Melvin Udall And Obsessive-Compulsive Di

Introduction For this assignment, the selected movie was As Good as It Gets. The author of this paper will provide an examination of the abnormalities of Jack Nicholson’s character Melvin Udall. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent of Melvin’s abnormalities correlating to the DSM-5 description of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Further evaluation includes discussing the portrayal, etiology, prognosis, and proper therapeutic approaches for the symptoms of OCD displayed by Melvin. Additionally, the author of this paper will evaluate a personal reflection of the knowledge gained from extensively researching OCD. Conclusively, the author of this paper seeks for an extended palpable understanding of OCD through the fictitious

However, the character Melvin shown a tendency to blurt out aggressive racist, homophobic, sexist and sexual remarks as oppose to suppressing the fear of obsessive impulses. Durand and Barlow (2016) concludes, “Individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, impulses, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action” (p.153). Therefore, Melvin behavior differentiate from individuals suffering from OCD because he demonstrates an absence of attempting to suppress or neutralize these aggressive impulses. Nonetheless, Melvin otherwise depicts an accurate portrayal of several obsessions and compulsions matching the description of DSM-5 symptoms for OCD. The symptoms prominently effecting Melvin’s day-to-day life includes repetitive ritualistic behavior, mental acts, symmetry, and cleansing rituals. Conclusively, excluding the non-suppressed attempt of dealing with impulses, the character Melvin Udall paints a rather feasible portrayal of patients suffering from

A singular quote by Melvin supplied enough to give an idea of his childhood, relationship, and similarities with his father. Melvin’s childhood environment became apparent after stating, “My father didn’t leave his room for 11 years. He used to hit me with the yardstick if I made mistakes on the piano.” This quote made it apparent family functioning was not well intact in Mr. Udall’s childhood. Kenyon and Eaton (2015) research concluded, “Family functioning is enmeshed with OCD symptom severity.” The first connection and speculation drawn was Melvin’s father, likewise to himself, did not leave his room. Therefore, Melvin may have developed his fear of germs because of learning this behavior from his father. Durand and Barlow (2016) state, “One hypothesis is that early experiences taught them some thoughts are dangerous and unacceptable because the terrible things they are thinking might happen they would be responsible”