Shakespeare's Othello : Borderline Personality Disorder?

What is Borderline Personality Disorder? Defined by the website www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com, “Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness that causes unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. It usually begins during adolescence or early adulthood.” One may wonder what can be the cause of this disorder. BPD can be detected by an in-person interview about the symptoms that are occurring. The input from family and close friends of the individual that is being treated can also help detect the symptoms. The causes for BPD are not fully

What we deem normal in today’s society has been defined as conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern in our everyday lives. People who fall out of this normality are often deemed “Strange” or “Irregular”. Throughout the play Othello, it is seen how Iago, the main antagonist of the story, doesn’t exactly fit the regular patterns of the time period. He consistently lies, manipulates, and abuses other peoples trust to his advantage to achieve his own goals. Many of Iago’s actions have a close relationship with a certain type of disorder: Antisocial Personality disorder. In the play Othello, it is showcased through consistent manipulation, disregard for emotions, and unlawful behavior that Iago has Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Throughout Shakespeare’s many works, mental illnesses have played an undeniable part in many of them, especially his tragedies. From Lady Macbeth hallucination of a bloody spot leading to her suicide, to Hamlet’s faked illness and Ophelia’s very real illness, afflictions of the mind are featured prominently in the Bard of Avalon’s many works. Still, in the Elizabethan era, understanding of mental illness was rudimentary at best, as were the methods of treating it. During the Middle Ages and Elizabethan Era, numerous theories about mental disorders and how to treat them abounded. Three plays of Shakespeare’s that feature mental illness most prominently are King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, while also managing to showcase the conception of

Borderline personality disorder is defined in its most simplest sense as being a mental health disorder that generates significant emotional instability. [1] In sufferers it generates a wide range of symptoms typically characterised into three groups; Problems regulating emotions and thoughts; impulsive behaviour without thinking of the consequences of actions; and lastly unstable relationships. Evaluating the most effective treatment(s) for BPD remains a target for mental health services as the disorder is associated with self harm and suicide attempts, with suicide attempts recorded in 69-80% of patients. [2]

A personality disorder is characterized by a distinct pattern of behavior that does not meet normal standards of behavior within one’s culture. This pattern is ingrained as the norm to the person affected, and the characteristics of the affected person deviate markedly from societal standards (Hebblethwaite, 2009). The two main features that help to identify a personality disorder are chronic interpersonal difficulties and persons with one’s identity or sense of self (Livesly, 2001). Within this set of mental health disorders lie several other subsets, including one of the most prominent personality disorders - Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). BPD is a severe, long-lasting disorder that has an incidence of occurrence approximately equal to that of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia combined (Grant, Chou, Goldstein et al., 2008). BPD also puts those affected at risk for damage in many areas of their life if not properly diagnosed and treated, including personal relationships, school, work, and self-imagine. Furthermore, this disorder has a high co-morbidity with other disorders such as depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and social phobia, among many more (Hebblethwaite, 2009). Misdiagnosis of borderline personality disorder can have serious clinical implications. This paper looks to identify the risk factors associated with BPD, the affects on various aspects of the person’s life, treatments, and give recommendations as to how to properly identify and

Ever wonder why characters in Hamlet seem to be so skittish, paranoid and seemingly “off”? It probably has little to nothing to do with mental illness! Mental illness includes a wide range of thoughts, actions and behaviors. In 2017, the society as a whole has moved toward recognizing mental illness as the very real and important disorders that they are. That said, learning the difference between mental illness and having ‘symptoms’ of mental disorders, is imperative for the growth of a generation. The qualifications for diagnosing require a degree obtained after extensive schooling, neither of which a senior in high school has. For the sake of this paper, I will ignorantly diagnose a fictional character from William Shakespeare’s, “Hamlet”. This story takes place in a much older time in Denmark. King Hamlet was pronounced dead and two castle guards claim they have seen his ghost. The ghost speaks to Prince Hamlet, King Hamlet’s son, and tells him he has been murdered by the new King which is King Hamlet’s brother. This sends Prince Hamlet into a spiral as it would any functioning person. He is deeply saddened and his love, Ophelia, as well as the rest of his family, are worried about him. Hamlet becomes so erratic he ends up slaying Ophelia’s father, mistaking him for King Claudius. Ophelia is obviously extremely upset as her father was just murdered by her boyfriend. Claudius becomes worried he will expose his secret and has Prince Hamlet sent away to England to be assassinated. While he is gone, the Queen discovers Ophelia has drowned.Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, talks with the King and is furious with Prince Hamlet for the death of his father and now his sister. Prince Hamlet’s ship is invaded by pirates and he secretly makes his way back to England. With this news, Laertes and Claudius devise a plan to kill Hamlet. Laertes will battle him and put poison on his sword and as a backup plan Claudius will put poison in wine and offer it to Hamlet. During the battle Hamlet and Laertes switch swords and Hamlet is pricked by the poisonous sword in the process. Queen Gertrude drinks from the poisoned wine and then Laertes is cut and poisoned. The Queen drops as does Laertes and when Hamlet realizes what has

Abstract: This paper will discuss the causes and psychological impact of borderline personality disorder. It will also talk about how to treat those impacted by borderline personality disorder.

“Personality disorders have been documented in approximately 9 percent of the general U.S. population” (Angstman, Rasmussen, 2011). Emotional dysregulation disorder or its common name borderline personality disorder is a very serious and chronic disorder. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) describes borderline personality disorder as “a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts” (Gardner, 2006). Within the last 20 years, psychologists and other mental health professionals have made tremendous strides in research on what exactly borderline personality disorder, some of its triggers and possible effective treatment options. Borderline personality disorder is defined as a disorder that generates severe emotional instability which can be a springboard that can lead to other stress induced mental and behavioral problems.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious and complex mental disorder involving maladaptive behaviors and multiple symptoms. This disorder often occurs in the context of relationships and can have a chaotic effect not only on the individual with BPD but also on their loved ones. According to the NIMH, “borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationship”.9 A primary character of BPD is behavioral and emotional dysregulation. These behaviors are difficult

Assessment of the patient with borderline personality disorder is inclusive of the patient's: (1) physical; (2) emotional; (3) cognitive; (4) social; and (5) spiritual characteristics. These are assessed based on the patient's: (1) subjective reports; (2) interview records; and (3) behavioral

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition, Borderline personality disorder is described as having a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, affects, and marked impulsivity that begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts. In order to be diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, the individual must demonstrate five or more of the nine behaviors experienced within the disorder. The nine criterion behaviors within the disorder include: (1) frantic efforts to avoid abandonment, (2) a pattern of unstable and intense relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation, (3) identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self, (4) impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self damaging such as sexuality, spending, substance abuse, binge eating or reckless driving, (5) recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self mutilating behavior, (6) affective

According to the DSM-5, Personality Disorders are characterized by “impairments in personality functioning and the presence of pathological personality traits”. Borderline Personality Disorder is one of ten personality disorders listed in the DSM-5. The DSM-5 lists several criteria that must be met in order for someone to be diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. They are quoted as follows:

Furthermore, borderline personality disorder is clinically defined as ones instability which is evident in their relationships, emotions, behavior and image of themselves. Persons with such disorder may have feelings of abandonment. Often in efforts to manipulate people back into relationships, they take part in self-manipulating behavior or suicidal attempts. Suicide is sometimes attempted impulsively by persons in periods of extreme depression. In addition people often experience strong emotions and strong desires for intimacy.

In the tragedy Othello by Shakespeare, the protagonist Othello is extremely susceptible to being a victim of reverse psychology throughout the play. Based on the passage “When Does Reverse Psychology Work?”, the reason why Othello is such an effortless target of this science is a conglomerate of his personality and life problems. Othello’s honest and gullible attitude combined with Iago instilling jealous and untrue opinions of his wife Desdemona lead to reverse psychology being an effective technique for Iago’s skillful plan made for his rise to power. In the article “When Does Reverse Psychology Work?”, reverse psychology is explained as working best with certain personalities.

Symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) include a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and is marked impulsivity. BPD begins in early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts. Alice Klieg displays 6 of