Not everyone knows what a personality disorder is or how it affects others. “A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and to people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social encounters, work and school” (MayoStaff 1). Eric and Dylan both suffered from personality disorders and their actions were a result of what happens when serve personality disorders go unnoticed.
There are many forms of personality disorders, including: Paranoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. In Columbine both Dylan and Eric show signs of paranoid, schizotypal, and antisocial personality disorders. Some of the symptoms of paraniod personality disorder are an angry or hostile reaction to perceived slights or insults and a tendency to hold grudges (MayoStaff 2). Both of these are shown in both boys. Dylan’s classic fits of rage were shown even when he was a small child. Judy Brown commented on the first time she witnessed one of Dylan’s fits. She was shocked beyond words at the intensity of Dylan’s anger and the simple laugher that set it off (Cullen 126). The symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder include, peculiar dress, thinking, beliefs, speech or behavior and flat emotions or inappropriate emotional responses. Eric showed signs of this disorder as well. At a certain time in his high school career, Eric began to wear a trench coat to school. The odd thing about his coat is the fact that he wore it in all condtions of weather. Eric also has a tendancy to respond to certain ev...
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...oth Dylan and Eric suffered from serve personality disorders. If the boys would have received treatment, the Columbine shooting could have been pervented. The burden of carrying a personality disorders is not something that someone should have to face alone. Treatment is possible to all who seek it.
Works Cited
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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
People who have this disorder are usually self-centered and have a hard time maintaining relationships. This is clear as in the entire movie he doesn’t seem to care about his fiance. He had sex with many other women, and when he was asked if he was dating anybody he responded by saying, “not really.” This also shows how he was a liar. He constantly lied to get out of situations and to make himself feel better. For example, he believed that he made a reservation at a restaurant when they were clearly all booked. As well as being a pathological liar, he was also decietful. He tricked a prostitute into thinking she was safe by going to his apartment. He ended up murdering her with a chainsaw. He was always rude and straightforward to others as he was inconsiderate of anyone’s feelings. He told a woman he worked with exactly what to wear; and if she did not look good he would tell her she was ugly. He was very shallow and arrogant as he cared very much about his facial features. Patrick did not display many emotions except for greed and digust. He showed zero remorse for the people he murdered; it was as if nothing happened. People with antisocial personality disorder also show recklessness. Towards the end of the movie he believed he was going to get caught for all of the murders he completed, and therefore decided to shoot everyone he came in contact with. This included police officers, security
These disorders are shown when Caulfield takes everything in a negative way, talks about being depressed, thinks that everyone is “phony”, and talks about his deceased brother. First, Caulfield takes everything in a negative direction. One example is when he says, “I'm pretty sure he yelled, "Good luck!" at me. I hope not.
Mental illness gets more negative attention when these school shootings happen, because all it does is add to the already deep-rooted idea that people with mental illness are dangerous. However, the truth is that if society had paid more attention to the kids who exhibited these symptoms earlier, then they might not have acted out in such an extremely violent
In its societal context, the Columbine school shootings are not an obvious part of a discernible sociological pattern. We know that approximately 4,500 youngsters are killed every year in intentional shootings, with thirty per cent of that number probable suicides. That's almost 13 a day, the same number as were killed in Littleton (The Washington Post, April 25, 1999). The data on school shootings, according to the Center for Communicable Diseases, indicate that only about 28 per cent actually occurred inside the school and that one-third of the victims were not...
Personality disorders have always been viewed as a possible category for a psychological disorder. However, in the new edition of the DSM, it will be getting its own diagnostic category. In viewing personality disorder, one can only agree that it should have its own diagnostic category. The reason that these changes are being supported is because of the causation, diagnosis, and treatment of personality disorders.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were average teenagers. They were very social, they worked, and they partied. Where Eric was outgoing and charismatic, he could get out of any situation, Dylan was shy and had a temper; he would easily get mad over someone or something. They became friends quickly and did most of their activities together. They were “math wizards and technology hounds,” Eric played soccer, Dylan was a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox, and they worked at Blackjack Pizza. These two were a team; Eric craved attention and approval when Dylan was unreliable. No one knew that they had one big secret that was about to get detonated.(Cullen 8-10)
On April 16th, 2007 Cho had created one of the most deadly school shootings in America. ( "Virginia Tech Shootings Fast Facts." CNN.) It was unfathomable to think that in the close future, America would encounter many more detrimental school shootings. This is including the shooting of elementary students in Newtown, CT where Adam Lanza had shot and killed 27 children and faculty. Lanza had been known to have significant health issues that had kept him from living a normal life. (Sanchez, Ray, Chelsea J. Carter in Atlanta, Yon Pomrenze in New York, and The CNN New York Bureau Staff. ) Both of these shooters had killed themselves shortly after their attacks. School violence has become a nation-wide issue.
In order to solve the problem of violence in schools, we must first find out who the problem is. Being that not every teenager is prone to participate in such violent acts as what happened at Columbine, there must be specific environment imposed on a particular biology to turn a teenager into an Eric Harris or a Dylan Klebold. These are not normal, healthy teenagers, and they don’t just become killers overnight. They become killers because they are already deeply disturbed individuals who can be sent over the edge by all sorts of innocuous influences. Violent teens often have specific characteristics that put them at high risk for committing these crimes. These high risked students may display some of the following traits. First, violent students often indicate their intentions before acting violently through drawings or writings. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) They also make threats of violence towards others. Next, students prone to violent behavior tend to have a history of violence or aggression. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) This may include other students, boyfriends/girlfriends, and animals. Violent students often have hypersensitivity toward criticism. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) These students report perceptions of being teased, harassed or being picked on by those they were violent toward. This tormenting can also cause a student to isolate him or herself and withdrawal from friends and family, which is another sign that something is wrong. Another fairly obvious characteristic includes those children who are inappropriately given accress to firearms. (Juhnke et. Al., 1999) When students are given a gun, it gives them a sense of power. Some choose to take advantage of that power, as we have seen in numerous high school shoot...
The shooters each had their own mental health issues, Eric, a psychopath, and Dylan who was a suicidal depressive. The boy and his radical behavior only got more deranged leading up to the shooting. The evolution of their actions is vividly described in the Violence Prevention After Columbine article. “Research on factors that place youths at risk of violent behavior suggests that risk factors tend to operate attentively. In other words, the more risk factors to which a child is exposed to, the added chance he or she might become violent.” (.157) This is the case with Dylan, and Eric their behaviors became obsessions at the time the severity of their illnesses was not clear, yet Eric did take anti-depressants for reasons unrelated to him being a psychopath. Nevertheless, if the boys had been acknowledged, diagnosed, and underwent therapy or medication their madness may not have reached the extent that it did. Unfortunately, no one noticed Eric or Dylan erratic behavior, it could have been that their peers neglected to acknowledge that something was wrong or they did not comprehend that their behavior showed signs of mental
Anti-Social Personality Disorder is a classified personality disorder in which a person, sometimes referred to as a “psychopath”, has a lack of empathy, an increased chance of acting violently towards others, and a complete disregard for authority and punishment. Prevalent features and symptoms include: shallow emotions, irresponsibility, mistrust of others, reckless thrill-seeking, disrespect for the law, prone to lash out with physical violence, harmful impulsiveness, arrogance, manipulative, greedy, lack of kindness or compassion, disrespect for others, and dishonesty (Psychology Today, n.d.). A main factor of this disorder is the inability to process, interpret, and display emotion, even fear. An example is that most criminals with this disorder respond drastically different to their sentencing than normal. They seem relaxed and unable to process it on an emotional level. They are also fully aware of what they are doing, and have no sense of distorted reality, or remorse which classifies them as sane people. They also have neurotransmitter deficiencies in the brain, such as reduced serotonin and dopamine (Freedman & Verdun-Jones, 2010). The overall population of people having this disorder is a small amount, about 3% and higher in prisons and abuse clinics which is around 70%. Also, because of their constant involvement in violence, most people diagnosed with this disorder die by violent means such as suicide and homicide (Internet Mental Health, n.d.).
In conclusion, this is a common but very serious condition; many of the people who suffer from addictive personality disorder don't know it and it could very well ruin their lives. Any addiction is a serious problem but when one is susceptible to it, it automatically becomes worse. Throughout the course of this research paper, I pointed out facts that have been proven through science. Many people can lead a normal and healthy life while dealing with this condition if the proper support and help is presented. I hope to have helped raise the awareness of this illness and to help encourage people who suffer or think they may suffer from it to seek help so they could continue to live a healthy and addiction free life.
Abnormal behavior that people experience help to mold a person into whom they are and they follow them everywhere they go. Anxiety disorders, such as phobias or OCD, may be easily overcome with practice; however, personality disorders are not so easy to rid yourself of. It is rather difficult to get rid of personality disorders due to the depth of the dismal emotions you experience, as well as your childhood history. Anxiety disorders are the less of all evils, however, they still maintain the capability of controlling somebody’s life.
The World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD 10) includes 10 common forms of personality disorder there is a common connection between the personality traits of all. Every single person has their own ways of thinking, feeling, reacting, and relating to certain things. In the instance when one of those elements does not work correctly and is essentially dysfunctional warrant the diagnosis of personality disorder. There is a fine line between the diagnosis of personality disorder and a mental disorder, which makes it hard to diagnose at times.
A tragic massacre called the columbine massacre occurred on April 20, 1999. This tragedy left many parents and siblings in the dark asking questions like, could they have prevented this and what was the reason Eric and Dylan, the two shooters, did this. I believe that at least half of the reason that Eric and Dylan did this horrible deed was the fact that they were depressed. Now some people may argue that no matter how depressed a person is they would still have enough sense