Although, Susanna was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. I would like to make the case that she was misdiagnosed as while she exhibits some symptoms of the disorder, she doesn’t actually meet the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder. According to the DSM-5, borderline personality disorder is “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts” (Diagnostic and Statistical). In order to have the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder an individual must meet five or more of the criteria as stated by DSM-5. Yet, Susanna only meets three of the diagnostic criteria for borderline …show more content…
As detailed earlier, Susanna felt chronic emptiness and boredom because she felt she was living a life based on the incapacities of things she couldn’t or didn’t want to do instead of one where her parents and teachers would acknowledge and accept what she did do well. As well, Susanna does not meet the fourth diagnostic criterion for borderline personality disorder. As although she fits the self-damaging impulsivity of having sex with various partners due to her overly promiscuous behavior. She doesn’t have another potentially self-damaging area to meet the minimum of at least two self-damaging areas thus she does not meet this …show more content…
Therefore, she felt chronically empty and bored on the inside. For the eighth criterion, she does not meet this as Susanna was very passive in the way she dealt with feeling alienated. Instead of having intense anger or recurrent physical fights with others who she felt didn’t understand her, she simply withdrew from everything which is why she was very detached with others. Lastly, she does not meet the ninth criterion for borderline personality disorder as she never experienced any dissociative symptoms. For the most part, Susanna was very conscious of the pain that she was feeling and as detailed earlier in the description section went about connecting to her pain by self-harming herself to essentially outwardly showcase the suffering she was feeling on the
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
She acquired borderline personality disorder because her husband, Tommy passed away. In the DSM-5, borderline personality is described as “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five of the following” (Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). Tiffany showed at least five symptoms of borderline personality
Denise Gilmartin, a 26 year old female, exhibits behaviors which meet criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder. Denise exhibits unstable intense interpersonal relationships characterized by idealization and devaluation (Criterion 2). She has a history of brief tumultuous relationships and friendships. They start of with quick intense attachments and are described by Denise as “wonderful” and “incredibly special” (idealization); however, these feelings quickly devolve into “contempt” and “loathing” (devaluation). Additionally, Denise displays an unstable sense of self (Criterion 3). Her unsteady employment history is partially explained by dramatic shifts in interests. She switched from marketing to legal work to waitressing. It is also important to note that interpersonal issues underly most of her
People with Borderline Personality Disorder tend to view the world as simple as possible. People who view the world like this, confuse the actions of others. (Hoermann et al, 2005) Recurrent thoughts about their relationships with others, lead them to experience extreme emotional reactions, great agony which they have a hard time controlling, which would result in engaging in self-destructive behaviors. Diagnosing a patient with this disorder can be challenging which is why is it is labeled as one of the difficult ones to diagnose. (Hoermann et al, 2005)
In this century, mental health have become just as important as physical health. Abnormal psychology is the category of psychology that explains each mental illness that human suffer from. In the case of “Disco Di”, Diana Miller is about a young girl who is registered in a psychiatric hospital for treatment for exhibiting traits that are associated with a mental illness after a long period of challenges. She is diagnosed with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder. Is this the correct diagnosis?
Mental health is not the mere absence of illness but it is the sense of harmony and balance for the individual. Aspects associated with the individual include self-worth, sense of accomplishment, and a positive identity (Fontaine, 2009), where as mental illness is the disharmony someone is experiencing. This disharmony affects not only the individual but their friends and family as well as the surrounding community. This disharmony causes the person to be unable to function properly in many aspects of their life (Fontaine, 2009). Disco Di started to display signs of mental illness from the young age of 12. Her behaviours may have been triggered by a traumatic event and have been interfering with her life ever since. I agree with the diagnosis that Disco Di was given which was an Axis I diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Axis II diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). This paper is going to explain why I agree with these diagnoses as well as genetic and cultural factors and treatment method for them.
The psychiatrist recommended that she be admitted to a mental hospital for women, where she can rest and recover. Another sign of the Borderline Personality Disorder is c...
Living in a mental hospital for almost two years, Susanna Kaysen wonders why she is there and if she belongs there. Without getting any true answers from her doctors, she struggles to accept her disorder and working to get rid of it. The movie, Girl Interrupted is full of psychological principles I’ve learned throughout the year, which play a role in how Susanna grows as a character. Besides the fact that Susanna has a Borderline Personality Disorder, she is a victim of conformity and self-fulfilling prophecies. These principles are what determine if Susanna is sane or not, and if she will be able to come
This paper looks at a person that exhibits the symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). In the paper, examples are given of symptoms that the person exhibits. These symptoms are then evaluated using the DSM-V criteria for BPD. The six-different psychological theoretical models are discussed, and it is shown how these models have been used to explain the symptoms of BPD. Assessment of
In order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, they must experience at least five of the following symptoms: 1) fear of abandonment, 2) a history of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, which often go back and forth between idealization (which includes love and extreme closeness) to devaluation (which includes extreme hatred or anger), 3) a disto...
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:
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
After reading Alessandra’s vignette, it is apparent that she has borderline personality disorder (BPD) (APA, 2013; Roberts & Louie, 2015). The symptoms that Alessandra presents are frequent tearful fits, yelling, chronic issues with her mood, frequent interpersonal problems with her husband, difficulty getting out of bed, “drama” with coworkers, inappropriate communication with customers, references of responding to others comments with suicide, and attention seeking with faking pain. To meet full criteria for BPD, Alessandra must first meet criteria A to F for a personality disorder, followed by criteria A for BPD.
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.
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.”(Halter, 2014). Susanna demonstrates many of these features. She has few friends, is easily angered, and demonstrates impulsive behavior and poor coping mechanisms. One main coping mechanism that is mentioned many times in the film is Susanna’s promiscuity. This is demonstrated by an affair with a married professor, a sexual encounter with her boyfriend on the unit while in the hospital, and the seduction of a male orderly on the milieu. Self-destructive behaviors are also very common in individuals with Borderline personality disorder. Susanna validates this trait by her lack of motivation, conversations about suicide, and her suicide