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Psychological Elements in “The Machinist” Essay example

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Popular films are replete with characters that possess symptoms indicating severe psychological disorders. In the film “The Machinist”, the main character displays many symptoms, indicating more than one disorder. This essay will discuss the character’s background, symptoms, and actions in order to attempt to provide an appropriate psychological diagnosis. It is important to remember that filmmakers do not strictly follow the criteria found within the DSM, but any diagnosis found within this essay will be as accurate as possible. Anderson’s film (2004) tells us that the “client’s” name is Trevor Reznik. He is an unmarried white male, and although unspecified, he appears to be approximately 30-35 years of age. There is no indication …show more content…

The hallucinations include two different individuals: one is a new coworker named “Ivan”, the other is a coffee shop waitress (with whom he pursues a relationship). He also possesses a belief that someone is breaking into his domicile and leaving notes for him (although he is seemingly unaware of the purpose). He has actually found notes, but has no knowledge of their origin. His hallucinations were responsible for a major industrial accident at his place of employment (during which a coworker was dismembered) and now the client is experiencing paranoia and believes his coworkers are persecuting him. The client is very excitable, and seems to have a heightened awareness of objects that remind him of the repressed hit and run incident. The clients overall mood appears depressed, with very few exceptions, and he has had interpersonal conflicts with coworkers. He performs tasks robotically, and even shows some signs of obsessive compulsive behavior, specifically hand-washing with bleach and lye. The client’s weight loss over the previous year is dramatic; he is essentially emaciated, yet continues to go to work and perform personal tasks. In the next few paragraphs, this information will be used to formulate a psychological diagnosis for Reznik. Diagnoses are presented using the multiaxial system in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. These

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