Shutter Island Mental Illness

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Psychological Disorders Occurring in Shutter Island "Shutter Island" is the mindboggling story of a United States marshal, Teddy Daniels, who travels to a distant island off of the coast of Massachusetts. With his partner, his is assigned the task of investigating the mysterious disappearance of a patient from the island's hospital for the criminally insane. The plot thickens when the viewers become aware that Teddy is actually a patient who resides within the hospital. Teddy displays symptoms of multiple different psychological disorders throughout the movie. Psychological Disorders Throughout the beginning of the movie, Teddy is seen to be socially savvy, with rational thoughts and actions, until he falls asleep. Once asleep he is bombarded with nightmares from his past, ultimately awakening in fright. His flashbacks contain graphic events from when he was serving overseas during …show more content…

Many tie PTSD with war veterans; however, a significant amount PTSD cases occur in the non-military. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (2016) estimates that “8 million adults have PTSD during a given year.” PTSD occurs mainly when an individual thinks that their life or others' lives are in danger (USVA, 2016). The overall cause of Delusional Disorder is unknown, some studies indicated that it is developed in order to cope with stress or a specific trauma (APA, 2013). Delusional Disorder and PTSD may coincide with each other in Teddy’s case. The traumas of being a war veteran and having to kill his wife are more than enough to set Teddy into both PTSD and Delusional Disorder. Prognosis. PTSD is a treatable condition in which the prognosis can be positive, with the correct treatment. (USVA, 2016) The prognosis for Delusional Disorder can vary as it can be complicated to treat. Most patients with Delusional Disorder, like Teddy, rarely admit to having delusions.

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