Diana Caballero
Professor Svay
FIQWS 10108
October 17, 2023
Dear John Smith,
Good evening Dr., my name is Diana Caballero and I am a professional psychologist specialized in the behavioral department. I hope everyone in your family is well. I have crucial information to share with you regarding your wife’s mental health condition. I must inform you that your wife has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. According to concurrent information and our newest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5), written by The American Psychiatrist Association (APA), your wife has fallen under the symptomatic criteria for a schizophrenic illness. In your wife’s diary we were able to determine certain things she wrote that fell under the schizophrenic criteria.
She often described feeling upset and crying frequently when you were out of sight she also wrote that overtime she began to shift sleep schedules by sleeping in daytime and staying up at night. There has also been signs of psychotic behavior due to the fact that she described a woman to appear from the wallpaper. She would also make certain strange remarks about the wallpaper such as mentioning different color tones, seeing lines moving as well as mentioning a smell coming from it. All of these are signs of derealization given that her senses are picking up on things that are not truly there. All of her mood episodes were initial signs of her illness. In the DSM-5, giving birth in certain seasons of the year have been connected as an environmental risk factor for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Specifically, during late winter or early spring as well as summer depending on the location. According to your statements, you have stated that your wife recently gave birth in spring earlier this year which might have been a contributing factor to your wife’s diagnosis.
For clarification your wife in fact did not suffer from “hysteria” she was suffering from depressive symptoms that would later on convert into hallucinations which constantly torment your wife. These hallucinations have caused your wife to display signs of social cognition deficit such as not being able to identify other people’s intentions and interpret unimportant events as meaningful which is the cause of delusions (APA, 2013). Your wife has mentioned you and Jennie having a particular interest towards the yellow wallpaper even though you might say you just glanced at it. In her mind she is thinking that you are plotting to “discover” what is behind the wallpaper even though there really isn’t anything. She truly believes that you and Jennie know that there is something going on with the wallpaper since she “sees” a person behind it as well as identifying a terrible smell to it. That’s the basis of schizophrenia you cannot convince her that there’s nothing in the wallpaper because she genuinely believes that there is a person behind the wallpaper. Furthermore, the DSM-5 states that women in their late 20s are prone to experience their first psychosis episode which closely lines up with your wife’s age as well as the first time she had an out-of-reality experience. However, it has also been found that your wife has family members that also suffer from schizophrenia. It has been imperative to our knowledge considering schizophrenia could also be passed on to other generations through genetics. Increasing the likelihood of suffering from schizophrenia, especially with what she had been experiencing since she gave birth. All of these factors are what unfortunately led to the development of schizophrenia.
I understand that the antique diagnosis and remedies were different than what they are now but the best solution to this problem is to take her to receive therapy and prescribe her medications. Therefore I recommend you to go to a psychiatrist who will give you the drugs your wife may or will need according to the diagnosis I gave her. She will most likely receive second-generation antipsychotics such as Clozapine or Clozaril, which should help reduce a relapse and to reduce the side effects on her motor abilities. There are many options available, you just have to identify whichever suits her best. There are also newer medications that could improve cognitive function such as Olanzapine and Risperidone. In addition to medications, your wife may also need to have therapeutic treatment in her recovery such as psychosocial intervention or family therapy. These are methods to improve the patient’s behaviors as well as to acquire certain social skills in order to be able to normally reintegrate into society. There can also be cognitive behavioral therapy in order to instill awareness of her delusions. In her writing it was visible how her symptoms became worse the more time she spent locked in her room. It began with depressive symptoms which then became into hallucinations due to her being untreated. The medications will improve your wife’s symptoms as well as reduce any relapses and the therapy she will receive will help her become more mentally stable. People will help her recognize her beliefs and help her get through them. She will not go through this alone anymore and she doesn’t have to hide how she feels anymore. You have forced her to fit your expectations of a “healing” process which has led her to have more mental problems. Locking her into a room was perhaps the last thing you should have done. Considering she hated the wallpaper in the room she was locked in, her delusions or hallucinations began to revolve around this matter. She was not allowed to visit anyone or to do any activity at all which is what led her to be more into her mind and continuously develop more symptoms and abnormal behaviors. Your method made her feel lonely.
Therefore it is for the better that she receive medications and therapy. This is the best way to help your wife for now. I understand it is not easy to take in but this isn’t your fault, this is the time for you to show her your support if you truly love her. If there are any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Best wishes, Diana Caballero
Citations
Clarke, Diana E, editor. “Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders.” Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2017, pp. 99–105.
Rhetorical Analysis
Based on the story of The “Yellow Wallpaper” my argument was that the woman narrating the story suffered from schizophrenia due to her abnormal behavior throughout the story. From delusions to abnormal sleep schedules to irrational emotions, all indicators that there is something very wrong. This woman had qualified for many symptoms that are present in people that have schizophrenia. The genre is a letter which is intended for the woman’s husband and to my professors as well. I chose the letter because it is a simpler method to express the diagnosis and it is a way to analyze deeper the behaviors of the woman to classify it as a mental illness. Through the letter I am able to place myself in a psychologist’s point of view which includes the emotion of breaking the news to her husband and the analysis itself of this woman’s behaviors. The husband primarily is the intended audience since he is the husband of the woman. He wrongfully diagnosed and treated his wife’s mental illness which led to her illness to progressively worsen. Therefore, it was necessary to provide a concurrent diagnosis of his wife to help her. In order to support my argument I used information from the DSM-5 book since it describes every mental illness known as well as the symptoms that correspond to each illness. The book is current and relevant to 21st century advances in psychopathology which ensured the proper diagnosis of the woman in the story. Logos being the rhetorical strategy used in this case since there were relevant facts included to support my diagnosis as well as to provide credibility to my statements. I also attempted reasoning by mentioning how the “treatment” the husband was giving to her wife was never going to help her. Isolating her from the world in a room with a wallpaper she initially despised was not a very logical strategy to use in his situation. No one wants to go multiple days locked up in a room without any activity. Especially in a room that one is not comfortable in. I attempted to use a stern but at the same time delicate tone as another rhetorical strategy. The stern tone is to evoke a sense of authority and seriousness towards my points and my argument. This way I put emphasis in serious matter when mentioning the topic relating to the diagnosis as well as having a delicate tone. With the delicate tone I am able to empathize with the husband considering how devastating it can be to know that a loved one is mentally ill. Mental illness can disable people that suffer from it which is not always the easiest thing to handle. I have also attempted to use ethos as a way to emphasize my point trough the use of the DSM-5 since it creates a much more credible argument and it is not just someone spatting out unknown terms with any evidence. With the use of the DSM-5 I am able to corroborate my diagnosis and my points in order to help the husband out, considering he was also a psychologist from a past time period. Theoretically, we both have the same interest of health therefore I would be a credible person as a psychologist to diagnose his wife and it creates more persuasion with my argument. Overall the purpose of the letter was to inform the husband of a concurrent diagnosis of his wife’s illness and propose a proper treatment for her recuperation.
