Silver Linings Playbook

The film Silver Linings Playbook is a fictional story, that focuses on a mentally ill man who suffers from extreme mood swings, depression, delusions, and hypomanic and manic episodes. I would diagnose Pat as someone who is suffering from Bipolar II disorder. Bipolar II disorder is a disorder in which an individual experiences the presence of at least one major depressive episode, at least one hypomanic episode, and no history of mania. Throughout the film Pat experienced at least one Manic episode. This episode forced him into becoming arrested and hospitalized. He was unable to control his behavior, and it seemed that at first he wasn’t understanding why. When diagnosing a Manic episode, it does not need to last a full week, if it results

This psychological delusion was not actually accurate, but because of his diagnosis, they are common. Although Pat experiences moments in the film where he feels that he is struggling with depression, none of the episodes seem to be overbearing. He seemed to always remain agitated and irritable which led me to because he was not suffering from either Major Depressive Disorder, or any other kind of depressive disorder. In the film Pat refers to these episodes as ‘depressive shit’ which he mentions to his therapist. These are minor episodes therefore being he never came anywhere close to a Major Depressive episode. Pat displayed many moments of hypomanic episodes. He becomes easily excited and revved up but never seems to last long or cause undue harm. An example of this is when Pat becomes very intrigued with making a better man out of himself, in order to prove to Nikki that he has changed. He believes that if he can master this dance performance, it will ultimately win her back. The duration is always strikingly short which seem to end after a few hours, and then he experiences doubt once

Pat’s father is very superstitious about football. He firmly believes in the thought of flipping a coin, and wearing his jersey, and even eating particular snacks his wife makes to better his odds of winning. His uncontrollable betting and engagement in compulsive rituals stood out to me while viewing these particular scenes in the film. These behaviors are suggestive of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a disorder in which and individual demands perfectionism, has a tendency to be interpersonally controlling, and pays devotion to detailing. All of these symptoms explained Pat’s father’s behaviors in this film. Tiffany on the other hand, displays many different behaviors including depression through grief, acting out through promiscuous sexual behavior, inappropriate social behavior, moody, anxiety prone. She bluntly asking Pat to join her inside, which the audience is all well aware of her intentions. She also was very inappropriate during the friendly dinner, where she began insulting her sister and everyone at the table. She admits to being prescribed Xanax. This drug is used to treat anxiety disorders. All of these behaviors, including the prescription drug, is proof that she has most likely been diagnosed with a disorder in her past, that the film did not announce. My assumptions include her possibly fitting the criteria for Major