Silver Linings Playbooks by David O. Russell Essay

There are four types of mood episodes in bipolar disorder: mania, hypomania, depression, and mixed episodes. Each mood episode comes with a series of symptoms. In the manic phase of bipolar disorder, feelings of increased energy and extreme happiness are the most common. People who are experiencing a manic episode often cannot stop talking, their talking is fast and very hard to understand, they sleep very little, and are very hyperactive. They feel they are invincible and can do anything in the world. Hypomania is a less severe type of mania.

Once he was released, Pat lived with his parents since his wife still had a restraining order on him. In various scenes, we see ways in which Pat is expansive in his thoughts about getting back together with his wife, Nikki. He also became extremely joyful when he felt like things were going in a step in the right direction on his mission to win back his wife, and grew particularly irritable otherwise. Scarred by the moment he found Nikki having an affair with their wedding song playing, Pat develops hallucinations about the song causing him to hear it even when it wasn’t on. Hearing the song, whether it was actually playing or only playing in his head enraged Pat, causing him to experience a manic episode. Pat’s excessive optimism about getting back together with his wife caused him to have irrational thoughts, which drove him to make poor judgments and partake in reckless behavior like when he broke his

Based on this, we saw how Tiffany and Pat’s unconscious affects their disorders in a psychodynamic perspective. Their genetics, childhood experiences, and Big Five personality traits explain the biological and trait perspectives of their disorder. Finally, the sociocultural perspectives on their disorders are the effects of their environmental experiences, and look at the environmental factors. I believe the theoretical approaches can be used to look at Pat and Tiffany’s personalities by accurately giving a description of who they are, and why they are who they

Silver Linings Playbook is shot through Pat’s perspective in the present as he navigates his life after he is released from a psychiatric rehab facility. Russell is able to tell the story of how Pat arrived at the point he is at through flashbacks triggered by his wedding song and through visits with his court appointed psychiatrist. The storyline bounces around from different aspects of Pat’s life; problems at home with his parents, his running back to Nikki and away from his new life, and dancing with Tiffany. The audience is whirled around following it all, as if they too are a part of the obsessive craziness that is overwhelming and raw in some moments and relaxed and comical in others. In these ways, the mental illness aspect of the film that has completely shaken up Pat’s life, is woven through for the audience to understand, but is still not a glaring idea that is hard for people to grasp or relate to.

Bipolar Disorder is a brain disorder that is characterized by abnormal changes in mood, energy and activity levels (“National Institute of Mental Health”). Manic-depressive illness is also another name that bipolar disorder is commonly referred to as (“National Institute of Mental Health”). This disorder has four basic types including, bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymic, and any other which do not perfectly fit the first three. All four of the types have episodes of extreme highs, manic periods, and extreme lows, depressive periods. Symptoms can range greatly and depend on what type of episode the affected is having. Manic episodes can include, but are not limited to: having extraordinarily high amounts of energy, activity,

There are different symptoms and different types of bipolar disorder. The primary symptoms of bipolar disorder are dramatic and unpredictable mood swings. Mania symptoms may include excessive happiness, excitement, restlessness, less need for sleep, and high sex drive. Depression symptoms include sadness, anxiety, loss of energy, uncontrollable crying, need for sleep, and thoughts of death or suicide.

In the movie Silver Linings Playbook, Bradley Cooper plays the main character Pat Solitano Jr. The movie starts off with Pat being released from a psychiatric facility. Pat’s time spent in the psychiatric facility was a plea bargain that his lawyer advised him to make. The court only mandated eight months of inpatient time, and against the will of the doctors in the facility, his mother is discharging him because she thinks that eight months is sufficient time for Pat to become well. On the drive home Pat wants to stop at the library so he can pick up a copy of all the books that his ex-wife Nikki has on her high school teaching syllabus, so that he can connect with her and get his job back. When they get back to his parent’s house it

The film I chose to analyze is Silver Linings Playbook because I was interested in the story when I read the synopsis of the movie. I thought that this would be a simple movie where the main characters would help each other because they had something in common. Reading the synopsis, I also thought that Pat would be back together with his wife, but at the end he found another love. In the next paragraphs I will show my knowledge on what I have learned this semester. On my analysis of Silver Linings, I will give examples that has the concept of language, nonverbal communication, listening, emotions, conflict, and close relationships.

Pat was diagnosed with Bipolar one disorder shortly after arriving at the mental institution. I agree with this diagnosis for many reasons. I believe that it would have to be Bipolar one because Pat displays manic episodes. With Bipolar two disorder, there has never been a manic episode. Bipolar two disorder also must display at least one major depressive episode. From the information from the movie, Pat didn’t really display a depressive episode. Pat demonstrates several symptoms of Bipolar one disorder, many falling into the mania category. His manic episodes cause a great deal of distress in his life. Before the incident with his wife’s lover even occurred, Pat was having severe delusions. He told the school board that his wife and the history teacher were plotting against him. The delusions did not stop once he was out of the mental institution. When pat caught, his wife cheating on him their wedding song was playing. Now every time Pat hears the song he goes into some kind of psychotic episode and puts everyone around him in danger of becoming his next victim. As I mentioned earlier Pat does not take his medication as it is prescribed. He said it makes him too foggy. This could be due to the fact that he enjoys how his mania makes him feel. Throughout the movie, Pat refers to his ex-wife as his wife. He is obsessed with this delusion and honestly believes that he will win her back over. Even though she has made it perfectly clear

For an episode to be categorized as manic, the patients’ mood has been irritable or abnormally elevated for at least 1 week. A person must also exhibit at least 3 of the following symptoms (4 if the mood is only irritable): extreme feelings of personal greatness; a decreased need for sleep, marked talkativeness; distractibility; extreme focus on a goal-directed activity; reports of ‘racing’ thoughts or a flight of ideas; or excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (i.e. sexual indiscretions or unintelligent business investments). As in the criteria for a depressed episode, the DSM-IV specifies that these symptoms should not be better explained as being a side effect of a drug or illness to qualify as a manic episode. These symptoms must interfere with the person’s normal functioning and must not meet the criteria for a mixed episode. As with adults, childhood-onset bipolar disorder has many faces. Children with Bipolar I Disorder have episodes of mania and episodes of depression, sometimes there are long periods of normal moods between episodes. Adults usually tend to have more depressed episodes than manic episodes. However, some children will have chronic mania (symptoms of mania lasting for long periods of time or marked by frequent recurrence) and seldom experience a depressed episode.

In the movie Silver Linings Playbook, we follow Pat Solitano Jr., a man recently released from a mental institution (Cohen et al., 2012). He is a Caucasian male, likely in his early to mid-thirties and of Italian descent. He was a high school history teacher, living with his wife, Nikki, an English teacher. Upon finding his wife in the shower with another man, he nearly beats the man to death leading him to be sent to a psychiatric facility for eight months with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. In this essay I will support the diagnosis of a Bipolar I disorder. A diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder, has specific criteria in the DSM-V that have to be met. I will be listing the criteria and through examples of Pat’s actions, thoughts and behaviours, he meets the criteria.

As I stated earlier, bipolar disorder consists of shifts in mood, energy, and activity levels. This can mean someone can seem very sad and depressed for a long period of time and then a period of extreme happiness. These can be shown in mood or behavioral changes and can be shown in how well they are able to concentrate, how much sleep they are getting, or even if they have thoughts of suicide (NIMH). Although the easiest way to spot bipolar is through extreme mood swings, it can still be present when such mood swings are less noticeable. It is important to look out for even the smallest mood swings because if they are frequent enough it can be a sign of one having bipolar disorder.

Pat the main character of the movie has bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disorder is also known as Manic Depressive Disorder. Bipolar Disorder consists of mood swings from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. These mood swings may happen as often as a few times a day to a few times a year. The exact cause of Bipolar Disorder is still unknown. Since the exact cause of Bipolar Disorder is unknown it is unknown what parts of the brain is exactly affected by Bipolar Disorder. Current research indicates that structural abnormalities of the amygdala, basal ganglia, and the prefrontal cortex are the parts of the brain that are affected by Bipolar Disorder.

The main symptom of bipolar disorder would be the dramatic and irregular mood swings. These mood swings would consist of the person being in a great mood one second, and then being extremely angry the next. Other symptoms of bipolar disorder would be extreme fatigue or low energy levels. Feelings of despair and difficulty concentrating may also be signs of

It would seem that Pat, unaware of his bi-polar status, has spent most of his life “white knuckling” himself into “normalcy.” His irritability, mood swings, manic episodes, wild thinking, grandiosity, distractibility, and sleep disturbances have been prevalent for years, but he has not known why and has always just forced himself to deal with things. This sense of personal agency is commendable, but futile in the face of a chemical imbalance. That said, this desire for control/personal agency is still prevalent after Pat is released from the hospital. He does not like taking his meds and initially chooses not to take them, feeling that somehow he can control his own behavior without the help of medication. He does not like the side effects of the medication (citing that they make him feel groggy and bloated) and he feels as though his mantra