Melvin Udall

Howard Hughes was a business tycoon, aviator, and film director who had a fear of germs that over time evolved into a phobia. With his fear of germs, Howard develops obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which throughout the film plagues his life with problems and challenges. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition in which unwanted obsessions or compulsions are very time consuming and cause a great deal of distress or impair daily functioning (Weis, 2013). This is very much true in the sense of Howard’s condition.

These symptoms never emerged in the series; rather, the viewer is led to believe that Mr. Monk had OCD since he was born. However, the viewer is also informed in conversations with the police sergeant and with Monk’s nurse and therapist that what triggered this disorder was the murder of his wife. Immediately after his wife died, his disorder worsened.

“In people with (OCD) obsessive- compulsive disorder, there is an excessive need for orderliness and attention to detail, perfectionism, as well as overly rigid ways of relating to others (Nevid and Rathus 293).” Martin is a very demanding individual and has an obsession to have everything in order. For examples, towels have to be evenly spaced with the same length on the towel rack and canned foods have to face label forward, as well as neatly stacked in the cabinet. Martin’s overall main crisis is his obsession with his wife, Laura, is he cannot live without her and he won’t let her live without him. He

In this book, one boy spends six hours a day washing himself- he suffers from the fact that he will never be clean. This woman continuously checks her stove hundreds of times a day to make sure she turned it off. Another woman in the effort to make sure that her eye brows are even she was eventually pulls out all her hair. There are other characters such as Paul, Arnie, and Morris. These people suffer from a common sickness called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This book is basically a go to guide to finding treatments, as well as lists of resources and references to treating OCD. This book brings the disorder to public attention, describing its symptoms and suggesting routes toward treatment. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder that’s caused by thoughts that also causes fear and or worry. By repeating the compulsion it causes the persons fear to lesson. In my opinion I feel as if this book is a great book it gives you true life

About 60% of obsessive-compulsive disorder patients have multiple obsessions. Not only does Melvin display behaviors associated with his fear of contamination, but also he presents compulsions under the symmetry/exactness/”just right” symptom subtype. This subtype deals specifically with the need for symmetry, in which things are put in a certain order and rituals are repeated. Melvin has very specific expectations of order in his daily routine. Every

The film focused on Jack Nicholson’s character, “Melvin Udall” as a subject riddled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. According to the class text, obsessions include recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images; thoughts of contamination. Also, Mr. Udall’s functions in different social settings often seemed rigid, and sparked disconnect with his neighbors, and acquaintances. However, further on Mr. Udall played an instrumental role in piecing together a crucial script in the lives of the individuals he encounters. Watching the movie imposed a convicting thought of recognizing such individuals like Mr. Udall in our society enduring the complexities of severe disorders—OCD. Despite the daily struggles experienced by individuals

In the YouTube clip “Howie Mandel Talks About Living With OCD”, Howie Mandel showed different types of symptoms for OCD (Mandel, 2009). Mandel would not touch a door handle directly; instead, he used his shirt when opening a door. Mandel said that he does not go near handrails, just like Mandel would not touch the handles directly. Mandel would not eat the food if it were from a buffet, because other people have touched the handles. One of Mandel’s signature move is the fist bomb, however, his signature fist bomb is to avoid touching other peoples palms directly. Another thing was Mandel’s dressing room; his entire make up had to be brand new and organized on his desk to avoid germs. Mandel’s baldhead was a choice, since it felt cleaner to him. When Mandel dropped the anxiety pill on the floor he would not pick it up or take it even though he did not have another pill available – he would rather go without his medicine

This essay will introduce some similarities and differences between both symptoms and experiences of six different authors who have been personally affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).  Since OCD is not very well understood by many members of the public ("Escape"), I hope that the experiences of the authors that I researched will be able to paint a vivid picture of what life with OCD is like.

Melvin takes his obsession of being clean to extremes; this is a very common manifestation of someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder. When Melvin goes out for breakfast he takes his own plastic utensils wrapped inside of a plastic bag, because he thinks that the silverware at the diner are not clean enough for him. This is another example of his fear of contamination.

Not only does Marlin have OCD but I believe he also suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (pg. 639-641). PTSD is a mental disorder in which an individual suffers from extreme anxiety due to constant reminders of a traumatic past event in their present, everyday life. An example of this would be a soldier. Soldiers go overseas and fight. While over there they see many horrible things. One example is the bombs that armies use. A soldier could be in a situation overseas where he/she is constantly around the loud noises of bomb explosions. Now, when they return home, they are not around these bombs any more but things are continuously reminding them of those events. Slamming a book shut, dropping a plate while you are putting away dishes, dogs barking in your neighborhood, or even cars honking are all examples of daily activities that could remind a soldier who

Melvin Udall suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Melvin sticks to the same routine every day in order to not upset himself, if one thing goes wrong in that daily routine, Melvin’s entire day seems to be ruined to the point where he cannot function well. Melvin is afraid of the germs that are all around him. He does not enjoy being touched in any way, or by anyone, whether it is a stranger walking down the street or a friend, of which Melvin does not have many. Melvin always enters his house and turns around to lock the door, which he counts as he does, turning the lock five times before he is certain that he will avoid any danger that might come if he does not fulfill these rituals; he has the same

In this movie, Melvin displayed many compulsions. When he comes back to his apartment he locks his door 5 times and turns on and off the lights 5 times. He also washes his hands with 2 new bars of soap each time he washes his hands. When he walks, he avoids stepping on any cracks. He also sometimes repeats words quietly after someone has said something. Instead of trusting one, his has two clocks side by side near his bed for an alarm. These are just a few examples of the many compulsions Melvin has. He always

A Former police detective named Adrian Monk has suffered from intensified obsessive- compulsive disorder also known as OCD. As well as a variety of phobias since the murder of his wife, Trudy, in 1997. Despite his photographic memory and his amazing ability to piece tiny clues together, he is now on psychiatric leave from the San Francisco Police Department. Monk works as a freelance detective/consultant who is trying to get back on the force. The captain of the force wont let Monk back on until he realizes that he is able to handle the problems that come with the job. The murder of his wife and his inability to solve the case exacerbated his condition to the point where he finds it impossible to function in society without

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder that causes someone to have unwanted and troubling thoughts and repetitive behaviors (Lack, 2012). People may self-diagnose themselves to be obsessive compulsive. But people with obsessive compulsive disorder need to spend at least 1 hour daily on obsessive thoughts and rituals (Ellyson, 2014). This disorder is broken into two parts. The first part is obsessions, thoughts or images, and the second part is compulsions, the repetitive behaviors caused by the obsessions (Brakoulias, 2015). An example of obsessive compulsive disorder would be someone checking the locked door multiple times to reduce anxiety about forgetting to lock the door. On average 5% of the population has subclinical symptoms which are considered to be symptoms that are not disruptive enough to meet criteria to be diagnosed obsessive compulsive (Lack, 2012). Dropping what you’re doing to go back and check if your curling iron is unplugged is an example of a subclinical symptom. This paper will discuss what obsessive compulsive disorder is and provide a brief history. It will also include current treatments, suggestions on how to treat the disorder, and a summary.

Melvin, from the very beginning of the film, exhibits clear symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, likely promulgated through social anxiety and various phobias. Some of the reoccurring symptoms Melvin displays include: germaphobia and a fear of being touched, avoidance of cracked surfaces, and a complete organization of his belongings. His fear of germs seems to be a major driving force in his obsessive-compulsive disorder. He doesn’t appreciate people entering his living space or touching him. He washes his hands relentlessly. Additionally, he does not trust the silverware to properly clean, so he insists on using new plastic ware each time he eats.