In the movie “As Good As It Gets” we were introduced to the character of Melvin Udall who presented abnormal behavior. Throughout the movie, the character of Melvin performed specific characteristics that indicated that his behaviors were product of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (ODC). Mr. Udall performed a variety of odd behaviors such as cleanliness, fear, repetition, obsession and antisocial behavior. The antisocial characteristic help him with his copping mechanism towards others. The main and most dominant behavior that he presented was fear to germs. Due to this behavior he developed an anti-social personality that helped him to avoid anyone and anyone-else germs. In the movie, Mr. Udall is diagnose with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, his disorder has three obsessions, fears of germ and virus, organization and routine, and lastly to doubt and repetition. Throughout the movie we are able to see the patterns that support specific obsession.
It was evident of his obsession of germs and virus that he manifested a compulsion of cleanliness to avoid contamination. Mr. Udall coped with his fear by washing his hands after any contact outside of his apartment. In addition, every time he washed his hands he had the need to use new bars of soaps and only for few seconds before he had to replace them to finish washing his hands. All these bars of soaps were for one time use only. Also, when he washed his hands and showered, he need it the water to be steamy hot to kill any germs left. Adding to this compulsion, in his routine for breakfast out in the same restaurant he always provided his own plastic utensils to avoid infection of germs. Lastly, he also developed a compulsion of fear of stepping in crack or lines. Though there was n...
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...e was going to die including her son, he struggle to demonstrate any emotion towards his statement. Mr. Udall did not liked to interact or have any type of relationship with other especially with his neighbor Simon. This was not due to the reason that he was homophobic but rather the fear of getting infected. Due to his fears of infection from others, he developed schizoid to cope with his lifestyle.
References
Brooks, J. L. (Director). (1997). As good as it gets [Motion picture on Netflix]. TriStar/ Sony Pictures.
Dryden-Edward, R., MD, & Conrad Stopper, M., MD. (2012, October 9). Antisocial Personality Disorder. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from http://www.medicinenet.com/antisocial_personality_disorder/page2.htm
Schizoid Personality Disorder. (2014). Retrieved March 25, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-schizoid-personality-disorder
For axis 2, antisocial personality disorder our notes say that no treatment for this disorder seems to be effective. Yet about 25 percent of all people with this disorder do receive treatment. One major problem is that individual’s lack of conscience or desire to change. Most have been mandated to treatment. Hospitals have attempted to create therapeutic communities even though most of today’s treatment approaches have little to no impact on the
Every few years there are disturbing, yet fascinating headlines: “BTK killer: Hiding in plain sight” or “Police discover at least 10 victims at Anthony Sowell's home”; but what would allow an individual to commit the crimes they did? In cases like these there is usually a common link: Antisocial Personality disorder. It is an unknown disorder to most of the population which is why there are so many questions to be answered, the main ones being what is antisocial personality disorder and how does it effect patient and society as a whole? To answer these questions one needs an accurate background picture of the disorder.
Moran, P. "The epidemiology of antisocial personality disorder ." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 34.5 (1999): 231-242. Print.
Melvin Udall is a successful author who lives in an apartment with Simon, the gay artist and eventually develops a love interest towards Carol, the waitress. He has a strong disliking of any person that is not ‘normal’ in his mind, for example gay people, like Simon, the artist who lives in the same apartment as him. Besides those are people who are not of his race or skin color, which can be seen when a Jewish couple was having a normal conversation, but Melvin constantly talks bad about their culture and religion in front of them and caused them to leave. He also does not like dogs, which is shown when he throws Verdell, Simon’s dog, into the garbage chute of the apartment. Nobody likes him.
Ogloff, J. R. (2006). Psychopathy/antisocial personality disorder conundrum. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, (40), 519-528.
Black, D. (2006). Treatment for Antisocial Personality Disorder. Retrieved September 3, 2011, from PsychCentral: http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/treatment-for-antisocial-personality-disorder/
Antisocial Personality Disorder is a personality disorder that is said that one out of every twenty five people in America have, commonly called sociopaths these people are characterized by disregard for social norms and callous unconcern for the feelings of others. These people fall in the two extremes of American society, either the scoundrels and the unsuccessful, or the powerful and affluent individuals, but they rarely fall into the “hard working” or middle-class section of society.
According to sufferer, Stephanie, “If I got to number 17 on the math test, I would have to tap my pencil 17 times” (Weiskopf 19). Stephanie exhibits signs of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder in which the individual becomes obsessed or compulsive about something. Because of their extreme focus events and tasks, OCD will affect how children and teenagers perform in school. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can also cause various problems in their daily lives. Due to severe obsessions and compulsions, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a serious, yet unexamined, threat to teenagers at school and home, which can lead to further complications, but it can be treated.
The DSM-V was very useful in aiding to diagnose Howie Mandel with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The diagnostic criteria listed in the DSM-V for this disease states that obsessions and/or compulsions must be present. In the case of Mandel, both of these aspects are present as mentioned above. Mandel displayed obsessive thoughts concerning germs along with associated obsessions to refrain from contact with germs and compulsions such rechecking locked doors. Another criteria is that these obsessions/compulsions be time consuming which I also discussed above. The several symptoms that Mandel displayed did not seem to fit any other disease listed in the DSM-V.
Simons, C. (2001). Antisocial personality disorder in serial killers: The thrill of the kill. The Justice Professional, 14(4), 345-356.
The protagonist in the film As Good As It Gets, Melvin Udall is a successful romantic novelist who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. From the onset of the film, Melvin displays ritualistic behavior that aligns with the diagnostic criteria for OCD, specifically the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both. This paper focuses on Melvin’s particular psychopathology, analyzing the character’s current symptoms and diagnoses, the etiology of the disorder, and the key elements of his treatment.
"Avoidant Personality Disorder: Symptoms, Treatments, and Complications." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 23 May 2014. .
Dir. Julie Taymor. Perf. Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 1999.
Antisocial Personality Disorder, also informally known as psychopathy/sociopathy, is a disorder where people elicit manipulative behaviors and lack morals. This includes disregard for rules, violence, superficial charm, promiscuity, a superiority complex, and difficulty forming attachments. This is said to be caused by genetics as well as modeling, or watching other people perform this kind of behavior. 3.3% of Americans are diagnosed with Antisocial Personality disorder. It’s 70% more common in males than females and is seen greatly in
At some point, most people are likely to experience a time of confusion, a time of wondering why they are the way they are, or why they feel the way they feel. Sometimes, people do not even question why they are the way they are, they just have a feeling of emptiness or not belonging. Some may face their problems while others may run away. Today, we are going to look at the case study of Hank, a man who is socially awkward, extremely skilled in computers, overweight, and a heavy smoker. The hope of this paper is to give some insight into the reasoning behind Hank’s problems. This analysis will look at the possibility of fixation, anxiety, repression, and even some showing of symbolic behavior.