Book Review Renae Van Der Linden Roberts Wesleyan College Susanna Kaysen coped with the realization of having borderline personality disorder through a lot of confusion and uncertainties. Due to the fact that she did not even know why her doctor was sending her in a taxi to a psych ward, she had to process everything as it was happening. There is not a particular moment that stuck out to me in which she denied having a mental illness, as it appeared to me that she was basically accepting of it throughout the story. However, Susanna did discuss how she almost refused to believe the doctor when she was told that her initial doctor’s appointment was in the afternoon and lasted three hours. Susanna believed that it was in the morning and …show more content…
8). Regardless, she was still accepting and did not argue with her doctor. When her first visitor came to see her at the psych ward, she made the comment “It’s not really that bad” (p. 26). Overall, Susanna’s realization of her diagnosis of borderline personality disorder was handled pretty well. From what I can recall, she never denied her diagnosis and was initially open to discussing her condition with …show more content…
15). Susanna’s story was very eye-opening to me, as I have been able to visit a family member in a behavioral unit. I could easily imagine the different items that she would discuss—the nurses station, the rooms, and the cafeteria from an outsiders perspective. I could not relate to what she was experiencing, but I was still able to imagine the differences of what a psych ward was like in the 1960s, while picturing a behavioral unit today. One of the main differences that I read was that in the 60s’ the patients were allowed to smoke inside their
Torgersen, S. (2009). The nature (and nurture) of personality disorders. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 50(6), 624-632. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00788.x
Susannah's family took her back and forth from the hospital several times following this first hospital trip, and returned home unsuccessful each time. The doctors could not find any evidence of a physical problem, and her family was beginning to lose hope. They knew that without evidence of a physical issue, the examinations would suggest that the issue was in her brain. Cahalan's family feared they would lose their Susannah to an unfulfilling life in a mental
Susanna’s actions prove that she is continually working towards recovering. Jim Watson visits Susanna, asking her to run away with him, however, Susanna denies his proposal and stays at the institution: “For ten seconds I imagined this other life...the whole thing...was hazy. The vinyl chairs, the security screens, the buzzing of the nursing-station door: Those things were clear. ‘I’m here now, Jim,’ I said. ‘I think I’ve got to stay here’” (Kaysen 27). Susanna wants to stay at McLean until she is ready to leave; her choice supports what Buddha said, “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting” (Buddha). Susanna finds reassurance from McClean as she undergoes her journey. Susanna sees the young nurses at the ward who remind her of the life she could be living: “They shared apartments and had boyfriends and talked about clothes. We wanted to protect them so that they could go on living these lives. They were our proxies” (Kaysen 91). Susanna chooses to take these reminders as a positive motivating force along her journey. However, Susanna is also surrounded by patients who have different, more severe psychoses. These girls do not hinder Susanna’s progression, but instead emphasize her
While explaining the symptoms of bipolar I disorder, Forney examines her own life and sees that she fits each category specified in a medical manual. Scared and panicked, she immediately retreats into marking herself as crazy. She becomes almost ashamed and is afraid to tell those closest to her; she fears that they will treat her differently. She only sees herself as what the DSM-IV-TR is telling
This disorder is described as an “instability of mood, chaotic personal relationships, and a disturbed sense of self” (Rathus, 2010). Mommie Dearest had three instances where this personality disorder was very prominent. In the first instance, audiences witness the moment Joan catches Christina “making fun of her.” This disturbs Joan, so as a punishment, Joan chops away at Christina’s beautiful hair. This can be classified as borderline because hearing Christina say bad things, disturbed Joan’s sense of self. The nest occurrence of this was after Joan had been informed that she was box office poison. Joan didn’t handle that information very well, as she chopped down her flowers. This can be considered borderline because Joan freaked out after being so calm, otherwise known as instability of mood. The final instance we see borderline personality disorder is after Christina got in trouble at school. Joan told a reported that Christina had been expelled. Christina barged in to say that she was not expelled. This caused Joan to have a rage of emotion that resulted in slapping Christina and choking
In “Girl Interrupted” Susanna Kaysen, the main character, goes through many episodes that give a picture of the disorder she’s suffering from. The first such incident occurs when the psychiatrist talks to Susanna about her failed suicide attempt. During the conversation, she is seen as confused and irritated by his presence. While the psychiatrist questions her, her mind seems to be somewhere else because she is having flashbacks of her past, maybe a sign of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Susanna seems uncertain about things, she claims that she does not know what she feels.
According to the DSM-5, Personality Disorders are characterized by “impairments in personality functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits”. Borderline Personality Disorder is one of ten personality disorders listed in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 lists several criteria that must be met in order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. They are quoted as follows:
The other nurses were suspicious of the number of deaths and a dwindling supply of epinephrine while Kristen was working. Kristen had even asked her supervisor if the patient she was in charge of died that night, if she could go home. The supervisor said yes, and shortly after the patient was dead and Kristen went on a date with Glenn. 350 patients died the 7 years Kristen was a nurse at the hospital. During an investigation into the alarming death rate, Kristen tried to kill herself. While recovering in the hospital, she confessed to James that she had killed patients. Kristen disguised her voice with a toy voice changer and called the hospital and told James that there were three bombs in the hospital. This caused the hospital to
Adding the abandonment concerns and she meets the minimal criteria for the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis. Elizabeth’s numerous psychiatrists might not have known about her constant fear of abandonment, or might not have shown other symptoms for her to obtain the Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis. A substance abuse diagnosis could also be possibly looked at from her extreme drug
Ignoring the continuing problems, Susannah finally noticed that it was much more severe after she had a seizure overnight. She was taken away to a hospital and had tests run on her but everything came back negative; nothing was wrong. Doctors claimed that she was drinking and partying too much. Some started to even think it was bipolar disorder. Cahalan could no longer think straight. Her mood swings were out of proportion and she fails to remember most of what happened after her first seizure.
One that was immediately noticed she may have is a dissociative disorder. When traumatic events are happening to her she dissociates to protect herself. She becomes a famous singer everyone loves and admires. Although it may not be dissociative identity disorder as she does not dissociate into more than one person when it happens. She becomes a famous star all the times she dissociates so this may rule out that disorder. Dissociative amnesia may be a possibility. I believe there would be enough evidence to show she has a dissociative disorder. Another mental disorder she may have is depression. It is very noticeable how unhappy she is due to the abuse and bullying of others. She believe’s them when they say awful things about them and thinks very negatively of herself. She wishes she was dead and always keeps to herself. All her traumatic life events including rape and abuse could most definitely bring on depression. I feel there is enough evidence to diagnose her with
Joan Crawford, was one of the most popular and well known actresses in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. Although her life was more extraordinary than mundane, she suffered from multiple personality disorders, as do many Americans. Personality disorders are patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life or work and may distress the affected individual (Rathus, 2016). The movie Mommie Dearest, captures moments in Crawford’s life that show her struggles with her personality disorders. Throughout the movie, you watch her personalities become more prominent and abusive. Her main disorders include borderline and paranoid personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as histrionic and narcissistic personality disorder.
For example, she lacks remorse or any form of sympathy or regret for her actions and sees herself as being superior to other people. Secondly, Lisa saw herself as being invincible, and at one point, Lisa and her friend Susanna described having mental illness as a gift, which allowed them to see and understand the truth.
Julie Holland, MD portrays a very interesting perspective working at a psychiatric hospital. I can see how many people perceive this book as controversial due to some of the disclosure, judgments or biases she placed on her clients and colleagues. Many different defense mechanisms can be seen throughout the book such as displacement, humor, denial, intellectualization, and isolation of affect, repression, and eventually suppression. Many of these defense mechanisms are not identified within her own pattern of behavior when dealing with stressful
At the beginning of the film, Susanna is speaking with a psychologist. She appears out of touch with reality and discusses experiencing having lapses in time. As the psychiatrist According to Varcarolis’s Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, “Borderline personality disorder is characterized by severe impairments in functioning. The Major feature of this disorder are patterns of marked instability in emotional control or regulation, impulsivity, identity or self-image distortions, unstable mood, and unstable interpersonal relationships.