Silvia And Deborah Case Study

This paper looks at the biological, psychological and social components of two case studies the Case of Silvia and Deborah, and the Case of Virginia, and how these components mutually influence one another, which affects the physical, mental and social health of these individuals.
Case of Silvia and Deborah
Silvia is a 45-year old woman who lives with her 16-year old daughter Deborah. This case study is unique because neither Silvia nor Deborah was at the location of the traumatic event which happened 16-years ago, but both seem to be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or in this case Secondary PTSD. As the biological, psychological and social components of the case are examined, the effects of early childhood parental relationships, stress, and maladaptive coping skills can lead to physical

and mental health problems.
Biological Components
Often biological, psychological and social components interconnect through this idea of secure attachment, especially between the child and caregiver during the infancy stage. During the infancy stage the right hemisphere of the brain is being developed, simultaneously creating deep connections into the limbic and autonomic nervous system, which are dominant connections for the human stress response (Schore, 2001; Cozolino, 2017a). Additionally, this secure attachment facilitates the expansion of the infants coping capacities, which affects their stress response throughout the life cycle. Furthermore, Schore, and Schore (2008) state, during the infancy stage the essential task is to secure an attachment bond of emotional communication between the infant and his or her caregiver. This bond is formed when the infant communicates both positive and negative emotional states the caregiver, and she or he regulates these emotional states.
In this case, Silvia grew up without her emotional needs being met by either of her parents. According to Silvia, both of her parents worked long hours and would leave her strict and emotionless grandmother to care for her. When her parents passed away Silvia wondered since she didn’t grieve the loss of her parents if that made her a “bad person”. According to neurobiological informed modern attachment theory, the lack of emotional support and unmet needs during Silvia’s childhood caused her not to form the resiliency factors for coping with psychobiological stressors at later stages of the life cycle (Schore & Schore, 2014). Thus, leading to her current psychological state and the conflicted relationship with Deborah. However, the tumultuous relationship between Silvia and her mother, is another factor in Silvia and Deborah’s relationship, since Silvia’s mother was not meeting Silvia’s emotional needs Silvia feels the need to overcompensate and in doing so, has become a “helicopter mom”. This constant hovering is driving a wedge between Silvia and Deborah, and this chronic sympathetic arousal could be correlated to Deborah’s irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and the stress during the pregnancy could be contributed to Deborah’s diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Psychological Components
As mentioned earlier, Silvia was missing that secure attachment when she was younger, leaving her accessible to mental health problems caused by the inability to cope with stressful events.

Therefore, when the tragic event 10-years ago on 9/11 took Silvia’s partner Judy, she becomes inconsolable. Silvia began suffering from depression, and symptoms secondary PTSD (e.g. nightmares, anger, and being startled easily). Due to the traumatic event on 9/11 Silvia has been exhibiting avoidance from taking part in her daily life. The psychological effects of the traumatic, in which Judy died has caused her to dissociate or “disconnect” from her life. The dissociation is made possible through the biological and psychological process, where levels of endogenous opioids increase, creating a sense of well-being and a decrease in explicit processing of the event (Cozolino, 2017b). Furthermore, the derealization and depersonalization reaction that Silvia is displaying allows her to avoid the reality of Judy’s death and the importance of moving on, as evident by Silvia stating, “She feels like she’s watching herself go through the motions” of living without actually

living.
Although Deborah wasn’t even born when Judy passed away, and does not fit the traditional sense of being traumatized, “the loss of maternal presence, engagement, and vitality may have all been experienced as life-threatening” (Cozolino, 2017b, pp. 328) during her infancy stage caused by Silvia’s depression could explain her heightened stress levels, nightmare and IBS (Cozolino, 2014).
Social Components
The possibility of Silvia not securing an attachment to her caregiver when she was an infant and the trauma of losing a loved one has led to Silvia developing avoidance conditioning. Avoidance conditioning is when an individual who has experienced a trauma begins to avoid the conditioned stimuli (triggers) that bring on anxiety and hyperarousal. Unfortunately for Silvia avoidance has become her life. Silvia has created closed off system, whereas, prior to the traumatic event she had many friends, both socially and professionally. Moreover, Silvia relies on Deborah for emotional support whereas Judy used to provide that. For Silvia, when Judy died so did her emotional support, drive, and motivation. Furthermore, because a closed family systems isolate its members from their environment, members begin to suffocate one another, as evident in Silvia being a “helicopter mom” and the current tension between them.