Ocd in as Good as It Gets

He engages in repeating turning the lights on and off five times, he has a compulsion of locking the door to his apartment several times, just to make sure it is locked, and superstitious compulsions like not stepping on cracks on the sidewall because that may bring bad luck. In the movie, Melvin sends his editor's husband, a pediatrician, to make personal visits to Carol's son, Spencer, just so Carol will come in to work and wait on Melvin's table. Clearly this action looks extremely considerate, but in context, he is really focused on himself and his needs. Clearly it is ridiculous to pay a fortune for a continuing pediatrician for someone's son, just so they can go back to their job and serve you, but Melvin's daily routine rules him because of his obsessive compulsive disorder. Another obsession Melvin has is about organization and control. His apartment is portrayed as being very organized and that he made a conscious effort and took time to organize it. For example, he has jars filled with hundreds of “Skittles” or “M&M’s that are separated by their

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

A separate obsession that Melvin faces is that of doubt. He finds himself constantly checking, whether it is turning off the light or locking the front door. Once Melvin steps foot into the front door of his apartment he closes the door and locks it, not once but five times. He repetitively counts one, two, three, four, five when he locks the top lock, and continues this

Pharmacological treatment is based on the evidence that serotonin is a key chemical involved in obsessive compulsive disorder. Studies have proven that serotonin based antidepressants have been evidently effective.

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

When he returns back to his sterile apartment building and walking on the street doing the same thing by telling people to not touch him as he thinks he is getting a contaminated germ from the people just by touching his shoulders. After he got inside of his apartment, he immediately does a ritual of cleaning. He first washed off all the germs from his hands by using a hot water and a new bar of soaps. He continues this ritual of washing his both hands and keep repeating over and over again and wasting a countless new bar of soaps in this process. In addition to the common manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms is Melvin Udall also keep repeating every little thing he does for instance, turning the light on and off six times and superstitious and compulsion that when he is walking on the street and saw there is a crack on the sidewalk, he would not have stepped on the crack, as he gets worried if he steps on a crack because he won’t feel right and feel uncomfortable, and uneasy that will linger on his mind. On the other hand, it is difficult to figure it out these compulsions because this process of obsessional that provoke Melvin to fears something disaster is going to happened if he locked the house four times instead of six times to make him feel

Pooh demonstrates two different disorders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This poor little brown bear “embodies the concept of comorbidity” (Shea, 2000). It is also thought that Pooh may exhibit certain traits of impulsivity. This can be demonstrated by his relentless attempts to obtain honey. Most notably, his poorly thought out attempt to get honey from a bee tree by disguising himself as a raincloud (Milne, 1926; Milne 1928; Reitherman, 1977). While this could be thought of as impulsivity, it would also be viewed as his cognitive impairment, in combination with his obsessive fixation with honey.

When discussing the diagnosis of OCD one should consider two parts of the definition. The first part of the disorder is obsessive which is described by the DSM as

In the movie, “As Good As it Gets”, Melvin has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and in the end, he seemed to improve but not because he was medicated, but because he found a distraction, as well as motivation to change the behaviors. This is only a movie, so it is far from real life, however, the point is that rather than overly focus on the affliction, it seems to be more beneficial to change course entirely.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is defined by having unwanted and intrusive obsessions and responding to these obsessions with compulsions. There are a couple circulatory abnormalities in patients with OCD including the thalamus and prefrontal cortex. These abnormalities are thought to be the cause of the disorder. Treatment options for OCD include behavioral therapy and the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Switching SSRIs can lead to serotonin syndrome if patients do not let one drug out of their system before taking the new one. Patients sometimes use both treatments in effort to maximize results. Patients with OCD understand that their compulsions are absurd, but cannot help satisfying their compulsion.

For example both the fact that he has multiple bars of soap above his sink and that he uses the hottest possible water to clean his hands shows his obsession towards cleanliness. Melvin also obsesses over order and routine. He feel the need to keep his day the same by eating at the same restaurant, with the same waitress and same booth. Both of the movie examples explain an obsession that Melvin experiences daily, supporting my theory towards his OCD. I also believe that Melvin shows symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome as he can’t exactly control his comments.

In Melvin’s case, I would like to understand more about when his symptoms developed and what was happening in his life at the time. The focus for him seems to be on cleanliness so I am curious what messages he received as a child perhaps that might have contributed to his illness. The DSM 5 (APA, 2013) talks only briefly about the development and course, as well as some risk and prognostic factors; however not a lot of specific information is offered. The DSM (APA, 2013) states that nearly 25% of males experience symptom onset before the age of 10, and I am curious if this is the case for Melvin (APA 2013, p. 239). Additionally in the film, when he was spending time with Carol and his neighbor Simon, his symptoms seemed to abate quite significantly, and this might be something to look into further for the publication of the next edition of the DSM. Leaving out the depiction of Melvin’s work in therapy to address the meaning behind his compulsions is forgivable; after all, the movie is purely meant for entertainment. What is unforgivable though, is relying solely on a descriptive model of both mental health and illness. Humans are meaning-making creatures, and if we fail to address the underlying factors and meanings associated with their suffering, the counseling profession has failed to help create more meaning-filled lives. As it’s currently constructed, the DSM isn’t as good as it

Melvin Udall is a resourceful, bad-tempered, yet wealthy writer of romantic fiction suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. Compulsively, he alienates and is rude to the vast majority of the people whom he interacts with. In addition, he goes through his everyday breakfast ritual of eating at the same restaurant, sitting at the same table, and bringing his own disposable utensils. Consequently, Melvin develops a special fascination in Carol Connelly, a server at the restaurant who is the only person who can tolerate his behavior.

I chose the film “As Good As It Gets” and to focus on the character Melvin. Melvin displays many different behaviors throughout the movie such as anti-Semitic, narcissistic character, mysophobia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I will be focusing on the cause and effect of Melvin’s dysfunction to do with his OCD. We will examine the character in the movie and explain the assessment, symptoms, diagnosis, causes, and treatments.

These repetitive behaviors are clearly compulsions that if they are not followed through all the way he cannot go on with the rest of his day and his whole world will come to a stop. He also is a germaphobe and has an obsession with cleanliness. This is one of the reasons he will not allow shoes on his carpet that have been outside. He will not even touch the shoes if he can possibly avoid it. He is using a pole as he is getting ready to leave the house to put on his shoes. My interpretation of this is he has just washed his hands in the sink, so unless he wants to go through that whole washing and drying phase again he is going to make sure his hands stay clean and not touch his