Anthony Soprano Junior - A Case Study in Major Depressive Disorder

Anthony Soprano Jr who is called AJ is the main character of this documentary movie based on the TV series The Sopranos in season 6 he suffered from a major depressive disorder the DSM 4 TR classification for major depressive disorder its symptoms and AJ specific behavior will be explained later on however at the beginning we will shortly introduce his background for a better understanding of him as a person his not an Ordinary Boy from an ordinary nuclear family his family is of Italian descent and lives in New Jersey but what makes them different from the general average population living there his father Tony Soprano is involved in organized crime being the boss of the family Deo from Essex County New Jersey throughout the six seasons viewers can observe his struggle to chain a private family life and leadership in the mafia from a very young age AJ had disciplinary problems at home and at school at school he and his friends steal sacramental wine and turn up drunk and giggling at gym class zuchi Barber soprano let's go s up who man I don't feel so good I don't want any excuses Mr mean I got to go to the bathroom is that alcohol on your breath oh no in addition a school psychologist suspected the AJ may have some learning disability after extensive testing and meeting with school counselors he was deemed to be suffering from attention deficit disorder is though and it's not just this one incident Anthony sometimes has trouble following the rules weighing consequences at times doesn't think before he acts and it's thought that there's a good possibility Anthony could be add add I'm sorry attention deficit disorder it was obvious throughout the various Seasons that AJ had a strong family history of multiple psychiatric disorders his father was diagnosed with depression from the beginning of the series he was on medication and would see a therapist regularly his Mother Carmela visited some therapists a few times too everybody's marriage has problems is she seeing another woman uh yeah you can make that plural yes he sees other women moreover his father had antisocial personality disorder and panic disorder without agoraphobia AJ similarly like his father experiences panic attacks as well where's the Plano here I'm naming him defensive captain all right all right so let's hit those showers one thought in mon soprano AJ's father's involvement in organized crime causes strains on his parents' relationship due to these marital issues between his parents AJ would often act out during their period of separation and possible divorce God damn you I have been going crazy trying to reach you glater I don't what happened to your face just leave me alone I want to know what happened you never even went to Meadows after you gave me your word get off my back you are a liar [ __ ] you what did you say get back here as AJ got older his father insisted on him becoming more responsible and not a failure in life as a way to make AJ more productive his father got him a job at a construction site AJ started the job and was doing well there he met a Puerto Rican girl named Blanca they started dating and soon became close you going to come over take me on a date yeah [Music] absolutely you're going to call me right eventually AJ proposed to Blanca oh my God Anthony you like it it's gorgeous I don't know what to say like I love you I love you too so marry me then okay what I need to give this back to you I can't keep it why I mean I love you I love you too Anthony I don't know maybe I don't unfortunately after some reconsideration Blanca decided the AJ was not right for her and broke up with him this is when he became depressed based on the DSM 4 TR classification AJ suffered from a major depressive disorder and the following symptoms have been present throughout the same twoe period and represent a change from previous functioning at least one of the symptoms is either depressed mood or loss of Interest or pleasure look I'm [ __ ] depressed okay however it does not include symptoms that are clearly due to a general medical condition or mood in congruent delusions or hallucinations he seemed to lack energy for quite some time there were no suicidal ideations initially but he was constantly withdrawn and with marketly diminished interest or pleasure in all or almost all activities most of the day nearly every day I don't know wa I did it I did yeah I guess Jason JIS he called what' you tell him I can call him back how come cuz I don't want to go of course not beer strippers [ __ ] around with guys your own age you hate all that [ __ ] he also experienced decreased appetite causing a significant weight loss when not dieting Jus how many times you going to ask me you heard the term comfort food maybe it'll make you feel better I know this is hard for you to believe but food may not be the answer to every problem could not sleep nearly every day what are you doing up so early couldn't sleep he also suffered nearly every day from feelings of worthlessness or excessive and inappropriate guilt which may be delusional he also began seeing a therapist and was prescribed anti-depressants I don't know I mean I wish there was a reason but she says there isn't you sleeping a lot I'm tired I keep waking up nightmares I just keep thinking about her I mean it hurts but I can't help it does anything in life give you pleasure lately I don't know not really there's a medication called Lexapro it's an anti-depressant I have friends who take that well I'm going to write you a prescription just as things seemed like they would never improve AJ met some childhood friends whose fathers were also in the mafia with his father he started hanging out with them and seemed to be improving he even began to take some college courses the [ __ ] away after the African-American student incident he developed similar symptoms to what he was displaying after his breakup with Blanca you must have seen fights before your friends beating up the African kid why do you think that's been impossible to shake they had my back after all the [ __ ] with Blanca now they care about me did you try to stop the beating I'm one individual or what could I do you seem to be taking it all personally you think your feelings about Blanca in any way relate to this African boy she's not black I mean she's pretty tan I know kids on Lexapro say it's great and I still feel like [ __ ] AJ dropped out of college and again confined himself to his room his ability to think or concentrate began to diminish nearly every day what's going on with you still about Blanca you know I don't know anymore okay but you need to learn to shut stuff out are you crazy I mean do you hear what we're talking about why don't you try setting goals for yourself maybe you should move out all right in my condition I mean I can't hold a job Jesus AJ there has to be something you can do look I'm Ill Meadow right I'm on medication don't you ever feel like there's no point to any of this the the other symptom is recurrent thoughts of death recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan or a suicide attempt or specific plan for committing suicide AJ progressed to the point that he attempted to kill himself oh jeez hey J what the [ __ ] help [Music] help where we go AJ was admitted to an impatient psychiat atric facility and Reed the therapy he needed love you sweetie I love you I love you too he's had a lot of valume the only Criterion that does not pertain to AJ is psychomotor agitation or retardation like being Restless or slowed down his symptoms cause clinically significant distress or imp in Social occupational I quit or other important areas of functioning in addition they are not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance like abuse of a drug or medication or any general medical condition AJ displays interepisode recovery between his two major depressive episodes making his case of major depressive disorder recurrent the average person watching AJ on The Sopranos would receive an accurate portrayal of major depressive disorder with recurrent episodes he displays majority of the symptoms for the disorder in the two episodes he has had these breaks of normaly between the two episodes are crucial in understanding major depressive episodes especially when the depression is recurrent major depressive disorder is highly heritable so watching AJ's father who also displays signs of depression helps to understand some of the genetic influence on depression obviously I'm prone to depression a certain Bleak attitude about the world but I know I can handle it your kids though and then the think you got the cause of it how are you the cause of it it's in his blood this miserable [ __ ] existence my rotten [ __ ] putrid genes have infected my kid's Soul that's my gift to my son proper treatment of AJ's major depressive disorder would given his severe symptom levels include beginning with anti-depressant medication cognitive behavioral therapy might also be added in order to increase effectiveness of treatment it does not seem that electroconvulsive therapy would be necessary in AJ's case since he does not exhibit psychotic symptoms or catatonia

Channel: Professor Caleb Lack

Views: 135,192

Keywords: Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Disorder, Psychopathology, Dsm Iv Tr, Anthony Soprano, Abnormal, Case Study, Mental Disorder, Case Study Literature Subject, Dsm Iv

Id: 5YiNLFimuoc

Length: 13min 33sec (813 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 25 2013