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Borderline personality disorder case study
Borderline personality disorder case study
Borderline personality disorder case study
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From the infamous Shakespearean play, Othello, the titular character reveals multiple signs and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. Based on an examination of Othello's thoughts, behaviors, and actions, there are a series of symptoms of the disorder showcased by him throughout the play, such as frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment; identity disturbance; suicidal actions; intense, inappropriate anger; and transient, stress-related paranoid ideation. These symptoms are unveiled through patterns of dramatic outbursts, paranoid behaviors, unstable relationships, self-image insecurities, and suicidal actions, indicating the existence of some form of the disorder. This directly connects Othello to the diagnosis of Borderline According to an article titled “Relationships and Borderline Personality Disorder” by the Elements Behavioral Health, people diagnosed the disorder “may switch quickly from idealizing other people to devaluing them, feeling that the other person does not care enough, does not give enough, is not ‘there’ enough.” This directly relates to Othello’s relationship with Desdemona, for example, after Iago manipulates Othello into thinking his wife isn’t loyal to him by the end of the tragedy. Othello states, “'Tis pitiful; but yet Iago knows / That she with Cassio hath the act of shame / A thousand times committed; Cassio confess'd it.” (Shakespeare 5.2.250-52). This describes Othello releasing his intensifying ideation in which he believes Desdemona has cheated on him with his friend, Cassio, even though she has not. Overall, whether it was between his fake, manipulative relationship with Iago or his mistakenly unloyal and paranoid relationship with Desdemona, Othello’s diagnosis is most likely driven by the thought of losing interpersonal relationships with the characters in the The universal significance of this report is to further discuss and prove Othello’s fatal actions and instability in functioning through his thoughts behaviors and actions in comparison to the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder and diagnose him with the persistent mental
In the beginning Othello is seen as a calm collected man when put into an awkward situation, such as being ridiculed by his wife’s father in thinking that Othello has used some sort of magic to gain Desdemona 's infection. Othello’s calm collected ways start to deteriorate after he is convinced by Iago, a deceiving evil man that Desdemona has slept with Cassio. Othello’s self control no longer exist once he is fully convinced that it is in fact true that Desdemona has been unfaithful. His sense of what is real and what is not real is thrown out the window. Othello starts to become extremely jealous of his used to be beloved Cassio, and after considering giving back his spot as liternuanat he denies him that. He starts to become cold and distant towards his wife, and starts to call her out of her name. As Othello continues to lose control the people around him start to doubt his abilities of being able to protect Cyprus, and even his wife starts to doubt him, and agree with her father. No one knows who this man is anymore, he has started to act in an insanely matter. He can longer be his true self and take on the responsibilities of being general as he starts to crack. With Othello being faced with evil, him being calm is no longer an option for him because he can’t face the fact that the person he loves so dearly is cheating on him. Going back the they handkerchief, the symbol of his love for her. Othello seeing Cassio with Desdemona’s handkerchief sets him over the edge becoming truly convinced that his wife has betrayed him. Even when Desdemona and her maid Emila, Iago’s wife, has told him countless times that she has not been unfaithful, he is so far gone from reality that he does not believe either one of them. With the state of mind he’s in he cannot bear the thought of another man touching his wife. Othello and Iago plan to kill Cassio and Desdemona. After he
Iago begins by planting seeds of doubt in the mind of Othello about Desdemona’s faithfulness: “Iago: Ha! I not like that. Othello: what dost thou say? Iago: Nothing, my lost; or if-I know not what. Othello: Was not that Cassio parted from my wife? Iago: Cassio, my lord? No, sure, I cannot think it / That he would steal so guilty-like, Seeing your coming. Othello: I do believe ‘twas he’” (III.iii.34-40). The seed of fear that Desdemona is seeing Cassio behind Othello’s back begins here. Because Othello demoted Cassio for acting so dishonorably when he was drunk, Othello could believe that Cassio would try to get revenge by bedding Othello’s wife. Iago furthers this fear by pointing out that Desdemona is capable of lying to male figures, such as her father: “She deceived her father by marrying you” (III.iii.206). Meaning that Desdemona is capable of lying to her father, therefore she is capable of lying to her husband. Othello begins trusting Iago more than he does Desdemona. Iago’s deception leads Othello further and further into the darkness of madness. Madness to the point that Othello murders his own wife and kills
In the past, BPD was believed to be a set of symptoms between problems associated with mood and schizophrenia. These symptoms were believed to be comprised of distortions of reality and mood problems. A closer look at this disorder has resulted in the realization that even though the symptoms of this disorder reveal emotional complexity, this disorder is more closer to other personality disorders, on the basis of the manner in which it develops and occurs in families, than to schizophrenia (Hoffman, Fruzzetti, Buteau &ump; Neiditch, 2005). The use of the term borderline has however, resulted in a heated controversy between the health care fraternity and patients. Patients argue that this term appears to be somehow discriminatory and that it should be removed and the disorder renamed. Patients point out that an alternative name, such as emotionally unstable personality disorder, should be adopted instead of borderline personality disorder. Clinicians, on the other hand, argue that there is nothing wrong with the use of the term borderline. Opponents of this term argue that the terms used to describe persons suffering from this disorder, such as demanding, treatment resistant, and difficult among others, are discriminatory. These terms may create a negative feeling of health professionals towards patients, an aspect that may lead to adoption of negative responses that may trigger self-destructive behavior (Giesen-Bloo et al, 2006). The fact however, is that the term borderline has been misunderstood and misused so much that any attempt to redefine it is pointless leaving scrapping the term as the only option.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a very common personality disorder that is often confused with Bipolar disorder. Unlike Bipolar disorder which is when a person’s mood changes from depression to manic, borderline personality disorder is when a person suffers from unstable emotions, behavior and relationships with others and themselves. Individuals who suffer from severe BPD often have manic/ psychotic encounters. This disorder is very common in young adults, especially in women of every race and ethnicity. BPD was first added to the addition of DSM-III in 1980. Borderline Personality disorder can be linked to many other disorders such as depression, eating disorders, bipolar depression, schizophrenia and/or attempted or completed suicides. According to National Institute of Mental Health: about 85 percent of people with BPD also meet the diagnostic criteria for another mental illness. Medical Professionals take interest in this disorder because it is deep rooted and irregular unlike many other disorders. 1 in every 25 individual’s live with this disorder
Othello is without a doubt obsessively in love with Desdemona that the preconcieved idea of her cheating on him will throw him into an uncontrollable fits of rage that could be seen as slight symptoms of excessive jealousy responses in the brain. As a soldier Othello is supposed to hold himself to a higher standard. However Iago has made it a point to mention Othello’s epileptic tantrums as “passion unfitting such a man” (Act IV,scene 1). Othello a man of such noble standard and solidarity is witnessed as revealing weakness and vulnerability by the uncertainty of marriage with Desdemona.
“Othello”, by William Shakespeare, is a story of jealousy’s potential to manipulate thoughts and eventually lead to ultimate demise. The key to extremely detrimental jealousy lies within one’s ability to recognize it or deny it. It seems that the important theme of “Othello” is that if jealousy is not recognized and immediately dealt with, it receives a head start to commence the process of rotting away all normal human reason. Othello’s speech in Act III scene iii beginning with line 178 is the first and most important indicator of the trouble ominously looming on Othello’s horizon. His immediate response to Iago’s accusations is that of total denial. By depriving himself of that initial venting process, Othello gives his jealousy the perfect culture on which his jealousy can turn cancerous and grow out of control. Othello does not spit out the seed that Iago has planted within himself soon enough and thus lets Iago water it with smooth speech until its roots spread and cannot be uprooted. The only way to appropriately illustrate this point is through an in depth analysis of specific text from the play.
A.C. Bradley describes Othello as "by far the most romantic figure among Shakespeare's heroes"(Shakespearean Tragedy, 1). This is an unusual description of a man who murders his own wife. However, Othello's feelings of hate for Desdemona started as an overwhelming love for her when their relationship began. This transformation from love to hate also inflicted the characters Iago and Roderigo and like Othello their hatred resulted in the murder of innocent people. Roderigo's love for Desdemona was transformed into hate towards any man that he thought was loved by her. Iago's love for his job and his wife, Emilia changed into a destructive hatred of Cassio and Othello. As a result of their hatred Cassio, Emilia, and at the end themselves were killed. The connection between love and hate in William Shakespeare's "Othello" is the ugly feeling of jealousy that caused such transformations. Jealousy can be described as a fear of losing something or someone that is valuable (Godfrey 2). As minor as this feeling appears to be by that definition, it can take on varying degrees of damaging behavior. Othello, Roderigo, and Iago became paralyzed by jealousy. Their thoughts, actions, and behaviors were ruled by it. Jealousy caused their inability to the act rationally. They became paranoid and unable to love. This paper will examine the jealousy that caused love to turn into hate for Roderigo, Othello, and Iago.
While that is true, the book does give some background to Othello, and that background gives enough information to determine that he does, in fact, have this disorder. A major indicator that someone may be suffering from borderline personality disorder is, “A history of early loss or traumatic abandonment is also common, possibly due to death of a parent or parental separation” (International). Othello’s time as a slave was obviously very traumatic, however as a runaway slave, he had to leave his parents behind, assuming they were in the same place to begin with. Being left without any parental figures would result in a lapse of good judgment as he never had anyone to learn from, which he later displays when he so easily believes Iago’s lie and later kills Desdemona. Additionally, those that suffer from borderline personality disorder, “...may show worse performance in unstructured work or school situations” (American Psychiatric Association 664). Not only was Othello in the army, he was a highly respected general, meaning he embraced the rigorous military life and schedule. For the week or so that he was in Venice, the Turks were defeated so there was no enemy to be fought, no need for the strict plans he was so used to, which allowed him to embrace a more lax lifestyle
Othello changed his perception very significantly throughout the play. In the beginning of the play Othello loved Desdemona, but as the play went on Othello hated Desdemona so much he wanted to kill her. Desdemona perceives herself as the most loyal wife anyone could have. Othello perceives the total opposite when he sees Desdemona. When Iago first told him that Desdemona is cheating on him. Othello looked at Iago like he was irrational but after Iago convinced him of Desdemona cheating he perceived everyone as his enemy because Iago had great reputation. Every time Othello looked at Cassio or Desdemona he would always think about the negative between them. Depending on how persuasive someone is they can impact how an individual perceives
In William Shakespeare’s Othello, unspoken fears of being an outsider and concerns about his public image contribute to the downfall of a tragic hero named Othello. Othello, a general in the Venetian army’s, final monologue reflects the importance of reputation and the conformity needed to fit his surroundings. He is seen as an outsider of the Venetian culture; he is frequently referred to as “the Moor” and is called an abundance of racial slurs by the Venice born natives. Although Othello never voices his internal struggle to feel accepted by the people around him, his image and physical appearance are some of major issues he faces. Even in the moments before he stabs himself, Othello is more concerned with the legacy he is leaving behind than with the death of his wife, Desdemona. Shakespeare uses Othello’s transformation from a heroic military soldier to a tragic figure to warn of the dangers of obsessing over one’s reputation and the need to feel accepted by society.
One of the first impressions gained of Othello is that he is a great war hero. Before much else is said of him, tales of his skill and valor in battle are illustrated and he is shown to be a great and famed warrior. He naturally possesses many attributes typically associated with soldiers. From the beginning Othello is noble, quick to act, judicious, trusting, and gives much weight to the importance of duty. These are all traits that serve to make him great at the beginning of the play, and later, ironically become key elements in his downfall. These aspects can be considered the internal causes of Othello’s tragic flaw. “Othello's nature is all of one piece. His trust, where he trusts, is absolute…. Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life. If such a passion as jealousy seizes him, it will swell into a well-night incontrollable flood.” Othello is pure an...
Borderline Personality is a disorder that affects a significantly large percentage of the population with a prevalence rate of up to 5.9%. (DSM, 2000) Out of that percentage about 75% of patients diagnosed with BPD are female. It is an illness that is both misunderstood and given quite a bad stigma. It is difficult to live with and those that have it struggle to maintain personal and business relationships. Even with the high demand for treatment it is a disorder that is hard to treat however when treated can be highly affective. (NIMH) This paper goes into detail on the history, diagnosing, treatment, and effects of Borderline Personality Disorder so that the disorder may better be understood.
Borderline personality is people have a hard time being able to control their own emotions. As a result, they tend to act in a rash matter they tend to do before they think which can cause quite a few problems. Most people with borderline personality disorder tend to do harm to themselves in the form of self-cutting or suicide. Most of the people inflicted with BPD tend to be females but discovered that the illness could also affect men CITATION Nat17 \l 1033 (Illness, 2017). In the past borderline personality has been confused with depression or with PTSD. About 5.9 % of our population in the United States are affected by borderline personality
Othello explores the discord between voiced principles and subsequent behaviors, while revealing that Othello’s failure to adhere to his principles defines the failure of his pursuits. His fears are self-fulfilling in that he passionately acts against those he believes have belittled him, and is viewed as dishonorable as a result. In prioritizing his desire for Desdemona, authority, and respect above his morals, Othello ensures the loss of all he seeks.
Othello's character reminds me of Edmond Dantes. There seems to be a similarity in the sense that, Edmond's mind was pure and innocent, he didn't even suspect his own companions of betraying him. Edmond's mind continued free of cruel intentions until his mind's capacity began to expand and he soon learned who his real enemies were. Edmond's character changed. His entire life was altered with the help of his mentor. Othello didn't have the assistance of a teacher but he had the assistance of Iago. Trust was the key to their downfalls. Othello trusted without protection. When he trusted someone he depended fully on that individual and committed his life to the faithfulness of that person. He wore no armor against the dishonesty of the cruel and knew how to fight only in the physical realm. "I know Iago thy honesty and love doth mince this matter..."When the revelation came upon Edmond's life he sought out revenge. In the same manner Othello's heart and mind was purely focused on his wife, Desdemona. When the poison in his mind began to settle, Othello's trust for Desdemona grew distant and his innocence began to fade.