Silver Linings Playbooks by David O. Russell

Synopsis

Silver Linings Playbooks tells the story of Pat Solitano Jr. (played by Bradley Cooper), a high school teacher diagnosed with bipolar disorder who is trying to get his life back together. The movie opens as Pat is released from a psychiatric hospital after eight months of treatment and moves back in with his parents. He is determined to get back together with his wife, Nikki, despite all the signs that say she does not want to be with him - such as the restraining order she filed against him. Pat meets recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell (played by Jennifer Lawrence), who is suffering from depression and overcoming a sex addiction that ensued from the death of her husband. Tiffany offers to help deliver Pat’s letters to Nikki if he enters a dance competition with her. As the movie goes on, Pat and Tiffany’s relationship progresses and they learn to cope with their issues.

DSM-V Diagnosis

On the basis of the symptoms portrayed in the movie, I would assign Pat with the following DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition) diagnosis: 296.44 Bipolar 1 disorder, current or most recent episode manic, mild with mood-congruent psychotic features. I have not included major depressive disorder within the diagnosis because while there is one reference to depression when Pat mentions the effects of Trazodone - an antidepressant, there are no other references or observable symptoms of depression that prove Pat experienced depressive episodes.

In DSM-V, bipolar 1 disorder is defined as meeting the following criteria for a manic episode, which may or may not be followed by a hypomanic or major depressive episode: There must be a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irri...

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References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Alloy, L. B., Abramson, L. Y., Urosevic, S., Bender, R. E., & Wagner, C. A. (2009). Longitudinal Predictors of Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: A Behavioral Approach System Perspective. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 16(2), 206-226. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2850.2009.01160.x

Comer, R. J. (2012). Abnormal psychology. Retrieved from http://ebooks.bfwpub.com/comerabpsych8e.php

Geddes, J. R., & Miklowitz, D. J. (2013). Treatment of Bipolar Disorder. The Lancet, 381(9878), 1672-1682. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60857-0

Treuer, T., & Tohen, M. (2010). Predicting the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Disorder: A Review. European Psychiatry, 25(6), 328-333. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2009.11.012