Call Me Crazy: Psychological Disorders

Schizophrenia is a complex, chronic mental disorder, which is categorized by certain symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions,

Overall the book gives a level of depth and openness that was startling as an uninformed individual. As the book is a direct insight to Lori’s schizophrenic mind as she recalls in detail her thoughts and experiences revolving her stays in the psychiatric ward and halfway houses. Indeed the progression of Lori’s illness is reflected in the author of the chapters in her book. For in the middle of the book, where Lori is in the depths of her psychosis, the story is carried on by her parents

Schizophrenia is a disorder that is characterized by a broken thought process and poor emotional responses. Typical symptoms of this disorder include delusions, paranoia, hallucinations, social dysfunctions,

In the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview the doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her ward have to deal with and how they all differently deal with the amount of time they must stay in the hospital for. While in the hospital Kaysen experienced a case of depersonalization where she tried to pull the skin of her hands to see if there were bones underneath, after a failed escape attempt. Soon, after going to therapy and analysis she was labeled as having recovered from borderline personality disorder. After her release she realizes that McLean Hospital provided patients with more freedom than the outside world, by being free responsibility of parental pressure, free from school and job responsibilities, and being free from the “social norms” that society comes up with. Ultimately, being in captivity gave the patients more freedom then in society and created a safe environment in which patients wanted to stay in.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behaviour and failure to recognize what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and inactivity. A person with schizophrenia often hears voices, experiences delusions and hallucinations and may believe thoughts, feelings and actions are controlled or shared by someone else.

After this episode a professor convinced her to go to the hospital and reluctantly she complied. This hospital did not take kindly to her psychosis and restrained her numerous times with straps. She had never been treated this way before and was confused and frightened. She later said for a hospital for the mentally ill it had been a brutal experience (157). She then was moved to a different hospital, memorial Unit 10 (MU10) where she was first diagnosed with “Schizophrenia with acute exacerbation” (167). Though she had finally gotten a diagnosis for her broken brain it seemed more like a death sentence than a diagnosis. She continued on with life in depression, psychosis, and denial.

She gives her account to how the help of clergy, friends, and family. Seeking help from clergy members it helped her differentiate visions from hallucinations. In her words she describes hallucinations as lacking sense. Visions are a message from God. Friends play a crucial role in someone with mental illnesses, because they can observe the patients to see if any changes happen that are too swift or too angry or too violent. Also keep constant contact with the individual, the constant presence of someone either through email or phone call really helps. Family can also play the same role of a loving

In Bly’s time, mental illnesses were not taken seriously. Bly described the asylum she was admitted to as overcrowded, cold, and dirty (ch. 7). It defeated the purpose of trying to give extra attention to those in need. It was easy to get admitted into an institution, but nearly impossible to make it out because the treatment was not treatment.

illness that caused them to act so strange (L. Annika). They thought that the mental illness they

Amy Hudock explains that physicians did not understand women at the time (3). These physicians complicated women more than they should have (Hudock 3). Being that women are different, especially physically, doctors tried to link differences, such as the womb, to hallucinations women have (Hudock 3). The "psychosis" entry in the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6th edition states that, "psychosis… A broad category of mental disorder encompassing the most serious mental disturbances," and that, "neurosis… Denoted by the 'mild' mental disorders which did not interfere significantly with the ability to function, or severely impair an individual's conception of reality“ (1). The rest cure clearly caused psychosis in the narrator because she definitely had an impaired conception of reality. The narrator eventually does lose motivation, begins to see a woman behind the wallpaper, and eventually rips up the wallpaper. The narrator starts having serious symptoms of psychosis, such as how the narrator starts to see the woman behind the wallpaper (Scott 202). Based on the condition of the room, the narrator starts to rip up the wallpaper like previous inhabitants of the room (Scott 202). While her behavior appears to be strange or psychotic, it eventually leads to her

Simply, it leaves a bad impression of sorts. The film is based on a rich memoir by Susanna Kaysen. It depicts the suffering of a fictional character referred to as Susanna. The film does not primarily give focus on true hospital course during the recovery process of the fictional character. Much of the focus is on the characters recovering without the aid of the hospital or staff. It is depicted as a road of self discovery and not very realistic for the conditions ascribed the characters. Recovery of an individual suffering from a mental ailment takes time and proper guidance coupled with proper coordination of counseling, medications and familial support. As such, the film provides a decent exploration of mental illness but not realistic. Though in my opinion it does portray the little resources available to women during the day in age depicted the effectiveness of the society’s mental health care system.

Schizophrenia is a major mental illness where the human brain can create multiple personas which cause hallucinations, confused thinking,abnormal behaviour and negative symptoms.

Schizophrenia has no actual definition, but it describes a series of events and actions that a person ususally experiences. Schizophrenia is a psychosis. ( Smith, 1992, p.23-25 ) Psychosis describes a disorder where a group of mental disturbances happen. Schizophrenia is described to be a psychosis because it causes the victim to lose the ability to be in touch with society and its functions. For example, a person may begin to "see" animals that are not there, or may begin to characterize themselves as a famous person from the past such as Queen Elizabeth or King Edward. ( Kvarnes, Parloff, 1983, p.220-223)

Schizophrenia is not yet fully understood, but it is known that it is characterized by extreme disturbances in many vital areas, including behavior, emotions, speech, perception and thinking. The term schizophrenia means

There are many factors which may have had an effect on Marilyn Monroe’s psychological state. I will attempt to prove in my case study and treatment plan, that if Marilyn Monroe had lived in the time period we live in today she would have been better able to be overcome her struggle with mental illness. If treated for Borderline Personality Disorder (F60.3/ 301.83) at an early age it is possible that Norma Jean Baker would most likely lived a healthy long life.