Addington (2001) explored the mental health of family caregivers of schizophrenic patients using a variety of different …show more content…
The former supports caregiver burden, while the latter supports a more precise experiencing scale as a better measurement. How Susannah’s parents, brother, boyfriend and friends perceived her illness, and the amount of burden they felt may have had an affect on their physical and mental health according to these articles. As Susannah relationships with her family were complex and not always positive, further research regarding the implications of family problems on illness trajectory would be