A 30 year old unmarried woman of average socio-economic background believes that her boss is in secretly love with her. She rings him up at odd hours and writes love letter to him despite his serious warning not to do so. She holds this belief despite contradiction from family members & his denial. However she is able to manage her daily activities as before. She is most likely to be suffering from:
A 30 year old unmarried woman of average socio-economic background believes that her boss is in secretly love with her. She rings him up at odd hours and writes love letter to him despite his serious warning not to do so. She holds this belief despite contradiction from family members & his denial. However she is able to manage her daily activities as before. She is most likely to be suffering from:
💡 Explanation
**Delusional Disorder Explanation**
**Core Concept**
Delusional disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of one or more non-bizarre delusions that last for at least one month. These delusions are not explained by a medical condition or substance use and cause significant distress or impairment in social or occupational functioning.
**Why the Correct Answer is Right**
The patient's persistent belief that her boss is in love with her, despite evidence to the contrary and denial from her boss and family members, is a classic example of a delusion. Delusions are fixed beliefs that are not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. In this case, the patient's delusion is causing her to behave in a way that is intrusive and annoying to her boss, but she is still able to manage her daily activities. This suggests that the delusion is not severe enough to cause significant impairment in her functioning.
**Why Each Wrong Option is Incorrect**
**Option A:** Schizophrenia is incorrect because it typically involves a combination of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and negative symptoms, which are not present in this case.
**Option B:** Major Depressive Disorder is incorrect because it is not characterized by the presence of delusions, and the patient's functioning is not significantly impaired.
**Option C:** Anxiety Disorder is incorrect because it does not involve the presence of delusions, and the patient's behavior is more consistent with a fixed belief rather than anxiety.
**Clinical Pearl / High-Yield Fact**
Delusional disorder often goes undiagnosed because the patients may not seek treatment for their symptoms, and the delusions may not be severe enough to cause significant impairment in functioning.
**Correct Answer:** D.
✓ Correct Answer: C. Delusional disorder
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