Obsessive Compulsive Disorder observed in “As Good As It Gets” In the movie, “As Good As It Gets” Jack Nicolson plays a character who suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The characters name is Melvin Udall. In the beginning of the film, Melvin is extremely insensitive and arrogant while suffering from OCD. By the end of the film he is more caring and compassionate and suffers a little less from his disorder. In the movie Melvin is a writer in New York, he has an artist neighbor, named Simon, who is hospitalized after a horrible beating when he walks in on a robbery in his home. Reluctantly, Melvin is forced to watch Simons dog while he recovers and eventually lets Simon move in with him. As part of his routine, Melvin eats breakfast at the same …show more content…
When Carol takes off work to care for her sick child, Melvin gets very anxious because his routine is interrupted, tracks her down and then sends a very good doctor to care for her son with the hope that she can return to work to serve him again. Throughout the film, Melvin expresses many obsessions and compulsions, which are part of the diagnostic criteria for OCD according to the DSM-V. One obsession that he suffers from is a fear of contamination. Melvin displays this obsession through the act of cleaning himself compulsively. He washes with very hot water and a brand new bar of soap every time he washes his hands. He uses the bar of soap for only a couple seconds, tosses it, and then opens a new bar of soap to use. When he showers, Melvin again uses very hot water and stays in the shower for an excessive amount of time. Another way
Mr. Unger is approximately 55 years-old, is Caucasian-American, and recently separated from his wife with whom he has two school-aged children. He dresses impeccably in pressed suits and polished shoes. He is clean cut and shaven. His hair is cut short and is neatly parted to one side. He has a rigid and stiff posture. He displays rigidity in his thought content which are manifested in preoccupations with cleanliness and his family affairs. He is inflexible in his personality. His wife recently separated from him and called him “impossible to live with.” During their relationship he displayed a huge need to be in control by doing things such as re-cooking a meal she made because he felt he could do a better job or obsessive cleaning their apartment and complaining when she was messy. While he loved her very much and had a sense that he was annoying her, he is so inflexible in his personality that he was unable to make changes. Mr. Unger’s mood is normally elevated due to his obsessive-compulsive nature. He is generally pre-occupied with his job,
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
The protagonist in the film As Good As It Gets, Melvin Udall is a successful romantic novelist who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. From the onset of the film, Melvin displays ritualistic behavior that aligns with the diagnostic criteria for OCD, specifically the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both. This paper focuses on Melvin’s particular psychopathology, analyzing the character’s current symptoms and diagnoses, the etiology of the disorder, and the key elements of his treatment.
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.
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
The following is an overview about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one of the most difficult psychiatric illness to be understood. The way of doing certain behaviors, thoughts or routines repeatedly is the essential condition of a person with OCD. In general, it is known and described by someone who is extremely perfectionist and meticulous. Unfortunately, they do realize those habits and be able to stop doing it. Common behaviors are such as checking locks, doors, stove bottoms, and lights, hand washing, counting things, or having recurrent intrusive thoughts of hurting oneself or somebody else.
This condition has a considerable effect on Melvin’s life, not only do these numerous compulsive behaviors take up a lot of time in his life, the reactions that he’s, including his disregard for others and the insults that he throws at people portray him as a mean and stubborn man; which leaves him quite lonely with no friends. Melvin sought treatment into his disorder from a psychiatrist, for which he was prescribed medication to help him. He finds it hard to take the medication, which is in pill form, again an unrealistic worry that he will choke on the pill or not be able to swallow it, and subsequently die from the whole ordeal. Melvin is not a very open person about his disorder; he seemingly finds it hard to talk about what it really is that makes him do and say the things that he does. Melvin does find motivation for his treatment in the form of love. He finds that it is easier to take his medication when he is in the company of Carol; the waitress that brings him is breakfast daily. The thought of being with her soothes Melvin’s need for the compulsions in his life; he is more at ease when he is with her. Melvin unknowingly at first does not feel the need to fulfill his compulsions when he forgets to lock his door, counting it five times, when he returns to his apartment one night. He also finds himself being able to do things, such as stepping on the lines and cracks in
At 87 years old, Bob Wiley died last month at his house in New York. In his forties, Bob suffered from several specific phobias, dependent personality disorder, and panic disorder with agoraphobia. Bob was scared of being in enclosed or small spaces and of germs. He was so worried about getting an illness that he would use a tissue to touch a door or a car handle. Furthermore, he would always bring his pet goldfish Gil with him wherever he would go. When Mr. Wiley switched to Dr. Leo Marvin for therapy, Bob started to depend excessively on his psychiatrist. After Dr. Marvin left for vacation, Bob called Dr. Marvin twice to get help – once as himself and once acting like he was Lily Marvin, Dr. Marvin’s sister. Bob even faked his own death to get his psychiatrist’s vacation home address to see him during his vacation in New Hampshire. Then, after getting Leo Marvin’s address, Bob rode a bus from New York to New Hampshire to get help from Dr. Marvin. However, due to his
The symptoms that Roy exhibits, meet this criteria for diagnosis. For example, at one point in the film, Roy spends almost two days cleaning his house non-stop. He is so obsessed with this task that he ignores his work and is unable to even answer his telephone. Additionally, Roy’s social relationships seem to be suffering as a result of his compulsions, as he reports that it has been many years since he has had a relationship with a woman.
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
Hughes obsessiveness became more severe towards the end of the movie. Hughes becomes solitary in his theatre room and burns all of his clothes. When asked about staying in there, he responds with "I sleep... in this room... in the dark. I have a place I can sleep. I have a chair. That's just beautiful. Oh, yeah. I like the desert. It's hot there in the desert, but it's clean. It's clean. I need to sleep. I should drink something first. I should have some... some milk. Wait a minute... what if that milk is sour? That milk is bad I shouldn't pick up the bottle with my right hand. And I shouldn't
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