Mental Health Problems in the Black Swan - Essay Example

Character analysis The Black Swan movie ed by Darren Aronofsky a typical example of melodrama whose main character is Nina (Natalie Portman). Natalie is a ballerina whose is deeply absorbed in dancing that she wants nothing else other than dancing. Nina is made to assume several personal traits in this movie; she has displayed innocence and naivety which are the mail elements that help shape up her role as the main character. In other words Natalie Portman is torn between the good and evil conflict which is threatening to throw her life into a dark dungeon. She is devoted as ballet dancer and she anticipates nothing less than perfection, quality and more competitive. She has isolated herself from the reality and anything that might make her to lose her supremacy stands as a threat. Her drastic change in terms of her eating habit social behaviour and the frequency with which she gets involved and talks about dancing suggests several mental abnormalities. The mental disorder which threaten to break her down are; obsessive compulsive disorder, paranoia, illusions and delusions(Sadock and others, 2005) . The very first problem arises when she becomes so much involved in dancing forgetting about anything else, virtually all of her time is taken up by activities associated with dancing. She talks more of dancing, thinks dancing and always at the dancing venue. With this evidence, it becomes clear that Nina is suffering from the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). OCD is a mental disorder in which somebody conceives irrational thoughts and fears (obsessions) that make him or her to develop compulsion (repetitive actions). In this case Nina fears getting stiff competition from other people for example Lily a new dance who acts as Black Swan with enviable physical characters and dancing skills who seems to outsmart her becomes her obsession. In order to stay competitive she frequently practices ignoring anything else around her which becomes a compulsion. Obsessive Compulsive disorder is analyzed basing on the two main elements which are obsessions and compulsions (Sadock and others, 2005). Obsessions are often portrayed through unabated fear of losing control, unfading doubts on the way of doing thing, intense stress when things seem out of hand, avoidance of events that can fuel obsession and distress when mentioning of areas with weaknesses. Anything which seem to exhibit any shortcoming or are of imperfection will often trigger one to develop fears and restlessness. Compulsions come as repetitive habits that one is compelled to do so as to feel safe, satisfied and accomplished. This is triggered by the fears one develops from the environment and unless one responds to them by habitually doing the same action one may never be at peace but is dragged in a mire of confusion, depression and worthlessness. Compulsion demands that an individual observes orderliness, strict following of routine, frequent evaluation of personal status and deriving comfort from frequent reassurance. Examples of compulsion signs and symptoms in Nina’s case include over training for dances, losing control of her each time she performs the dance and frequent hugs and chattering with her mum as a source of reassurance. The symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder may go unrecognized in some adults in their early stages but become a significant health threat when they tend to affect normal life and social life and relationships. One easily becomes isolated because a lot of time is spending battling the disorder which in most cases may not involve help from other people. The symptoms normally begin bit by bit and tend to differ in severity depending on the type of triggers and how demanding the elements of obsession and compulsion are. The presentations of this disorder are aggravated by intense level of stress(Sadock and others, 2005). It is so outrageous that some people can take advantage of this situation by confusing it with passion and dedication when in fact all it is causing is severing mental status. Another mental disorder Nina is portrayed to have is paranoia. This entails one having feelings of persecution and highly esteemed sense of self-importance. Though paranoia can be precipitated by other mental disorders, it can surface singularly (Sadock and others, 2005). Nina is an accomplished white Swan dance but not very appropriate for the role of the Black swan. Circumstances contributing to her multiple paranoid characters include the long standing tension between her and Thomas as well as the arrival of Lily. Nina is a perfect definition of persecutory paranoia that entails one perceiving those around him or her as a threat to their success and well-being. Nina is worried to closely associate herself with Thomas and Lily since they may compromise her personality and success as a dancer. Paranoia is mostly caused by several pre-existing mental disorders and emotional factors that recruit reasoning and designated meanings. It is not so clear why these breakdowns are different and unlikely but weight is attributed to the consistent exposure to environmental misfits of the mind and character. From Nina’s context paranoia can arise from muffled, concealed or contrived feelings. Paranoia presents as acute and illogical mistrust driven by suscipon that obviously attract hatred and betrayal if uncontrolled. Nina and Lily seem to be parallel in the way they behave and perceive the environment and a possible explanation why Nina finds it hard to enjoy the company of Lily; she fears that she might end up leading a reckless life occasioned by her dark side. Their friendship is twisted in episodes of rivalry. Paranoia also causes increased intimacy which in this case is clearly displayed by the hugs and chatters that Nina exchanges with her mother. Very closely following paranoia are the illusions and delusions that are submerged in Nina’s obsession of dancing (Sadock and others, 2005). Delusion involves having no discernable difference between what is real and that which is imagined. On the other hand illusion is a distortion of brain function in interpreting sensory stimuli in the environment that normally leads to unrealistic perceptions of obviously normal situations. Nina’s situation is no better than this; the fact that she is so much into her dancing makes her fail to appreciate the reality of completion and defeat. According to her there is no sense in being somebody else apart from a dancer, all her life is built on the imagined sense of perfection in dancing. Delusion which stands out to be a stronger inner conviction turns out to be highly resistant to change. Conclusively, obsessive compulsive disorder, paranoia, delusions and illusion attract one another whereby one can lead to the etiology of another. Most important factor is the environment in which the person lives; the environment can either exacerbate the symptoms or mitigate them. From the Black Swan movie it open that having an uncontrolled environment that puts a lot of pressure on an individual in terms of a career will always precipitate to multiple mental disorders. References Sadock, B.J., others, 2005. Kaplan & Sadock’s comprehensive textbook of psychiatry. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Philadelphia, PA. The Black Swan Movie, accessed from www. youtube.com  Read More