Borderline Personality Disorder

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In A&E’s television show Bates Motel, we are instantly drawn to Norma Bates played by actress Vera Farmiga. In the first episode we see Norma as she is ironing her husbands shirt. With a family of four and a father on disability, their income is extremely stretched. Norma’s continuous shopping for clothes, shoes and curtains that they simply do not have the money for. As a result her husband becomes very violent. Norman (her son) played by actor Freddie Highmore, is in his bedroom and over hears the argument but instead of going to where the fighting is occurring, he goes to the kitchen to grab a metal pot. Next thing you know his dad is dead, Norman blacks-out, and Norma is dragging his bloody body rolled up in a rug down into the basement. Six months later after the death of her husband, she and Norman move to White Pine Bay, a coastal town in Oregon where she plans to start her life over with her son. They buy a motel in a foreclosure sale and give it the name “Bates Motel.” The previous owner of the motel Keith Summers played by actor W. Earl Brown, still lurks around the house claiming that it’s still rightfully his property and then one night he breaks in to find Norma alone in the kitchen and rapes her. In her own defense Norma grabs a knife and stabs him repeatedly until he falls dead on her kitchen floor. We start to see Norma showing signs of borderline personality disorder (BPD) when she meets Deputy Zack Shelby played by actor Mike Vogel, and Sheriff Alex Romero played by actor Nestor Carbonell, who investigated the murder of Keith Summers. But it was Zack Shelby who expressed that he had feelings for Norma and they quickly began their dangerously intense affair. Norman isn’t very fond of Zack Shelby and discover... ... middle of paper ... ...2006). Works Cited "American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development." Home. American Psychiatric Association, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. "Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center." Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. "Dissociative Disorders." Symptoms. Mayo Clinic, 26 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. Gunderson, John G. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 31 May 06. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. Lieb, Klaus MD, et al. “Borderline personality disorder”. The Lancet, Volume 364, Issue 9432, Pages 453 - 461, 31 July 2004. Reynolds Community College. Abnormal Psychology. New York: McGraw Hill, 2013. Print. Sansone, Randy A., and Lori A. Sansone. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.

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