The project option I chose was option 7. Option 7 assignment wanted you to watch one or two movies or television shows that portrayed two psychological disorders discussed in the book or in class. For this project I chose to watch a movie and a couple episodes of a television show. This essay will be referring to the movie “Gran Torino” and the television show “United states of Tara.” The two disorders that will be discussed are Post Traumatic Stress Disorder also known as PTSD and DID known as Dissociative Identity Disorder. PTSD is when symptoms of Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) last longer than a month. DID occurs when a person seems to have two or more distinct personalities within one body. In the movie Gran Torino, the protagonist dealt with a lot of struggles, one of those struggles included PTSD. A major part of the movie where his disorder was portrayed was in the beginning when he was being really racist towards his neighbors and they gave sort of a background to explain why . As a result of fighting in the war, he suffers from PTSD after fighting in the Korean war. Eastwood fought in the war decades ago, however, he is still continuously reminded by him living in a diverse neighborhood and having Korean neighbors. On the other hand, …show more content…
I think this because the movie became more about him building a relationship with his neighbors. The creators could’ve went a tad bit deeper in showing more symptoms considering the fact that he was suffering from PTSD. As stated in the previous paragraph, a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is thoughts of suicide and Eastwood had strong thoughts of suicide. On the other hand, United States of Tara did a fantastic job portraying actual symptoms of Dissociative Identity Disorder. In my opinion they did a good job because the character was experiencing one of the main symptoms, altered states of
Within the novel Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut, the character Billy Pilgrim claims to have come “unstuck” in time. Having survived through being a Prisoner of War and the destruction of Dresden during World War II, and having been a prisoner used to clear away debris of the destruction, there can be little doubt that Pilgrim’s mental state was unstable. Furthermore, it may be concluded that Pilgrim, due to the effects of having been a Prisoner of War, and having been witness to the full magnitude of destruction, suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which caused him to review the events over and over during the course of his life. In order to understand how these factors, the destruction of Dresden and ‘PTSD’, came to make Billy Pilgrim “unstuck” in time, one must review over the circumstances surrounding those events.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD, affects many individuals throughout the world. PTSD is a mental health disorder that is brought on by experiencing a traumatizing event. People experience PTSD in many different ways and some of these people, like Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, have difficulty getting through their daily activities and can experience depression and loneliness which may require treatment. Referencing websites for the Mayo Clinic, Department of Veteran Affairs, National Institute of Mental Health and the novel Catcher in the Rye one can see that suffering from PTSD can change someone’s life forever.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is not something to think lightly of, and affects several people in society, not just soldiers. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, is best known as a mental health condition that many soldiers experience after the war, but it’s a problem that stretches far beyond the military. PTSD affects 5%-10% of all men and 7%-14% of all women in this country(Charles, PTSD). In Chris Kyle’s autobiography American Sniper he touches on many subjects involving PTSD, and talks about the challenge of being a good father, husband, and soldier while stationed overseas. In American Sniper Chris Kyle is a very talented long ranged sniper for the United States Navy Seals, during his tour in Iraq, Chris tallies up several kills.
A Vietnam War veteran experienced many gruesome and horrifying events during their time of serving the army. Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking “PTSD is defined as a re-experience of a traumatic event, for example, flashbacks. Anything can trigger a flashback a click, a movement, anything associated with the past event” (Cruz). Seeing such horrifying things affected their mental and emotional thinking. A soldier was told to forget what they saw and basically move on from it, but it only made it worse. Having everything “bottled up” makes it even harder to treat PTSD. U.S. soldiers had to live with the disorder on their own without any help. “The veterans experience combat related nightmares, anxiety, anger, depression, alcohol and/or drug dependency, all are symptoms of PTSD” (Begg). The symptoms occurred over long periods of time when that person has been in certain situations that he or she was not ready to be in. Some of these situations including the Vietnam veterans not feeling like their unit was together or united. “Soldiers were sent into replace other soldiers, which caused the other members of the group to make fun or haze them. The unit never developed as much loyalty to each other as they should have” (Paulson and Krippner). “Many of...
PTSD was discovered in the 1980’s, and was originally thought to be a sign of weakness to the army. Prior to the discovery, many soldiers were discharged from the army for not being able to face their experiences on the battlefield(NIH). Today it is known that it is a serious brain disorder found across many veterans, and now that we know, it can be combated. But PTSD is not limited to the army, and many of those who experience traumatic events parallel similar traits to that of veterans. In fact, an estimated “7.8 percent of Americans will experience PTSD at some point in their lives”(Nebraska). That’s over 25 million Americans and Holden is one them.
According to Barlow, Durand & Stewart (2012), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one of several dissociative disorders in which a person experiences involve detachment or depersonalization. They go on to explain that people with DID ha...
PTSD is a debilitating mental illness that occurs when someone is exposed to a traumatic, dangerous, frightening, or a possibly life-threating occurrence. “It is an anxiety disorder that can interfere with your relationships, your work, and your social life.” (Muscari, pp. 3-7) Trauma affects everyone in different ways. Everyone feels wide ranges of emotions after going through or witnessing a traumatic event, fear, sadness and depression, it can cause changes in your everyday life as in your sleep and eating patterns. Some people experience reoccurring thoughts and nightmares about the event.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental illness that develops after exposure to an event that is perceived to be life threatening or pose serious bodily injury to self or others (Sherin & Nemeroff, 2011). According
PTSD is classified as a “disorder characterized by failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event,” and it is extremely common for soldiers after they have returned from combat situations and attempt to return to life as civilians. (National Center for PTSD). When Silko first introduces Tayo, he is confused and disoriented, and he views the world as a “white smoke… [that] had no consciousness of itself,” (Silko, 14). This “white smoke” fogs up Tayo’s mind, acting as a form of emotional detachment that prevents Tayo from having to process his experiences; emotional detachment is one of the more common signs of PTSD, (National Center for
“The months pass by. The summer of 1918 is the most bloody and most terrible. The days stand like angels in blue and gold, incomprehensible, above the ring of annihilation.” (Remarque 230). This quote is an example of an event that a soldier would probably re-play in their mind causing Post -traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a disorder caused by experiencing a traumatic or very stressful experience, such as war. This can cause emotional problems for people like Paul and his friends in All Quiet on the Western Front.
Holden exhibits his recurring habits of smoking and drinking which is an effect of PTSD. Holden smokes and drinks constantly throughout this book. At school, outside, inside, and even with his sister; Phoebe. A cause of his constant habits is from his PTSD. Drinking and smoking makes the stress a little bit less for him to deal with. For example, “I was smoking… hardly any wind.” (Salinger 176). In this part he shows that he is out of breath from dancing with Phoebe. He tells that he had been smoking so much he barely had any time to get breath. His constant smoking is from his failure to adopt a good habit instead of the bad habit he came to have after the traumatic event. He enjoys smoking and drinking because it relaxes him and distracts
After experiencing World War II first-hand, J.D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye, would know plenty of information about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Holden Caulfield, protagonist of The Catcher in the Rye, undergoes the grief of losing a sibling to death which in turn, gave him PTSD. Symptoms that Holden displays of PTSD include: irritability, constantly reliving the past, and his self-destructive behavior. Salinger depicts Holden’s interpersonal communications to foreground his symptoms of PTSD from the death of his little brother, Allie.
While serving overseas, military service members are exposed to a number of traumatic events that could potentially lead to PTSD. An example would be when one’s life is in a significant amount of danger, or they are seriously
Clint Eastwood’s film “Gran Torino” traces the end of the life of Walt Kowalski. He has recently gone through a lot – the death of his beloved wife, his distant relationship with his son, his emotional scars from the Korean War and his bad health. All these things stop him from living a proper life. He doesn’t care about himself much – he smokes even though he is sick, he doesn’t eat a lot, he refuses to confess even though that was his wife’s last wish. However, all this changes when he meets the Hmong Family that lives next door. At the beginning he detests them because of their similarity to the Koreans, but later, as he gets to know them, they become the family that he was never able to have. The story traces the psychological changes in Walt’s character due to his unusual bond with the Hmong family, which changes are one of the main strengths of the film.
... event and tend to be emotionally numb” (Anxiety Disorders). PTSD leads to flashbacks and behavioral changes to try to avoid anything that might remind the affected individual of the traumatic experience.