The Case of Virginia Woolf

The Case of Virginia Woolf

Axis I: Bipolar 1, Severe Psychotic Features

Axis II: No Diagnosis

Axis III: Insomnia

Axis IV: Suicidal, Paranoid, Panic Attacks

Axis VI: GAF= 20, has suffered from panic attacks, paranoid

Patient Virginia Woolf is most likely suffering from Bipolar I Disorder. Virginia's symptoms have been present from an early age but have gradually developed, as she grew older. She experienced her first panic attack, 13 years old, right after her mother's sudden death. Virginia slipped into deep depression; she would experience highs and lows depending on the situations she was put in. Following her mother's death Virginia's sister passed away leaving her next older sister in charge. Mr. Stephen—Virginia's father—became irrational, selfish, demanding and inconsiderate. His behavior tore Virginia between loving her father and despising him for his behavior. When he died Virginia began manifesting sings of an extreme breakdown. She began with headaches and moments of severe irritation escalating to a manic state. She would refuse to eat, attempted to commit suicide and would experience some hallucinations. Along with the trauma from her family members sudden deaths Virginia was dealing with sexual abuse received from her stepbrothers. One of them examined her genitalia when she was only five and the other stepbrother would paw and fondle her as a teenager. During her adolescence she flirted with the idea of homosexuality with her cousin and an older women friend. After attending the social group her sister had put together Virginia began to be more outspoken and more wiling to share her opinions. This new behavior would initiate her career as a writer where she became famous for her books. Although she was getting tremendous results with her books she was not having luck with her love life. Her first fiancé admitted to being homosexual and call of the wedding. She eventually married to Leonard Woolf but could not correspond to his passionate love because of her sexual preference for females. Virginia began having her lapses of manic episodes loosing sight of reality. In one of her episodes she talked rapidly for days without stopping.

Bipolar Disorder is traditionally defined by the presence of discrete episodes of mania and depression. (Boadie, Dunlop, Jeffrey, Rakosfsky, 2013) Virginia suffered form her first panic attack in her childhood and slipped into deep depression shortly after that. Like a majority of patients with Bipolar disorder Virginia experienced continuous interepisode mood symptoms. (Boadie et al., 2013) From an early age Virginia was exposed to several traumatic events. Her mother's death triggered the onset of her panic attacks. Her sister's death