Mental illness is a recurring issue in today’s society where there are many different types of mental health conditions and disorders. It causes significant distress in individual mental and behavioural patterns. This essay will address borderline personality disorder in relation to the film Girl Interrupted. The film reflections upon the main character, Susanna Kaysen a young adult who was admitted into a residential mental institution, named Claymoore, due to her inability to cope with reality and the difficulties that come with borderline personality disorder. The film reflections upon Susanna’s nervous breakdown and overdose where she was found combining a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of vodka where she attempts suicide. The difficulty in understanding her disorder causes Susanna’s inability to discipline herself, where she decides to harm herself due to her inability to make sense of her internal and external worlds. The aetiology and pathophysiology of borderline personality disorder will be explored in relation to Susanna’s condition and her symptoms. Where health assessments, treatments and interventions are explored in order to …show more content…
Individuals are more likely to experience aversive emotions and tension where rapid mood swings persist (Champan & Flesihers, 2018). In many cases, individuals with borderline personality are presented with the intention to hurt themselves ranging from alcohol and substance abuse to unsafe sex (Hoerst et al., 2010, p. 399). The inability to manage emotions effectively resulted in Susanna’s “half-hearted attempt” to commit suicide. The aetiology of borderline personality disorder is unclear however, research has identified that there is an association between biological predisposition, environmental and psychological factors (Leichsenring, Leibing, Kruse, New & Leweke, 2011, p.
The movie Girl, Interrupted was released in 1999 and focuses on the story of an eighteen year old girl named Susanna Kaysen (Winona Ryder), who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. The story is based around Susanna’s personal struggles and when she was admitted into a mental hospital for trying to kill herself. Throughout the movie she further explains what made her decide to check herself into the institution, what it was like living there, and other thoughts she had towards the world.
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)
Although Susanna Kaysen’s rebellious and self-harming actions of coping with her psychosis are viewed by some critics as pushing the boundary of sanity, many people have a form of a “borderline personality” that they must accept and individually work towards understanding in order to release themselves from the confines of their disorder. Kaysen commits to a journey of self-discovery, which ultimately allows her to accept and understand herself and her psychosis.
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
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.
For my final essay, I have chosen the movie “Fatal Attraction”, and I will focus on Alex Forrest and her mental disorder. Borderline Personality was displayed in the movie and Alex had almost every symptom of this disorder. Throughout this essay, I will be discussing Alex’s characteristics, intelligence, motivation, stress, social influences and/ or personality theories, treatment, and if the depiction of the disorder and treatment is consistent with what was discussed and read in the course.
Selby, E. A., & Joiner Jr, T. E. (2008). Ethnic variations in the structure of borderline personality
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.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has been a disability surrounded by stigma and confusion for a long time, and the time to bring awareness and public understanding to this disability is long overdue. The disability itself often gets misdiagnosed as an other disability since the symptoms overlap with many other disabilities (NIMH, n.d, para 16), or worse case scenario, a medical professional refuses to diagnose or treat the disability due to the belief that these people are untreatable because of a negative schema about the disability and clinical controversies on whether BPD is a legitimate diagnosis (Hoffman, 2007) . However, after nearly three decades of research, it has come to light that BPD does indeed exist, does have a good prognosis for remission with treatment (BPD Overview, n.d, para 3), and that there are many treatment options available such as three different types of psychotherapy (Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Schema-focused therapy), omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and/or medications (NIMH, n.d, para 29, 30, 31, and 39, 41). Even though the disability started as a psychoanalytic colloquialism for untreatable neurotics (Gunderson, 2009), BPD is very treatable and doesn’t deserve the stigma it currently carries throughout society.
People suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder have an intense fear of abandonment and will go to drastic measures to avoid real or perceived abandonment. They may engage in suicidal or self-mutilating behaviours, and impulsive behaviour. Alex Forrest has an impromptu affair with a married man without using any contraceptives or (protection), which is risky and impulsive behaviour. In a later part of the film, Ms. Forrest cuts her own leg with a knife when she confronts Mrs. Gallagher, and when Mr. Gallagher tries to break off the relationship, she cuts her wrists in an attempt to get him to stay with her (Jaffe & Lansing, 1987). This is after she violently lashes out at him the first time he tries to leave. Inappropriate, intense anger and difficulty controlling that anger is another symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). People with Borderline Personality Disorder also have a tendency to view others as “all-good” or “all-bad” (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2013). They may idealise a person one minute and despise them the next. An example of this “splitting” is the tape Alex leaves for Mr. Gallagher. Her words to him at the beginning of the recording make it seem like she cares deeply for him. However, as the tape continues to play, her words become harsh and antagonistic (Jaffe & Lansing,
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.
Linehan addressed the need for effective and empirically supported psychotherapeutic treatment for borderline personality disorder. She discovered important shortcomings in standard cognitive and behavioral (CBT) treatments (Chapman & Robins, 2004). DBT was developed to address difficulties faced when implementing standard CBT to ...
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.