In the movie, "Girl, Interrupted.", Susanna Kaysen is an 18-year-old, recent high school graduate who deals with depression. When Susanna has a nervous breakdown and almost overdoses mixing aspirin and alcohol she is placed in the psychiatric hospital, Claymoore. She is believed to had tried to commit suicide, even though she wholeheartedly denies it, no one believes her because of her lack of motivation and obvious depression. Throughout the movie, Susanna begins to feel accepted in the hospital and becomes friends with the other women in the ward. She is faced with the question of whether or not she is really crazy? Susanna was diagnosed with was a Borderline Personality Disorder, which is a serious mental illness that centers on the inability From being pursued by an older man and being a social outcast in her high school, that can be a lot to deal with. Not to mention that the goals she had for herself were looked down by everyone, including her parents. These are some causal factors that could’ve caused her disorder. It was also mentioned in the movie that Borderline Personality Disorders are believed to be genetic. Susanna simply could’ve just inherited the disorder. Some research also mentioned that this disorder could be because of a brain abnormality in areas that deal with emotions and She didn’t have the best life. She had parents who always scolded her decisions and she didn’t have friends. I believe Susanna was just a teen who dealt with extreme depression. I feel the diagnosis was too complex. If it hadn’t been the 1960s, a time where women weren’t supposed to enjoy sex and to have a successful life was to go down the “right and orderly” path, then Susanna would’ve just been going to a therapist. She would’ve had people who were trying to help her find what makes her happy, not people who just told her she was crazy. I believe that living with a Borderline Personality disorder would be hard seeing as you can’t correctly access emotions and you would be prone to risky and impulsive behaviors. I also believe that a lot of people could have this disorder but it could be easily missed. I think that you should seek help for BPD because it seriously can affect your life and have you living in
Susannah's family took her back and forth from the hospital several times following this first hospital trip, and returned home unsuccessful each time. The doctors could not find any evidence of a physical problem, and her family was beginning to lose hope. They knew that without evidence of a physical issue, the examinations would suggest that the issue was in her brain. Cahalan's family feared they would lose their Susannah to an unfulfilling life in a mental
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
“No wire hangers, ever!” Joan Crawford spoke to Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest the movie. The scene where Joan says this is just one example of her having one or more psychological disorder. Psychological disorders are behavior patterns that cause a person to anguish. Also, they may cause a person to obstruct the capability to manage everyday activities (Rathus, 2010). Joan displays many psychological disorders, but the most visible are bipolar disorder, histrionic personality disorder, narcissistic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
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)
Borderline Personality Disorder in “Girl Interrupted” The movie, “Girl Interrupted,”is about a teenage girl named Susanna Kaysen who has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. People with Borderline Personality Disorder “are often emotionally unstable, impulsive, unpredictable, irritable, and anxious. They are also prone to boredom. Their behavior is similar to that of individuals with schizotypal personality disorder, but they are not as consistently withdrawn and bizarre” (Santrock, 2003).
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...
In the past, BPD was believed to be a set of symptoms between problems associated with mood and schizophrenia. These symptoms were believed to be comprised of distortions of reality and mood problems. A closer look at this disorder has resulted in the realization that even though the symptoms of this disorder reveal emotional complexity, this disorder is more closer to other personality disorders, on the basis of the manner in which it develops and occurs in families, than to schizophrenia (Hoffman, Fruzzetti, Buteau &ump; Neiditch, 2005). The use of the term borderline has however, resulted in a heated controversy between the health care fraternity and patients. Patients argue that this term appears to be somehow discriminatory and that it should be removed and the disorder renamed. Patients point out that an alternative name, such as emotionally unstable personality disorder, should be adopted instead of borderline personality disorder. Clinicians, on the other hand, argue that there is nothing wrong with the use of the term borderline. Opponents of this term argue that the terms used to describe persons suffering from this disorder, such as demanding, treatment resistant, and difficult among others, are discriminatory. These terms may create a negative feeling of health professionals towards patients, an aspect that may lead to adoption of negative responses that may trigger self-destructive behavior (Giesen-Bloo et al, 2006). The fact however, is that the term borderline has been misunderstood and misused so much that any attempt to redefine it is pointless leaving scrapping the term as the only option.
Her detrimental relationship with her mother turned into a psychosomatic disease, which later affected her life and the people in it.... ... middle of paper ... ... 12 Nov. 2013. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=8255d75b-58ea-4383-be87-4f5601606c51%40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=26&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=lfh&AN=17088173>.
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
Some symptoms of BPD can include fear of abandonment (1), unstable relationships (2), self-harm (3), and destructive behavior (4). In one scene in the middle of the movie, Rowe gets sent to a different ward for drugging a nurse. (1) Kaysen causes a huge scene and demands to know where Rowe is. Kaysen is so distraught because she claims that Rowe is “All she has left.” Kaysen seems to have a lot of people come and go throughout her life. (2) In one part Kaysen states “I just don’t want to end up like my mother.” This could mean that Kaysen and her mother don’t share the greatest bond. As seen throughout the movie, there is a bandage on the wrist of Kaysen (3) suggesting that she might have cut her wrists when she had a “headache.” Kaysen having destructive behaviors, as mentioned before is an indicator of BPD. (4) In the early movie, it shows how promiscuous she could be. She had a one-time affair with a married college professor who wanted more than she did. She also had an on and off relationship with a boy named Toby who was later drafted in the military, but decided to run away and take Kaysen with him. But, she declined because she didn’t want to leave
There are two different kinds of disorders, personality disorders and psychological disorders. Psychological disorders are illnesses that an individual experiences as episodes. Personality disorders are enduring traits that are major components of the individual's personality (Rathus, 2010). No matter what kind of disorder a person may possess their lives are affected everyday by them, it takes over their body and consumes them as a person. Disorders are often misunderstood. You do not have the ability to make a split second decision and then continue life without that disorder, it will take lots of counseling. While we are not trained psychologist everyone can learn or identify disorders in popular movies or television shows. In the movie, Mommie Dearest, directed by Frank Perry, Joan Crawford possesses several of these disorders, including bipolar, borderline personality disorder, obsessive compulsive personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.
An estimated 1.6%-5.9% of the adult population in the United States has BPD, with nearly 75% of the people who are diagnosed being women. Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder include Frantic efforts to avoid being abandoned by friends and family, Unstable personal relationships that alternate between idealizations, Distorted and unstable self-image, Impulsive behaviors that can have dangerous outcomes, Suicidal and self-harming behavior, Periods of intense depressed mood, irritability or anxiety lasting a couple hours/days, Chronic feelings of boredom or emptiness, Inappropriate, intense or uncontrollable anger - often followed by shame and guilt, and Dissociative feelings. The three main factors that could cause this mental illness are Genetics, Environmental factors, and Brain function. This illness can only be diagnosed by a mental health professional after a series of interviews with the patient and family/friends of the patient. The patient must also have at least five of the nine symptoms of this illness in order to be diagnosed. The most common treatment for this illness is some form of psychotherapy. Some other treatment options are to prescribe medications and if needed a short-term
Joan Crawford, was one of the most popular and well known actresses in Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. Although her life was more extraordinary than mundane, she suffered from multiple personality disorders, as do many Americans. Personality disorders are patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life or work and may distress the affected individual (Rathus, 2016). The movie Mommie Dearest, captures moments in Crawford’s life that show her struggles with her personality disorders. Throughout the movie, you watch her personalities become more prominent and abusive. Her main disorders include borderline and paranoid personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, as well as histrionic and narcissistic personality disorder.
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