Pat Solitano

687 Words2 Pages

PATIENT BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Pat Solitano Jr. is a male in his late 30s, and he is the main character of the Academy Award nominated film, Silver Linings Playbook. The patient comes from a family where the father has superstitions and rituals for football games and often acts out in moments of rage, and the mother displays a very nervous and passive demeanor. The patient has demonstrated uncontrollable violence in the past. Specifically, Pat beat a man almost to death after finding him in the shower with Pat’s wife. This violent act caused Pat to be treated in a mental health facility for 8 months. After being released, Pat was convinced that he would be reunited with his wife, despite the restraining order she obtained against him. Multiple …show more content…

After the first manic episode in which the patient encountered his wife performing sexual acts with another man causing him to impulsively assault the wife’s lover, Pat develops a manic episode when faced with a trigger that reminds him of his wife. This can be seen when he has violent outbursts, increased talkativeness, and impulsive behavior after hearing his wedding song while sitting in the waiting room of the hospital. Another example occurred when Pat could not find his wedding video causing him to yell, destroy property, lack the need to sleep for days, uncontrollable talkativeness, and violent actions of punching his mother and father. When asked about his manic episodes, the patient responds, “that was a delusion, this isn’t right.” The patient is able to identify that he was not in the right state of mind, which shows that he has some insight on his condition. However, the patient does not understand the relationship between him and his wife, and he does not understand the severity of his actions performed during a manic episode. During a manic episode, the patient is convinced that medication in not necessary for his condition, and he refuses to take the pills. Also, small trivial things have been found to cause extreme irritation in the patient. This is seen when the patient finishes reading an Ernest Hemingway novel and throws the book out the window while furiously …show more content…

In order to be diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the patient must have experienced at least one manic episode. The patient’s manic episodes meet the criteria in multiple ways. The patient’s elevated self-esteem, or grandiosity, can be seen when he views himself as more intellectual than parts of his family because of the literature he reads. This can also be seen when the patient views himself as superior to his love interest, Tiffany, because his sex life has not been as promiscuous as hers. The patient has demonstrated a decreased need for sleep as he stays awake until 3:00AM consistently and wakes up early with plenty of energy to exercise. Increased talkativeness is also present in the patient’s behavior causing many conversations to be very rushed and one-sided. The patient’s stream of thoughts and conversations are often racing. Increased distractibility also affects the patient causing him to interrupt others only to change the subject to whatever topic has gained his interest. Finally, the patient demonstrates increased goal-directed activity. These activities include the following: creating an extensive reading list and accomplishing it in a very limited amount of time, establishing a demanding workout routine, attempting to find the “silver lining” in all experiences, and learning a

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