The portrayal of people being sickly creatures has been used in Hollywood film for a very long time. This has been in the endeavor of putting the viewing public in the shoes of the patient and entertain them with over the top portrayals of disease. For patients that are women in particular this has been achieved by defining them along the lines of vague terms such as them being over emotional and unstable. Despite the advancement experienced by the society, women have not yet fully seen the goal of equality realize fruition. With the expansion of the psychiatric and psychological terminologies, there now additional ways via which mental illness can be ascribed as a weakness for men and women portrayed in Hollywood film. This is best exemplified by the key character in the film Girl Interrupted. In this film, the key character, a woman, is given these labels sourced from psychiatric terminologies. As such, throughout life, she has the difficult task of endeavoring to shed off these forced identities and try to find her own identity. These life struggles are brought on when she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. With this diagnosis, she earns a year-long stay in a prescribed mental institution. Her dream is to become a writer. With her new found diagnosis, however, the probability of her realizing her dream dims. In reality this would only magnified in a 1960 society, where someone suffering from such an ailment would as a woman have even fewer chances of success.
The film Girl Interrupted focuses on a girl, Susanna, who is suffering from borderline personality disorder (Mangold et al., 1999). Soon after she is diagnosed, she is admitted into a mental hospital. During her stay in the institution, she becomes clos...
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... can and should be addressed by educating the public to the importance of proper mental health treatment and appreciating that mental illness is just as real as a physical illness.
Works Cited
Kernberg, O. F., & Michels, R. (2009). Borderline personality disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 166, 5, 505-8.
Mangold, J., Konrad, C., Wick, D., Ryder, W., Jolie, A., Goldberg, W., Redgrave, V., Columbia TriStar Home Video (Firm). (1999). Girl, interrupted. Culver City, Calif: Columbia Tristar Home Video.
Oldham, J. (2009). Borderline Personality Disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 15, 3.)
Paris, J. (2005). Borderline personality disorder. Cmaj: Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De L'association Medicale Canadienne, 172, 12, 1579-83.
Talbott, J. A. (2013). Borderline personality disorder. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201, 2.)
During the mid-1900`s, mental illnesses were rarely discussed in mainstream media due to negative stigma surrounding mental illnesses. As a result, characters in film rarely had mental disorders because of the directors` worries of audiences` reactions to how the illnesses were portrayed. Director, Edward Dmytryk, however, attempted to diminish the stigma through his film Raintree County (1957) with Susanna Drake Shawnessy`s mental instability. Elizabeth Taylor`s portrayal of Susanna, however, heightened the stigma surrounding mental illness as Susanna constantly acted immature and childlike.
However, these thoughts are not always true all the time. Sometimes Hollywood makes films to show the audience the truth contained in the movie. In the movie “Girl, Interrupted,” the filmmakers have balanced the grim realism of the book with audience-pleasing elements of entertainment in order to make the film more comfortable. The graphic representation of mental illness makes audiences feel its realities, while the use of attractive actresses captures the attention of the audiences and makes it easier to relate to the story.
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)
Selby, E. A., & Joiner Jr, T. E. (2008). Ethnic variations in the structure of borderline personality
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).
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
Some of the most common actions or responses for individuals with borderline personality disorder are suicidal. Incorporating the teaching of problem-solving skills will hopefully, again, reduce the number of suicidal thoughts or behaviors an individual has that could result in serious self-injury (Van Goethem, A., et al.). Lastly, arguably the most important component of the dialectical behavior therapy is allowing those who have undergone the treatment to test what they have learned. The final stage of this therapy involves having the patients visualize themselves in certain scenarios and creating a response to what they are envisioning. The most important part of this process is having patients trust their responses without utilizing the help and opinions of other individuals (Van Goethem, A., et al.). Though there are several different components that make up the dialectical behavioral therapy, they are each crucial to the treatment for individuals with, not only borderline personality disorder, but many other psychological disorders as well. Some of the effects of how this treatment has worked can be observed in a couple of different
...f dialectical behavior therapy for patients with borderline personality disorder on inpatient units . Psychiatric Quarterly .
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
It tells the story of a person, family and community in which individuals suffer from mental disorders much the same way as people do in the real world. Not only did I find this movie quite accurate concerning mental illness but I also established some important messages concerning mental illness in today’s society. The film takes into account that mental illness is a part of society and overall has a positive outlook on it. Their illnesses don 't define their identities nor are they even the main point of the story. In coming together, the characters find the mutual support that enables them to approach their struggles and redirect their lives in a more positive direction. To some degree, this film addresses stigma and the fact that persons with mental illness should be allowed to participate in society over being kept in a hospital, in other words, it gives
Girl, Interrupted (Mangold, 1999) is a movie which walks us through the conditions of various mental illnesses, their impacts on their victims and those around them, and effective treatment methods. The movie takes a more cognitive-behavioral perspective to explain various aspects and types of mental illnesses. Lisa Rowe is one of the characters in Girl, Interrupted, who is diagnosed with a particular type of mental condition. Lisa was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. According to DSM-IV, this condition is a pattern of the violation of the rights of other people and disregarding them. Individuals with this type of mental illness, otherwise known as sociopaths, do not conform to the social norms regarding practicing lawful behaviors (Derefinko & Widiger, 2016). They undertake activities which warrant their arrest, like harming other people or property.
Diana Miller, 25 was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder after being rushed to the hospital following another suicide attempt . Her symptoms and background are outlined in her vignette and will be examined in detail throughout the paper. The purpose of this essay will be to explore the possible additional diagnoses for Diana’s behaviour as well as look deeper into the feasible explanations of how and why her behaviour turned abnormal. Therefore through analyzing the diagnostic features, influence of culture, gender, and environment, in addition to outlining paradigm explanations and possible treatment methods, one can better understand Diana Miller’s diagnoses.
Most people gather what they know about mental illnesses from television and film. Unfortunately these media portrayals are inaccurate and create stigma. They depict people suffering from mental illnesses as different, dangerous and laughable. Characters are often addicted to drugs or alcohol, are violent, dangerous, or out of control. Horror film characters like Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in the Shining, or Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs associate the typical 'psycho- killer' with people who suffer from a mental illness. But dramas and horror films are not the only film genres that create stigma. Comedies like What About Bob and many others not only stigmatize, they also make fun of mental illnesses and the people who suffer from them. This paper will discuss how the film Me, Myself & Irene is an inaccurate, offensive and stigmatizing portrayal of an individual suffering from schizophrenia. It also discusses what can be done to counteract the stigma created by these types of films.
The history of BPD can be traced back to 1938 when Adolph Stern first described the symptoms of the disorder as neither being psychotic nor psychoneurotic; hence, the term ‘borderline’ was introduced (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15). Then in 1960, Otto Kernberg coined the term ‘borderline personality organization’ to describe persistent patterns of behavior and functioning consisting of instability, and distressed psychological self-organization (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, 2009, p. 15).
Girl Interrupted is a film about a young woman, Susanna Kaysen, who voluntarily enters a psychiatric facility in Massachusetts. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a portrayal of psychiatric care in the 1960’s. The film is based on the memoirs of Susanna Kaysen and her experiences during an 18 month stay at a mental institution. During her visit, Susanna is diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. The film depicts psychiatric care, diagnoses, and treatments from a different era.