One of the best ways to show the mistreatment of people is through media. People are more likely to watch movies because it is entertainment, and this is how we can expose harsh truths without creating fear. One of the movies that did a good job at exposing the truths of an institution without causing people to fear counseling was Girl Interrupted. Girl Interrupted is a movie focusing on the mental disorders of certain women. The main character is Susanna who was taken to an institution by her parents, however was coerced into signing herself in. During the therapy sessions she stated that she did not wish to commit suicide, however the therapist disagreed with her. He prescribed her medication without telling her about it, and she was unable to discuss the reasons for the medication. On multiple occasions she asked the nurse why she needed to take this medication, and instead of telling her the reason the nurse told her to consult her doctor in the morning. Her questioning the diagnosis became a symptom of the disorder instead of someone thinking for themselves. This lack of information can cause a person to feel they are ignored, and accept the diagnosis that was given to them (M). Diagnosing a patient places a person …show more content…
One of the men discussed his friends experience in an institution. The man had been seeing purple elephants and after a few weeks of living in the facility he decided that he wanted to leave and told his doctors that he did not see the elephants anymore, and was ready to leave. They allowed him to leave within the week even though he was not treated for his visions. Susanna told her doctor that she did not see anything anymore, was ready to leave the institution, and was not suicidal. She was not allowed to leave even though she had signed herself in. This was the one part of the movie that showed a difference between how people treat women and how they treat
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.
Mental Illness or Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is still taboo to talk about in our society. BPD is defined by the
movies are about men’s lives, and the few movies about women’s lives, at their core, still
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 also are 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 “Girl Interrupted” Susanna Kaysen the main character, goes through many episodes that give a picture of the disorder she’s suffering from. The first such incident occurs when the psychiatrist is talks to Susanna about her failed suicide attempt. During the conversation, she is seen as confused and irritated by his presence. While the psychiatrist questions her, her mind seems to be somewhere else because she is having flash backs of her past, maybe a sign of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). Susanna seems to be uncertain about things, she claims that she does not know what she feels. She was taken to the hospital after she tried to commit suicide, she took a bottle of aspirin. Her reason for taking the full bottle of aspirin was major headache, which was also alarming to the psychiatrist.
Kriesman wrote in his article Is Borderline Personality a Woman’s Disease? He believes that women are treated better than men when it comes to emotions and lashing out, while us women get the diagnoses of borderline personality disorder men get jail time and reprimanded for acting out in such ways. In two clinical studies that were conducted after clinicians were presented with patient’s symptoms, they were told later what the sex was of the case studies, and reports indicate that only after indicating the participant as male or female that is when the diagnoses of borderline personality disorder increased. So, in fact clinicians do associate this disease with being a woman’s
The movie “Mean Girls” is based on a real story in high school social groups. Cady Heron was a new girl in high school. She has been homeschooled in Africa for her whole life, so she wanted to learn how people in school behave and socialize. It was difficult for Cady to adjust in the new school environment. Initially, Cady had difficulties finding a friend in the school. Her first day in school, she eats her meal in the restroom until she meets Janis and Damien. They encourage Cady to be a friend with one of the most popular group at school called the “Plastic”. Every girl in school envy them and with they would be a member of the group. Regina is the head of the group, and she does anything in her power to get what she wishes, and Gretchen and Karen are her followers. Most of the girls at school are obsessed with the idea of joining Regina’s group because they are royalty in the high school. Since Cady is a pretty girl, the Plastic group was threatened by her and wanted her to join them so that they can control her and the boys who pay attention to Cady. Cady joints them and they will succeed to changer her thoughts and actions. Consequently, she starts acting like them and hide her friendship with Janis and Damien who
Sanity is subjective. Every individual is insane to another; however it is the people who possess the greatest self-restraint that prosper in acting “normal”. This is achieved by thrusting the title of insanity onto others who may be unlike oneself, although in reality, are simply non-conforming, as opposed to insane. In Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, this fine line between sanity and insanity is explored to great lengths. Through the unveiling of Susanna’s past, the reasoning behind her commitment to McLean Hospital for the mentally ill, and varying definitions of the diagnosis that Susanna received, it is evident that social non-conformity is often confused with insanity.
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.
The 1991 movie My Girl tells the story of 11-year-old Vada Sultenfuss who, having lost her mother at birth , lives with her dementia-ridden grandmother and her job-oriented father in the funeral parlour that he owns and operates. The story follows Vada, an extreme hypochondriac who has many strange misconceptions about death, through a variety of life-changing experiences, including the engagement of her father and the devastating loss of her best friend, Thomas Jay. Through these experiences, the audience witnesses Vada’s social, emotional, and intellectual growth, as well as her changing views of death.
Girl Interrupted Review Cherie Pryor Denver College of Nursing 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.
2. Behaviors are perceived by the patient to be "normal" and "right" and they have little insight as to their responsibility for these behaviors.
The movie that is being reviewed and analyzed is Fight Club, which stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Fight Club is in a genre on its own, but falls into the categories of action and mystery. We will be looking at the subdivisions of plot, character, setting, and focus. By analyzing these points of the movie we can see why Fight Club belongs to the certain genre it is placed in.
As with cancer or heart disease, mental illnesses are often physical as well as emotional and psychological. Mental illnesses may be caused by a reaction to environmental stresses, genetic factors, and biochemical imbalances. Most of the public does not believe mental health issues exists, and sees them as only excuses for unfit actions and laziness. They do not understand the cause and extent of effects on individuals, or what mental disorders actually are. Depression is perceived as extreme levels of emotion, bipolarity as constant mood swings, and anxiety as being nervous for a presentation or job interview. These are issues every person faces, so why should those who are labeled as affected by a mental disorder receive special treatment, while the rest of the population struggles with the same situations? The argument of the critic is not viable because mental health issues are not so simple and easy. A change of thinking or constant exposure is not going to resolve mental health issues. People affected by mental health issues deserve extra care because: depression, is having no motivation to get out of bed and feeling constantly empty, bipolarity is having no control of one’s thoughts or emotions and feeling trapped, anxiety is being too afraid of leaving the house for fear of being judged, shaking, feeling frantic, and not being able to breath. Mental
It can be very difficult to treat a patient when the cause of their illness is unknown or when the illness itself is difficult to understand. It is for this reason that mental health professionals need to categorise mental disorders as clearly and concisely as possible.
This model, along with its “key therapist technique” is one of the only institutionally applied ways that discusses this topic, as most of society is weary, uncomfortable, or uneducated of how to approach it. While one of its weaknesses is that its research support is merely moderate, this is simply because testing this model is more difficult than testing the success of other models. This is because this model does not believe in turning humans into test subjects, and thus ridding them of their humanity, which is enlightening and can justify this low research support. The fact that the “consumer designation” is client based is also a strength of the model because referring to those seeking advice or guidance as “patients,” medicalizes these individuals, and thus may impose them with a permanent, stigmatized, and inaccurate label because of this term. This is also true with certain models like the biological model that searches for perhaps natural or inherent and inescapable internal causes to abnormality, which negatively accredits certain individuals as biologically abnormal and dysfunctional. This trend was a prominent approach in historical dynamics as well. For example, this occurred when certain