Marilyn Monroe 's Fight Against Mental Disorder

Probably the most celebrated of all actresses, Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Baker on June 1, 1926, in Los Angeles General Hospital, to Gladys Baker. Gladys had been a film cutter at RKO studios, but psychological problems prevented her from keeping the job and she was eventually committed to a mental institution, because of that Norma Jean spent time in foster homes until she was 16 years of age. As an unlucky soul, Marilyn focused on her dreams of becoming a movie star. Being born and raised to a custom of fame and fortune in

Psychological disorders are very real and present in many people we come in contact with daily, however, are very rarely talked about. Learning about these disorders can help us to understand others and ourselves better by telling us why we do and think the things we do. One effective way that we can observe and learn about psychological disorders is through movies. “Mommie Dearest” was directed by Frank Perry. It is centered around the actress Joan Crawford, who suffered from various psychological disorders. Joan’s daughter, Christina, wrote a book about her mother and her many problems and it was later turned into a movie. It is very effective to use movie analysis as a way of learning, especially in psychology, because it provides a great way to observe without distractions. When you’re looking at disorders, it’s difficult to find a person who has many of these disorders and will allow you to observe them. Psychological disorders can be split into two major groups, personality disorders and mood disorders. Personality disorders are patterns of traits that can get in the way of your social or work life and may interrupt the individual’s normal lifestyle. Mood disorders are inconsistent and unreliable changes in mood by the affected individual. (Rathus, 1998). With all of this being said, it brings me to my point that I will be talking about for the rest of this essay. Joan Crawford demonstrates the personality disorders of histrionic, narcissism, and OCPD. When it comes to mood disorders, Joan demonstrates bipolar disorder.

She was also often anxious and had moderate colds and coughs. Marilyn Monroe spent the majority of her early years living in a fictional world she created as an escape from reality. She sometimes told the other children in her orphanage eccentric tales about her having loving parents who had just went on a trip. Monroe would create fake postcards, she would sign from her parents to go along with her story (Spoto, 1993, p. 47). She had also managed to convince herself that Clark Gable was her father, although it was not a possibility (Spoto, 1993, p. 45; 54). After growing up in orphanages, Marilyn realized the only way to be released from the foster system was to get married. Marilyn Monroe decided to drop out of high school and marry her boyfriend at the time. Her first husband was a merchant marine by the name James Dougherty (Hendrickson, 2000). Dougherty was much older than Monroe who was then only sixteen years old. Although like the marriages to her other two husbands, Joe DeMaggio and Arthur Miller did not last for various reasons.

Marilyn Monroe, whose real name is Norma Jeane Mortenson, was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California. She was American actress, singer and model. She also was one of the most famous movie star, the sex symbols and pop icons of the 20th century. Despite her an unhappy, difficult childhood she got succeed during her short life period. She worked minor roles for years. Then, she showed her comedy ability, appearance on television and attraction with films. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch are some examples of these films. Her success and these films provided her to be the most popular film actress in 1950s

Marilyn Monroe was born as Norma Jean Mortensen on June 1st 1926. Her mother, Gladys Monroe, was mentally unstable and her father

transformation was her dyeing her hair blonde, second she divorced James, that same year, she signed her first contract with the Fox Studios, and was paid 75$ a week. Finally, on August 24th 1946, Norma Jeane Dougherty became Marilyn Monroe.

Throughout history, thousands of people have influenced today's society by their works and words. Dorothea Dix, for example, was a reformer of the mentally ill who changed the way mental institutions are run today. Dix, born in 1802, was an author, reformist, and teacher during her life who helped create dozens of new institutions across the US and Europe; challenging the idea that people with mental disturbances could not be cured or helped. Although some believe that Dorothea Dix created a new issue by introducing the idea of mental illness as a defense, in reality, she was important in our history because of her impact on the institutions and female education.

In her first journal entry Kaysen tells how the decision for her to go to McLean Hospital was based on a twenty minute conversation with a psychiatrist. Kaysen had been picking at her acne and been acting out in ways which would not be considered unusual for teens today, but at the time it was a sufficient excuse for commitment to an institution. In an interview, Kaysen further develops the idea that her illness was influenced by outside factors saying, “ [Her] retrospective account of her confinement at McLean Hospital makes a cultural intervention that challenges the notion that mental illness is rooted solely in the individual.” (Kaysan, 18). Being surrounded by girls with serious illnesses forced Kaysen to assume the role of a girl with a real mental illness. Society forced her to find something wrong with herself in an attempt to fit in. Kaysen questions what mental illness truly is. She asks,“Was everybody seeing this stuff and acting as though they weren't? Was insanity just a matter of dropping the act?” (Kaysen 41). Because Kaysen was labeled as being mentally ill although she was not, it became hard for her to tell what truly pronounced someone as mentally ill. Was everyone slightly crazy or were just some better at hiding it then others? Living in such an uptight society, people had no choice but to put on an act of perfection. When someone began to “drop the

     Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Baker on June 1, 1926. Her mother’s name was Gladys Baker Mortensen. Baker being the name of her other two children and Mortensen the name of her last husband who disappeared just months after their marriage in 1924. Although Edward Mortensen was Gladys’ husband at the time of Norma’s birth, he was not her father. No one knows for sure who her father was, but it was believed that it was Gladys’ lover C. Stanley Gifford .

“The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story that surrounds many different topics. The narrator is living in a time period where women were looked down upon and mental illnesses were misunderstood. The narrator of the story suffers from post-partum depression and is recording her journey in a journal. Her husband, the typical man at the time, put her on “the rest cure,” as he believed that mental illnesses should be treated like physical illnesses. He brings her to a house far away from other people and makes her stay in the nursery. The nursery had shabby yellow wallpaper which sickened her, but intrigued her at the same time. The rest cure was basically confinement, both physically and mentally. She was deprived of

Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her bedroom from a possible overdose on August 5, 1962. Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jean Mortenson in Los Angeles on June 1, 1926. When she was younger; her mom was emotionally unstable and was frequently confined to an asylum, so Marilyn was reared by a succession of foster parents and

In America, one in five adults has a mental health condition, a staggering statistic. Appreciatively, recovery is the goal in the mental health centers of 2017. Nevertheless, in the 1950s, patients were provided with inhumane treatments such as lobotomies. Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, provides an accurate portrayal of a psychiatric ward in the 1950s. The antagonist, Nurse Ratched, hopes her patients will not recover and manipulates them to gain authority. In contrast with the past, Nurses of the present day treat individuals with respect. Conduct towards mentally ill patients has changed since the 1950s in ways such as public attitude, medication, and

Brought into this world in June of 1926 was a baby girl named Norma Jeane Mortenson, otherwise known as Marilyn Monroe. Her childhood was mostly spent in the orphanages and foster homes in California. This was a result of never

Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926, is known as the greatest American sex symbol of all time. Monroe had a very difficult childhood. She spent most of her days in foster care and orphanages, dealt with challenges such as not

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.