A nurse is assisting in the care of a client following a mastectomy.
Which of the following responses by the client indicates acceptance of their altered body image?

Choice A rationale

Encouraging communication with staff during self-harm urges is a crucial intervention for clients with borderline personality disorder. This allows for immediate support, redirection of focus, and the opportunity to implement coping strategies before an episode of self-harm occurs, aligning with the principles of dialectical behavior therapy often used for this disorder.

Choice B rationale

Assisting the client in developing healthy coping mechanisms for intense emotions is fundamental in managing borderline personality disorder. Individuals with this disorder often experience emotional dysregulation, and learning adaptive coping skills provides them with tools to manage distress, reduce impulsivity, and decrease the likelihood of self-harm.

Choice C rationale

Advising the client to avoid expressing feelings assertively is countertherapeutic. Clients with borderline personality disorder may struggle with expressing emotions appropriately. Encouraging avoidance can lead to suppressed feelings, potential emotional outbursts, and increased risk of self-harm. Assertive communication skills should be fostered.

Choice D rationale

Offering additional attention only when self-mutilating behaviors occur can inadvertently reinforce these behaviors. This approach can create a pattern where the client engages in self-harm to gain attention, rather than learning healthier ways to seek support and manage their emotions. Consistent and proactive support is more effective.

Choice A rationale

Bulimia nervosa can be difficult to detect because individuals with the disorder often maintain a normal weight or may even be slightly overweight. Their eating and purging behaviors are often carried out in secret, and they may not appear outwardly ill or underweight, unlike individuals with anorexia nervosa.

Choice B rationale

People with bulimia nervosa engage in episodes of binge eating, consuming a large amount of food in a short period, followed by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Therefore, they do not eat an average amount of food on a daily basis; their intake is characterized by extremes.

Choice C rationale

Vomiting is one, but not the only, compensatory behavior associated with bulimia nervosa. Individuals may also use other methods such as misuse of laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise, or fasting to counteract the effects of binge eating. The absence of vomiting does not rule out bulimia nervosa.

Choice D rationale

While bulimia nervosa has significant physical health consequences, the direct risk of developing diabetes mellitus is not a primary complication. Eating disorders can lead to various metabolic disturbances, but diabetes is more directly linked to factors like obesity, genetics, and insulin resistance. Electrolyte imbalances, esophageal damage, and cardiac arrhythmias are more immediate risks. .