The Case of Ben Ben was born and raised in Arkansas. His father, who died when B

Question

The Case of Ben

Ben was born and raised in Arkansas. His father, who died when Ben was 18, was a janitor at a local department store. His mother was a homemaker. Neither of his partners finished high school, and Ben was born when they were only 17 years old. Ben is a 52 year old and has been working as a driver for a postal company for the past 22 years. He reports that he likes his job.

Ben was an only child, and he explains that he got a lot of attention. He says that he loved is parents very much, “but they were kinda weird.” He adds that “they were like me. Just different, ya know?” Ben said that his aunt, his father’s sister has been institutionalized on several occasions.

Ben has been unmarried his entire life. He reports “I liked the girls okay and all that” but he never developed any permanent relationships. Ben reports that he has always been “nervous with the girls and such” and he avoids making any significant social overtures with women. He meets his sexual needs matter of factly by visiting a prostitute on a regular basis. He reports that their sexual encounters are highly regimented. He refuses to elaborate on this point, stating that his mother taught him to “never talk about dirty things.”

Ben reports that he also directed a lot of his energy into longs walks. Every evening, he would go for a walk sometimes lasting up to five hours. His neighbors were often concerned seeing him walking alone late at night and the police have been called on several occasions. Recently, however, Ben has lost interest in the walks explaining that the streets are too dangerous. Ben has attended church on a regular basis throughout his life. He has been involved in a number of community activities; people seem to appreciate his involvement, though they find him a bit odd.

During the past two years, coworkers have noticed a gradual change in Ben. While he always seemed a bit unusual, during the past few years, his social interactions seem confused and inappropriate. He sometimes smiles when he is angry and often seems distressed and agitated when everyone else is laughing. A coworker who befriended him reports that Ben may be using hallucinogenic drugs. Ben denies this however.

Ben has been making errors at work, where his supervisors have let him off with warnings. Unfortunately, his errors have been becoming more common around the station and coworkers have teased him for several weeks. Ben explains that his errors have weakened his already low self-image, and undercut his confidence in his abilities to perform his job. Ever since, Ben has become very careful to avoid making mistakes. He routinely double checks all his deliveries, sometimes running back into stores to confirm that he has delivered the correct box. He admitted that he sometimes hears celebrity voices telling him that he is making an error.

Ben spends his spare time in solitary behaviors including watching television (he watches a lot of court tv and builds plastic military models). During the past six months, Ben also admits to carefully checking all the locks on his house at night. Although Ben lives in a comfortable neighborhood, he points out that all the young people in the area dislike him and they may be planning to break into his house. He also disconnects his phone at night to avoid potential threatening phone calls.

Finally, Ben has recently begun insisting that he is suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. Although medical tests have proven negative, he insists that he can feel the organ rotting inside of him. This thought seems to have developed after he watched a television program on the side effects of alcoholism.

At the urging of his supervisor, Ben has voluntarily sought help from his employer’s human resource department.

What is his diagnoses

Explanation / Answer

Ben is suffering from schizophrenia as he is having the symptoms of this disorder:

Delusions; as he is having false beliefs that are not based in reality like his neighbors are trying to break in

Hallucinations as he is hearing things that don't exist like voices of celebrity

Negative symptoms; having reduced ability to function normally at his job.

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