Deborah's Delusions

Pathology Profile: Somatic Symptom Disorder
The book, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, is the story of a teenage girl named Deborah Blau and her struggle with mental illness. When Deborah is five years old, she undergoes surgery to remove a tumor in her urethra. The procedure itself causes Deborah tremendous pain that continues long after the surgery. The lie that the procedure would be only slightly uncomfortable creates mistrust towards others. Before and after the surgery, Deborah is subjected to humiliation and shame from her parents due to the nature of her condition and the distress it creates. Deborah’s condition is sexualized by her father and the author alludes to the possibility that Deborah had been objectified if not abused

Deborah’s delusions are characteristically somatic in nature. She continues to feel physical pain from the removed tumor. Deborah’s delusions can also be describes as bizarre because she believes she is contaminated; capable of poisoning others with her emanations, however this could also be considered somatic. The delusions are also referential in nature because Deborah perceives normal happenings as pivotal changes that reflect and predict her death. Deborah has both visual and auditory hallucinations of her alternate reality and the characters within. Deborah frequently uses neologisms she believes is the language of her alternate reality. This can be considered incoherent speech and because of loose associations and losing topic, her thought process can be considered disorganized. Deborah describes herself as exceptionally clumsy and as losing the ability to see, hear and speak during a distressful episode, which can all be considered abnormal motor behavior. Because many persons diagnosed with schizophrenia do not meet the criterion of avolition many professions make a distinguishes, labeling them Type I and a Type II Schizophrenia where in Type II, loss of volition is not a criterion (Comer,