Girl Interrupted: Borderline Personality Disorders

The subject of this analysis is Susanna Kaysen. Susanna is an eighteen-year-old white women who was sent to McLean hospital where she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. In this analysis, I plan to describe all her relevant symptoms of abnormal behavior, discuss the etiology, and treatment considerations. In addition to discussing her diagnosis and make the case that she was misdiagnosed with borderline personality disorder and that she instead suffered from major depressive disorder.

The first patient to be discussed will be the main character, Susanna Kaysen, a middle-class woman, who is admitted to a mental hospital after attempting suicide by “taking a whole bottle of aspirin and finishing it with a bottle of vodka.” In the beginning, Susanna refused to admit to the psychiatrist that it was a suicide attempt which holds evidence to her prognosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). According to the text, BPD is a personality disorder characterized by repeated instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood by impulsive behavior. This holds evident throughout Susanna’s stay in the hospital as well as in her flashbacks during the movie. During

Susanna Kayson is a character in the film Girl, interrupted that has borderline personality disorder (BPD) (Wick, Konrad, & Mangold, 1999). As Susanna Kayson meets 5 of the 9 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria, Susanna can be diagnosed with BPD. According to criteria 1, Susanna often restrains from stating her true feelings about a situation or a person to maintain relationships. Lisa, a resident of the psychiatric ward, would tease or humiliate Daisy, eventually leading her to commit suicide. Susanna knew that Lisa’s actions were inappropriate but she did not stand up for Daisy. This is an example of criteria 1 (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, & Lalumiere, 2015). One day when Susanna’s boyfriend Toby came to visit, they are caught in the middle of a sexual act and decide to escape to the grounds. Toby said he wanted to be with her, and she stated that she had no inclination to be with him. This is an example of criteria 2. Susanna tries to commit suicide by consuming a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka, and later also stated that she understands what it feels like to not want to be alive. This is an example of criteria 5. When the wife of a man who Susanna had an affair with confronts her, she begins to laugh. This is an example of criteria 6. Lastly, Susanna’s inability to understand her disorder causes her to have bouts of intense anger, which satisfies criteria 8 (Barlow et al., 2015).

     The movie, “Girl Interrupted,”is about a teenage girl named Susanna Kaysen who has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. People with Borderline Personality Disorder “are often emotionally unstable, impulsive, unpredictable, irritable, and anxious. They also are prone to boredom. Their behavior is similar to that of individuals with schizotypal personality disorder but they are not as consistently withdrawn and bizarre” (Santrock, 2003). In “Girl Interrupted” Susanna Kaysen the main character, goes through many episodes that give a picture of the disorder she’s suffering from. The first such incident occurs when the psychiatrist is talks to Susanna about her

The movie, Girl, Interrupted, displays Susanna Kaysen’s eighteen-month stay at a mental institute in the 1960s. This film was an adaptation of a book based on a true story of the main character and author Susanna Kaysen. Susanna was checked into Claymore, a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts, after chasing a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka. At first, Susanna denies this blatant attempt at suicide and constantly struggles with uncertainty of her thoughts and emotions. Although Girl, Interrupted exhibits several mental disorders one of the most prevalent disorder of this film is Susanna’s Borderline Personality Disorder. This film depicts majority of the signs and symptoms of a person with Borderline Personality. As stated in the textbook, “the lives of persons with borderline personality are marked by instability. Their relationships are unstable, their behavior is unstable, their emotions are unstable, and even their images of themselves are unstable” (Larsen and Buss 593). Susanna’s romantic relationships are extremely unstable and she frequently engages in casual sex. She jumps from one guy to another in a matter of few weeks. One scene that establishes this the most is when her boyfriend at the time comes to visit her at Claymore and expresses his true feelings for her and she instantly withdraws. He asked her to go to Canada with him and she turns him down immediately. She also kisses Lisa who she befriends at the mental institute, displaying a switch of

Chapman, PhD, A. L., & Fraser, S. (2006, September). Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Current Indications and Unique Elements PDF file., (), 62-68.

Furthermore, borderline personality disorder is clinically defined as ones instability which is evident in their relationships, emotions, behavior and image of themselves. Persons with such disorder may have feelings of abandonment. Often in efforts to manipulate people back into relationships, they take part in self-manipulating behavior or suicidal attempts. Suicide is sometimes attempted impulsively by persons in periods of extreme depression. In addition people often experience strong emotions and strong desires for intimacy.

Girl Interrupted is a 1999 film in which Susanna, a high school senior on the verge of graduating with her class in 1967, is rushed to the Emergency Room because she consumed a whole bottle of Aspirin, followed by a bottle of Vodka. After being treated, Susanna is seen by a friend of her fathers, who is a Psychiatrist who believes that her actions were an attempt at suicide. Susanna, of course denies this, instead stating that she was making an effort to rid herself of a headache. The Psychiatrist recommends that she stay at a mental hospital named Claymore for a rest. While there, Susanna meets a number of individuals with a diverse array of disorders. One individual in particular, Lisa essentially runs the group of girls because

Abstract: This paper will discuss the causes and psychological impact of borderline personality disorder. It will also talk about how to treat those impacted by borderline personality disorder.

The third is Separation insecurities and with this comes the fear of rejection or separation from friends and family; they have a fear of being dependant on others for ever but also experience a loss of autonomy (American psychiatric Association: 2013). Jordan’s case: Jordan’s parents tell of how Jordan has separation anxiety regardless of her now being older, she often screams when her mother leaves the room as previously mentioned, however she also often runs away from home especially after having an argument with her parents or friends. The fourth is Depressivity where the person is frequently feeling down and hopeless; they struggle to remove or change these thoughts or moods; they have a pessimistic view of the future, inert shame feeling,

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition, Borderline personality disorder is described as having a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts. In order to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, the individual must demonstrate five or more of the nine behaviors experienced within the disorder. The nine criterion behaviors within the disorder include: (1) frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, (2) a pattern of unstable and intense relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation, (3) identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self, (4) impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self damaging such as sexuality, spending, substance abuse, binge eating or reckless driving, (5) recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self mutilating behavior, (6) affective

How much do we truly know about ourselves? Have you ever wondered how much you know about how others view you? This struck me with great interest, so I took a series of tests to see what personality I have, if I have a sleeping disorder, what level of self-esteem I have, and if I have borderline personality disorder. The test results seemed to be reading me like a book. The realities whether I want choose to accept it is the test results are amazingly accurate.

According to the DSM-5, Personality Disorders are characterized by “impairments in personality functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits”. Borderline Personality Disorder is one of ten personality disorders listed in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 lists several criteria that must be met in order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. They are quoted as follows:

“Personality disorders have been documented in approximately 9 percent of the general U.S. population” (Angstman, Rasmussen, 2011). Emotional dysregulation disorder or its common name borderline personality disorder is a very serious and chronic disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) describes borderline personality disorder as “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts” (Gardner, 2006). Within the last 20 years, psychologists and other mental health professionals have made tremendous strides in research on what exactly borderline personality disorder, some of its triggers and possible effective treatment options. Borderline personality disorder is defined as a disorder that generates severe emotional instability which can be a springboard that can lead to other stress induced mental and behavioral problems.

There are two different types of disorders, personality and psychological. Psychological disorders are behavior patterns or mental processes that cause serious personal suffering or interfere with a person’s ability to cope with everyday life. Personality disorders are patterns of inflexible traits that disrupt social life or work and may distress the affected individual (Rathus, 2010). One way to learn how to identify these disorders is through movie analysis. Movies can help the understanding of psychological and personality disorders because people can get a better understanding from a “show me, not tell me” aspect. It is hard for a student to understand what these disorders actually are unless, they are able to see them in a scenario.