Silver Linings Playbook Sparknotes

Summary
“Silver Linings Playbook” centers around two people with mental disorders finding one another. It shows a story about a man named Patrizio “Pat” Solitano, Jr. He was placed in a mental health facility. After months of treatment, Pat is reunited back with his family. He meets Tiffany Maxwell at a friend’s dinner. Tiffany says she can help Pat deliver a letter to Nikki, Pat’s ex-wife, but with one condition: Pat would need to be her partner at the dance competition she is entering. He reluctantly agrees because he plans to win Nikki back. One evening, Pat’s father, Pat, Sr. lost his fortune to a man named Randy, a family friend. Pat’s father believes that Pat, Jr. messed up the “Eagle’s juju” because Pat, Jr. was spending so much time

with Tiffany. Tiffany thinks otherwise; she claims that she is good luck. With this news, Pat, Sr. makes a parlay. He states that if the Eagles win and if Pat and Tiffany can score at least a 5 out of 10, he can have his money back. The night of the dance competition, the Eagles won, and Pat and Tiffany scored a 5 out of 10. Pat sees Nikki, and he runs to her. Tiffany is upset, for she has fallen in love with him. Pat runs to Tiffany, and he chooses her over Nikki
DSM-5 Analysis
Tiffany Maxwell is the second protagonist in “Silver Linings Playbook.” Although her character was not diagnosed that she had borderline personality disorder, she showed symptoms of the disorder.

She acquired borderline personality disorder because her husband, Tommy passed away. In the DSM-5, borderline personality is described as “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five of the following” (Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). Tiffany showed at least five symptoms of borderline personality

disorder.
Criteria 3 in Borderline Personality Disorder states “identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self” (Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). Throughout the movie, Tiffany finds herself at loss. She does not really know who she is. Tiffany states that she feels empty, so she struggles with her identity. There are other criteria that overlap with one another that influence Tiffany’s borderline personality disorder. For example, she loses her sense of self because she is involved with substance abuse and sex. She uses alcohol and sex to fill a void of loneliness. Once Tommy passed away, she resolved her emotions through alcohol and sex, which is Criteria 4.
“Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g sex, substance abuse, irresponsible driving, and binge eating)” (Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Tiffany uses alcohol and sex to cope over her death of Tommy. The amount of sex she had with other people affected job performance, and she ended up getting fired. When Pat and Tiffany were on a date at the diner, she mentions that she got fired from her job. The reason she got fired from her job was because she had sex with everyone in her office (Cohen & Russell, 2012). Before the dance competition, she drinks at the bar in the hotel. She sees Nikki and Pat talking, and she resolves to alcohol. Tiffany fell in love with Pat, but she does not know how to handle herself when she sees Pat and Nikki together. She runs to sex and alcohol, for she cannot cope with the changes in her life, Tommy’s death and being jealous over Nikki (Cohen & Russell, 2012). Her substance abuse and sex is a defense mechanism
Tiffany suffers from “affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)” (Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). Pat and Tiffany were discussing one night that she wanted to have sex with him, but Pat said he was married. She said she was married too. Pat triggered Tiffany, saying her husband died. She hugged him and started crying. Suddenly, she pulls back and slaps his face (Cohen & Russell, 2012).. There is a drastic change of moods in this scene. Another night, after the diner, she yells at Pat calling him an “asshole,” and a few seconds later saying, “he’s harassing me” (Cohen & Russell, 2012). When a cop comes by, she said she was lying about Pat harassing her. She is name calling him, and then she immediately starts defending him. Tiffany’s emotions are unpredictable. She seems to have a problem managing her emotions (Cohen & Russell, 2012).
Criteria 7 is “chronic feelings of emptiness” (Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). Throughout the movie, many viewers can sense that Tiffany is lonely and empty. She has sex, drinks alcohol and does favors for people, but she still feels empty. She says, “I do this! Time after time after time! I do all this shit for other people! And then I wake up and I'm empty! I have nothing” (Cohen & Russell, 2012). She wakes up and still feels empty. She realizes in her life; she has nothing. Tommy is gone, and her relationship with her family is unsteady. Ever since Tommy passed away, she was looking for that missing piece. There was a hole in her. She resolved to other self-damaging activities to fill in that missing piece.
Her last symptom is Criteria 8, which is “inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)”
(Butcher, Hooley, & Minek, 2014, 342). Besides her trouble in controlling her mood swings, she has difficulty in controlling her anger. During the date in the diner, Pat indirectly states that he believes he was less crazy than Tiffany. Tiffany is in disbelief. She becomes hysterically angry. She starts yelling at him and smashes the food to the ground (Cohen & Russell, 2012). During the dinner, Tiffany wanted to walk home with Pat. Her sister, Veronica talks about her in third person, and Tiffany hates it. Tiffany starts rambling about how Veronica loves seeing Tiffany this way, so Veronica could be the good sister (Cohen & Russell, 2012). Tiffany is quick to assume another people’s judgement about her. She does not know to convey her emotions correctly and uses anger as a façade because on the inside she is hurting.
Commentary and Critique
“Silver Linings Playbook” reveals mental disorders as a normal aspect in life.

The viewpoint of mental illness portrays that mental illness is a common mechanism when dealing with stress or drastic changes. Many people are not as exposed with people who have mental disorders. This movie brings in two extremely different people, but they find themselves falling for each other despite their extra baggage. Tiffany has a heavy baggage she is carrying around. She could not accept the fact that Tommy left her suddenly. Although Tiffany’s character seems odd and dysfunctional, this movie portrays Tiffany, as a woman and a person, trying to move on. This film accurately portrays this disorder. There are some Hollywood viewpoints of mental illness, but this movie accurately portrays Tiffany as someone with borderline personality disorder. She shows many signs of borderline personality disorder symptoms. Many viewers can sense that areas in her life are dysfunctional and not

normal.
The characters’ attitudes towards Tiffany seemed aloof. Everyone around her did not understand why she was always angry. Pat said that she had poor social skills and she was mean during dinner (Cohen & Russell, 2012).. The night of Pat and Tiffany’s date, she shared a bit of her problems. I felt like Pat felt relief that he was not as messed up as her, but Tiffany felt judged. She says, “I opened up to you, and you judged me” (Cohen & Russell, 2012). Many people can sense the hurt she felt. Everyone can agree that if we end up sharing a personal story, we are afraid that we might get judged. Many people might view people with borderline personality disorder as someone who is sexual or always angry, but there’s more to borderline personality disorder than just sex and being angry all the time. People with borderline personality disorder have a difficult time regulating their emotions. Tiffany struggles with managing her emotions.
“Silver Linings Playbook” goes away from mainstream media and shows people with mental disorders. Mental illness is highly stigmatized, but this movie allows mental illness to be a normal behavior. There are not a lot of movies showing people with mental disorders, and it can be a sensitive topic for others. This movie creates awareness for people with mental illness. It is a romantic comedy, so this movie also shows a comedic side of mental illness. Although this movie shows mental disorders as a normal behavior, many people might think it is fine to laugh at people with these disorders. Mental illness should be taken in an empathetic perspective