Howard Robard Hughes (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976), a pilot, movie producer, playboy, and one of the wealthiest people in the world during his lifetime, was well-known for his eccentricity. His eccentric behavior is theorized to have been the result of obsessive-compulsive behavior. The intent of this review is to illustrate Mr. Hughes’s abnormalities, arrive at a clinical diagnosis using all five axes of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR (DSM-IV-TR), explain his behavior from the biological theoretical perspective, and finally to arrive at a hypothetical treatment plan.
Behavior:
To begin, what constitutes abnormal behavior in Mr. Hughes’s case? As early as the 1930s, Hughes demonstrated signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder is identified by DSM as having recurrent obsessions (persistent thoughts, ideas, impulses or images that seem to invade a person’s consciousness) or compulsions (repeated and rigid behaviors or mental acts that people feel like they must perform in order to prevent or reduce anxiety) (Cormer, 2008). Close friends reported that Hughes was obsessed with the size of peas, one of his favorite foods, and used a special fork to sort them by size.
Those who interacted with him as a director comment of his obsessions. While directing a movie, Hughes became fixated on a minor flaw in an actress’s top, claiming that the fabric bunched up along a seam and gave the appearance of two nipples on each breast. He was reportedly so upset by the matter that he wrote a detailed memorandum to the crew on how to fix the problem (Hack, 2002). An executive producer who worked with Hughes wrote in his autobiography about the difficulty of dealing with the t...
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...h has shown that exercise, outdoor activity and socialization lead to increased serotonin levels and overall health (Young, 2007).
Although the biological treatment of drug therapy, physical therapy, and nutrition therapy will begin to produce desired results towards a cure, the prognosis for recovery from this disorder would be greatly enhanced by a combination of behavioral, cognitive, and drug therapies. Patients who receive a combination of such therapies yield greater relief from their symptoms than do singular approaches alone (Kordon et al., 2005).
It is unfortunate that Mr. Hughes was not able to receive adequate help for his disorder during his lifetime. Given the aforementioned treatment plan, along with the benefit of current research, and Mr. Hughes affluence to receive the best care, his prognosis during current times would have been quite good.
Unger’s obsessive compulsive disorder which has led to depression and attempted suicide. People with obsessive compulsive disorder suffer from unwanted and often intrusive thoughts that they can’t get out of their heads. They are often compelled to repeatedly do tasks in a ritualistic way in an attempt to eliminate their anxiety. They are most often aware that their obsessions or compulsions are irrational; however, they are still powerless to stop them and may spend countless hours doing these tasks over and over. This can and often does interfere with a person’s normal live and may make them less productive and successful at work, school, socially and even with family. If left untreated OCD will eventually interfere with all aspects of a person’s life
The DSM-V was very useful in aiding to diagnose Howie Mandel with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The diagnostic criteria listed in the DSM-V for this disease states that obsessions and/or compulsions must be present. In the case of Mandel, both of these aspects are present as mentioned above. Mandel displayed obsessive thoughts concerning germs along with associated obsessions to refrain from contact with germs and compulsions such rechecking locked doors. Another criteria is that these obsessions/compulsions be time consuming which I also discussed above. The several symptoms that Mandel displayed did not seem to fit any other disease listed in the DSM-V.
Thankfully there is an alternative that can solve the cause of these ailments while avoiding the negative effects that the psychoactive drugs leave on the patient. The alternative is talk therapy, or more professionally known as psychotherapy. If a higher emphasis is placed on psychotherapy rather than the curre...
The protagonist in the film As Good As It Gets, Melvin Udall is a successful romantic novelist who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. From the onset of the film, Melvin displays ritualistic behavior that aligns with the diagnostic criteria for OCD, specifically the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both. This paper focuses on Melvin’s particular psychopathology, analyzing the character’s current symptoms and diagnoses, the etiology of the disorder, and the key elements of his treatment.
Throughout the 20th century, it has been the media’s job to pinpoint what events and people would prove to be an effective story. This was certainly the case for Howard R. Hughes. Son to the wealthy Howard Hughes Sr., Howard became the interest of the American people and newspapers for most of his life. Being deemed one of the most famous men of the mid-20th century was greatly attributed to Hughes’s skills as an industrialist, aviator, and motion-picture producer combined with his enormous wealth, intellect, and achievement. The media thrived on Howard’s unusual and sometimes scandalous life, especially in his later years when newspapers would frequently front large amounts of money to get stories on Hughes. Howard was also associated with what has been called one of the greatest publishing hoaxes in history. Howard Hughes Sr., commonly known as Big Howard, was a graduate of the Harvard School of Law, yet never once appeared before a court of law. Big Howard spent the first 36 years of his life chasing money across the Texas plains, as a wildcatter and a speculator in oil leases, working hard enough and earning just enough to move on to another, hopefully more fortunate gamble. In the year of his marriage, Big Howard sold leases on land that proved to have $50,000 in oil beneath it. He promptly took his new wife to Europe for a honeymoon, and returned exactly $50,000 poorer. In 1908, Big Howard turned his ingenuity and his hobby to tinker into good fortune.
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You must include fresh fruits and healthy soups in your diet plan, it quickly boosts serotonin in the
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"Exercise and Depression: Endorphins, Reducing Stress, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
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