Bipolar Disorder Description and Characteristic Examples in Thriller Movie - Research Paper Example

?Running head: EXAMPLES OF BIPOLAR DISORDER Bipolar Disorder and Characteristic Examples in Thriller Movie School Affiliation Bipolar Disorder Description and Characteristic Examples in Thriller Movie Bipolar Disorder Defined According to Martinowich, Manji, and Schloesser (2009), in conjunction with research, bipolar disorder is defined as a psychological disorder categorized and diagnosed by recurring episodes of depression and elevated mania behavioral moods. In addition to the mania and depression, sufferers also experience unusual thought patterns and oftentimes psychosis (Martinowech, et al., 2009). In attempt to discuss and provide examples of this disorder, situations from the motion picture, The roommate (2011) which presents two characters and their relationship when living together in a college dormitory while one is experiencing a psychological disorder. There have been several studies to determine the causes of bipolar disorder and the psychological condition based on the neurobiology of the brain. Bipolar disorder is categorized by the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, also known as DSM-IV, as a mood disorder that is recurring (Martinowech, et al., 2009). Since this disorder is categorized as a combination of mania and depression and the constant change of the up and down behavior, these two behaviors can be further described. According to literature, the mood of mania includes “extremely elevated mood, energy, unusual thought patterns, and sometimes psychosis,” (Martinowech, et al., 2009). Mania can also be observed when a patient shows heightened hyperactivity characteristics, including insomnia, aggression, irritability and an increase in alertness and awareness, Bipolar disorder can be difficult to distinguish from other mood altering conditions such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and several others. Many of the criteria to classify a disorder as bipolar overlaps with additional conditions because of the impulsiveness of the symptoms. It is estimated that approximately anywhere from two percent to five percent of the general population have bipolar disorder, many of which still have not been diagnosed. (Goodman, Jeong, & Triebwasser, 2009). Studies show that approximately 50 percent of people that have bipolar disorder also exhibit aggressive and violent behaviors (Galynker & Lee, 2010). Examples of Bipolar Disorder in The roommate There were several examples similar to that of bipolar disorder in the motion picture, The roommate (2011). A brief synopsis of the thriller, The roommate is that two college age girls, Sarah and Rebecca, who have never met are paired together to live as roommates in a dormitory. Rebecca often exhibits severe mood changes and obsession toward her roommate Sarah and goes out of her way to often manipulate Sarah's life in ways that Rebecca thinks is helping Sarah. Upon initial meeting in the dormitory between Sarah and Rebecca, Rebecca is very friendly and shows extreme happiness in situations when Sarah is spending time with her such as when they visited an art gallery, went to lunch and went to Rebecca's parents' house for Thanksgiving. When Sarah is out, Rebecca sits up and waits for her and gets overly angry if Sarah does not call to check in with her. She also snoops through Sarah's things to discover that she had a sister that had died and puts on a necklace that was her sister's. However, her demeanor changes when Rebecca discusses her own family and exhibits strange jealous behaviors when meeting Sarah's friends or when she discovers that she has made other plans with her boyfriend, Stephen or her friend, Traci. Jason, the ex, calls and Rebecca pretends to be Sarah and proceeds to have phone sex with him to pleasure herself and then sternly tells him, “Don't ever call me again.” Sarah rescues a cat at one point and Rebecca is elated about it until she discovers that since they cannot keep it in the dorm room, she may move to her fashion designer friend, Irene's house, in order to keep the cat. While Sarah is out one night, Rebecca places the cat in the clothes dryer to kill it and then when Sarah comes home, is all upset pretending that Cuddles got away. Rebecca even goes as far as to beat herself up to make it look like that she was attacked so that Sarah would stay with her rather than go with Stephen which results in her spending Thanksgiving with her. Though she is overly excited about taking Sarah home with her for the holiday, she tells her that she wants to show her everything about her hometown. While at home for Thanksgiving, Rebecca expresses a lot of animosity about returning to her home. When her parents express concern about her injury from her “attack,” Rebecca immediately flips out and is angry with them for even asking about it. Rebecca's mother slips and asks Sarah if Rebecca has been taking her medication. After returning home, Rebecca goes to the art studio and is super perky about it. While gone, Sarah discovers Rebecca is on a antipsychotic drug called Zyprexa which she researches to find is to used to treat schizophrenia. There are many examples in which Rebecca tries to play the role of Sarah's deceased sister or even assumes the role of Sarah herself. Rebecca gets a tattoo that matches Sarah's tattoo that is over her heart that has her deceased sister's name. Rebecca says to Sarah, “You can think of me as your sister. You can call me Emily if you want.” When Sarah moves out, Rebecca is having a hard time dealing with it when Jason shows up at her dorm. Rebecca is sitting in a chair digging a knife into it while experiencing convulsions and shaking when he slides a note under the door with his hotel information on it. Rebecca colors her hair to match Sarah's, puts on the sister's necklace and of course has the matching tattoo, so she visits Jason's hotel to seduce him and it works because it is dark. While on top of him, she says to him, “She doesn't love you,” in a stern and angry tone and then stabs him to death. Toward the end of the movie, Sarah goes to visit her friend Irene and finds Rebecca has tied her up. Rebecca then pulls a gun on Sarah and says, “All I wanted was to be your friend and you betrayed me.” Sarah tries to talk her down out of her hysterical, violent behavior telling her that they were still friends and Rebecca responds angrily with, “Don't say things you don't mean. I protected you from that whore Traci, that nasty kitten, that horrible professor and your ex-boyfriend. I got rid of them all because of you and you left me.” Sarah proceeds to try to calm her down and it seems to work because Rebecca then is completely calm and happy seeming and says, “I want us to start over like the very first day. I want to be your only friend.” After that statement, she makes advances to smother Irene with a bag and when Sarah tries to stop her, Rebecca slaps her and then snaps back with immediate regret and apologizes. During this instance is a constant repetition of up and down behaviors from Rebecca as a result of how Sarah is trying to react to keep her friends safe. Sarah is eventually able to lock her out of Irene's bedroom but then Rebecca starts to get back in and when she discovers she cannot, she destroys Irene's apartment. She makes an attempt to get back into the bedroom to shoot Irene when Stephen hits her and then she turns and clubs him. Sarah, who during the fighting has fallen off and is hanging onto the fire escape ledge, Rebecca tries to help her up and into the room but then has her pinned down and attempts to strangle her. Sarah then has to stab her to get her off of her (The roommate, 2011). It is through these up and down behaviors that Rebecca obviously has behavioral issues, which result in an extreme elated happiness and then goes into a more obsessive, violent disposition when triggered. This somewhat correlates with bipolar disorder with the constant mania and depressive modes, however, it is less often depression and more so evident as jealousy, rage, hysteria, overreacting and violence. It is later confirmed by her parents and Sarah's discovery of Zyprexa that it is obvious that Rebecca has a mental condition for which she should be being treated for. However, since the Zyprexa bottle is full, it is obvious that she is not following her recommended treatment. While she shows signs and characteristics as described previously, her behavior also overlaps with that of schizophrenia. References Davison, D. (Producer), & Christiansen, C.E. (2011). The roommate [Motion picture]. United States: Screen Gems presents Vertigo Entertainment. Galynker, I.I.., Lee, A.M.R. (2010). Violence in Bipolar Disorder. Psychatric Times, 27(11). Retrieved from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com. Goodman, M., Jeong, J.Y., & Triebwasser, J. (2009). Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder-Distinguishing Features of Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment. Psychiatric Times, 26(7). Retrieved from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com. Martinowich, K., Schloesser, R.J. & Manji, H.K. (2009). Bipolar Disorder: from genes to behavior pathways. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 119(4), 726-736. Bethesda, MD: American Society for Clinical Investigation. Retrieved from http://www.jci.org. Read More