A psychological disorder can be defined as patterns of behavior or mental processes that affect a person’s capability to carry out every day routines and interactions with others. These psychological disorders can be characterized as personality disorders or mood and anxiety disorders. Many people experience these disorders and struggles within their life. Today approximately 1 in every 5 adults live with a psychological disorder in the United States alone. With that being said, even the most prestigious can have mental illness. For example, Joan Crawford, American film and television actress regularly struggled with several types of personality disorders shown in the movie Mommie Dearest. This movie, based on a book written by her daughter, Christina Crawford, depicts the several scenarios in which Joan shows signs of multiple psychological disorders. Movies similar to Mommie Dearest are a great way to help students understand disorders and the symptoms associated with them. Within this movie Joan Crawford demonstrates signs of having bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, histrionic disorder, and Narcissistic disorder. In my opinion, the most predominate disorder within Joan Crawford is Histrionic disorder. This personality can be defined as a mental health condition that causes a person to be excessively dramatic and emotional. People with this disorder tend to seek out constant attention from others and are easily influenced by others. Although the exact cause of this disorder is unknown it may stem from childhood events or genetics. Joan Crawford shows symptoms of Histrionic disorder frequently throughout the movie, the first scene being when she throws her daughter Christina an extravagant birthday party. This scenario shows Joan taking away attention from her daughter in any way she can as she soaks up the light of the photographers. Another example would be when Joan filled in for her daughters position in a soup opera while she was sick without her permission. In these scenes, Joan is pushing her daughter aside to fill in the spotlight. Another disorder that is portrayed in the character of Joan Crawford is Bipolar disorder. Throughout the movie Joan experiences cycles of extreme
Vincent Van Gogh, Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Virginia Woolf are some very well-known people who have one thing in common. It is believed that they all had bipolar disorder, a condition where a person goes through cycles of abnormal mania, a good or high mood, and depression, a low mood (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, & Nock, 2015). There are many other notable celebrities who have bipolar disorder. Vivien Leigh, most known for her role as Scarlet O’Hara in Gone With the Wind, Demi Lovato, Robin Williams, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse all had this disorder. In fact, bipolar disorder affects about 2.6% of the United States’ population of the age 18 years and older (DBSA, 2015). Men and women of all different races, ethnic groups
The film Sunset Boulevard (1950), directed by Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond exemplified a Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) by being demanding, intense and unstable. These behaviors that are consistent with the elements of abnormality include suffering, social discomfort, dangerousness, and irrationality and unpredictability. The first element that is consistent with Norma Desmond’s character is suffering. Desmond being one of the greatest movie stars in history suffers as she experiences the fall from stardom. She also suffers from identity disturbance as she reaches an unstable self-image notion. In one scene when Desmond recognizes for a moment about her age, she claims, “Look at me. Look at my hands, look at my face, look under my
“Mama might be better off dead: The failure of healthcare in urban America”, was written by an investigative reporter Laurie Kaye Abraham in 1993. This is a disturbing and profound look at the human side of the health care and how government health care policies work when they hit the streets. This is a story of an impoverished African-American family dealing with devastating illnesses and how they end up in a miserable dilemma.
First, I will be talking about histrionic. People who are histrionic are often very emotional and seek constant attention. (Psychology Today, 2017). The cause of this is unknown but some saw it may have something to do with childhood events and/or genetics. Symptoms of this are seeking reassurance constantly, being self-centered, being very concerned with physical appearance, and having your opinions be easily influenced by other people. There are many times in the movie where Joan Crawford showed signs of histrionic. The first example I will be sharing is at Christina’s birthday party. (Mommie Dearest, 1981). It appeared to me that Joan adopted children just for the attention of it.
In the movie Mommie Dearest Joan Crawford shows many different types of personality disorders. Personality disorders are a deeply engrained or maladaptive pattern of behavior of a specified kind, typically they occur by the time one reaches adolescents and causes difficulty in personal relationships or society. Studying these psychological disorders can help us to identify and properly treat these abnormal functions that we acquire as we grow older. One way to learn how to identify these disorders is through movie analysis. When you are able to recognize these disorders through a movie they stick out in the real world much more. The disorders that I analyzed that Joan Crawford had were, Bipolar, Borderline, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Narcissism.
Throughout life, people will meet others who are different from them. People have different backgrounds, ethnicities, lifestyles, etc. Everyone is unique in their own way. In some situations, people will act very different, according to their personality. Some people are not patient and will react angrily to certain things, while others will act calmly. For example, a person with a narcissistic personality disorder, will think that they always need attention. They also may be preoccupied with fantasies of their own success, power, intelligence, or beauty. Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) is someone who looks as if she has this
The diagnosis of Major depressive disorder and Borderline personality disorder (BPD) are entirely accurate, as Diana’s behaviour epitomizes the characteristics and diagnostic features of both disorders. As outlined in the DSM-5, Diana exemplifies symptoms warranting a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, as she displays the presence of five or more specified symptoms while having no prior history of mania. Diana exhibits the diagnostically required symptoms of frequent depressed mood, diminished interest in normal activities, and recurring suicidal thoughts/attempts, resulting in considerable distress and impairment. (APA, 2013, p. 160-161). In addition to fitting the diagnostic criteria, Diana demonstrates marked deficits in areas of functioning. Most strikingly Diana typifies emotional symptoms common in unipolar depression including prolonged and severe unhappiness, crying spells, and a general sense of hopelessness. Diana also displays
“The sword cuts both ways,” Joan Crawford says while at the board meeting after her husband died. Joan Crawford, in the movie Mommie Dearest, shows her confident and no-funny-business type of personality that she is so well respected for, along with her acting career (Koontz & O’Neill, 1981). Also, she displays some good and bad aspects of her many personality disorders. Four of which are particularly prevalent in this movie: obsessive compulsive, borderline, bipolar, and narcissistic.
world of manic depression. She details her struggle with the disease that spawned multitudes of
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story “The Birthmark” you find a couple fairly prevalent disorders. Although psychology was as of yet not existence, Hawthorne describes them quite well. Alymer suffered from an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, while his actions caused Georgiana to develop a body dysmorphic disorder. Both of which attributed to the eventual demise of Georgiana.
One personality disorder Joan Crawford demonstrated was bipolar. This disorder can be defined as periods of reckless behavior and hyperactivity that can change at any given second (Rathus, 2010). There are several occasions throughout the movie that show Joan suffering through this disorder, for example one moment she would be a cheerful, smiling mom and at a drop of a hat, it would change for the worst making her become an angry and aggressive toward her child Christina. This can be seen when Joan is kissing her sweet daughter Christina goodnight, and then looks through the closet where she finds a dress hung by a wire hanger. Joan’s behavior quickly becomes elevated, ripping all of the clothes and hangers out of the closet, yelling at Christina, which then leads Joan to beat her daughter with the hanger. Another example is in the scene
Often the most important trait a person can posses is to be aware of their surroundings. If someone is aware of their surroundings on a physical, mental and emotional level, they have the power to fully immerse themselves in their experience, without hesitation or limitation. In Saidiya Hartman’s memoir Lose Your Mother, the reader is presented with an orator who lacks complete awareness of their surroundings, which later translates to a lack of self-awareness, while in both Jamaica Kincaid’s and Caryl Phillips respective memoirs the reader is presented with authors who are fully aware of their surroundings and thus self aware as well.
history of mental illness leading to disordered thinking. She would struggle with this illness that
Psychological disorders are stated to be abnormalities of the mind, known as mental disorders (Klasco, 2011). Abnormalities of the mind cause persistent behaviors that affect an individual’s daily function and life (Klasco, 2011). The different types of psychological disorders include mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders (Klasco, 2011). The causes of these disorders are unknown, but factors that contribute to these disorders include childhood experiences, chemical imbalances in the brain, illnesses, heredity, stress, and prenatal exposures (Klasco, 2011). Psychological disorders can be serious and can be life-threatening
A psychological disorder, also known as a mental disorder, is a pattern of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple life areas and create distress for the person experiencing these symptoms. These symptoms are characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual 's cognitive, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental process underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities. Approximately 26 percent of American adults over the age of 18 suffer from some diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. (Cherry)