Borderline Personality Disorder - Essay Example

Borderline Personality Disorder: Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” By: number) Borderline Personality Disorder: Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” The title, “Fatal Attraction”, perfectly fits the movie’s overall depiction - a married man’s one night stand begins his worst nightmare when his lover turns into an obsessive stalker. Danny Gallagher (Michael Douglas), a married man of nine years, ends up having an affair with new business associate Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) one weekend while his wife and daughter are away. To him, their relationship was just a fling. However, Alex’s expectations of it went farther than that. Outraged of being refused by Dan, Alex begins to stalk him and his family; she continues to haunt and threaten them in ways that would suit her relentless demands. Their short-term love affair pursued to a suspenseful series of events – Alex’s growing obsession over Danny breeds an even greater contempt for his family. Even after Danny’s constant attempts to finally end things with her, she still keeps at it; her actions intensify – she becomes more violent every time she confronts them. In the end, her actions lead to a harsh conclusion, with her death coming in as a close to the story. The film is certainly intriguing in itself; however, one would come to realize how curious it is that a seemingly composed woman such as Alex would come to end up as so gravely affected and then crazy in a way. Alex Forrest was initially introduced as a smart attractive young woman – and also, normal. There is, however, an interesting yet daunting progress that takes place through the course of the movie; although it wasn’t explicitly stated in the film, Alex still implicated symptoms of having a personality disorder - that having started with her obsession. Despite having only known Dan for a few days, Alex is convinced that she already loves him. The one night affair she had had with a man she found attractive had her started; but it was the challenge of having that family man for herself that even pushed her to go on an insistent pursuit of him. This “challenge” became her obsession and then unconsciously became an unstable mental condition. This is one of the major factors that can be considered to have triggered her incredulous and violent nature. What was most obvious in the movie was the fact that Alex was obsessed. This further compounded her personality disorder; thus, she does not only become ill, she becomes deranged. There is a variety of definitions available for the term “obsession”; yet, in order to understand Alex’s situation, it is only proper to simply refer to its clinical context. According to DSM-IV TR, obsessions are “…thoughts or impulses that are distressful, persistent and recurrent. These thoughts or impulses must not just be worries of real-life problems.” Alex has already been engrossed with the fact that she “loves” Dan regardless of whether it is indeed real or not. This thought is even more confounded by her intensified fantasies and perhaps subconscious contemplations. As such, she resolved to do anything and everything to be with him – and to finally own him. Therefore, her obsession is not only a result of real-life distresses but also those that have emerged from her personal insecurities – such as that she will never be able to get Danny for herself. When Alex began her obsession over Danny, she began to resort to threatening or otherwise violent exploits. At one point, she invades Dan’s family by pretending to be a prospect buyer for their home during which she was entertained by Beth, the wife. In discovering what she had done, Dan immediately rushed to her place to talk to her. In the following excerpt, Alex clarifies through her tone that she won’t stop until she gets what she wants: Danny Gallagher: I dont know what youre up to…but Im gonna tell you, its gonna stop right now. Alex Forrest: No, its not gonna stop. Its gonna go on and on... She then reveals at this part of the movie that she is pregnant with Dan’s child, which complicates everything and upsets him even more. A more shocking offense Alex had committed was when she had fetched the Gallagher’s daughter, Ellen, from school without their knowledge. Towards the end of the movie, her actions get worse – she sneaks into the Gallagher’s home and kills Ellen’s pet rabbit and boils it on their kitchen stove, and even attempts to kill them with a kitchen knife. “Obsessional disorder” is characterized by anxiety, particularly that which is overwhelming.(Davis, 2008) Impulsive acts of violence are more often than not already an associated characteristic to this thought. Accordingly, “When a person with obsession becomes physically exhausted with chronic rumination accompanied by suspicion, he or she is driven to impulsive acts, and develops a personality disorder that displays persistent abnormal activities. Obsession is related closely to depression and schizophrenia. Obsession is induced when uncertainty and instability dominates intelligence and creativity.” (Nakazawa, 2008) We are again referred back to the clouded rationale now dominating Alex. This clear obsession has affected her wholesomeness; therefore, constructing a sudden and shocking shift in her personality. In other words, a personality disorder has already become evident. A personality disorder happens when certain areas of our personality are shifted to such extent that we would have difficulty living just as “normal” as others. In addition, our self-awareness and our capacity for social interaction tend to adjust to a lesser degree. (Stoddart, 2007) Alex’s situation had made it difficult for her to maintain her life and how it used to be prior to meeting Danny. As far as she was concerned, Danny was the only thing that was important – he was her world. She was changed, though not in a manner anyone would expect. Alex’s behavior is diagnosed as Borderline Personality Disorder, a subcategory of the Emotional and Impulsive cluster. The American Psychological Association characterizes this particular personality disorder as “a pervasive pattern of instability of self-image, interpersonal relationships, and mood, beginning in early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts” (APA 1987, 346) Indeed, Alex had come to portray such description. For instance, the only relationship she’s concerned with is her relationship with Dan insomuch as she insists her great need to be with him. Borderline personality disorder is further characterized by the person’s inability to control his/her emotion; hence, the constant mood swings, impulsivity, and self-pity. This mental condition also makes it difficult for the person to maintain relationships. They also tend to get too sensitive to rejection. In addition, the fear of being abandoned panics them to such point that they threat to hurt or kill themselves or others. (Stoddart, 2007) Although she pretends to hate Danny, Alex still is afraid of the idea of him finally closing his doors on her. This is evident in this one scenario: Alex Forrest: You can just bang a couple times and throw in the garbage? Im gonna be the mother of your child. I want a little respect. Danny Gallagher: You want respect? Alex Forrest: Respect. What are you doing? Please dont go. I didnt mean it. Im sorry. Ill tell your wife. In the beginning of this conversation, she insults him; at the same time, she forces him to take responsibility for their supposed child. But then notice how at the end of the conversation, when Danny was about to leave, Alex resorts to apology and then blackmailing – an impulsive act resulting from panicking because he was leaving. At one point, Alex had cut her wrists in attempt to kill herself – an act to get Dan’s attention and to stop him from leaving her. Her actions were for the most part – if not wholly – irrational and impulsive; for example, when she had wrecked Danny’s car or the time when she had sent a recorded tape to the Gallaghers containing her message of curses and insults for Danny. She literally does everything – bad or good – to persuade Danny to go with her instead. Women with borderline personality disorder can be described as “’…demanding, aggressive, and angry woman’” (Wirth-Cauchon, 2001). And that is exactly how Alex is depicted. Though she admits to neediness and helplessness, I find that these are probably the primary bases as to why she is acting as such much later in the film. Then again, a condition like that of Alex’s can actually be cured. Proper therapy and medications can aid in alleviating such though the extent of that already depends on how well the patient is doing at the time. Alex’s case has reached its worst possible scenario; that is, invading another’s home and deliberately attacking the Gallaghers with a kitchen knife. Hence, if I were her therapist, I would advise both psychotherapy and drug therapy - at least until she is able to think clearly and rationally. Psychotherapy involves having to discuss the patient’s feelings and opinions regarding all matters associated to her condition and experience. The purpose behind this is to increase the patient’s self-consciousness as well as gain new insights to improve himself/herself. (MayoClinic Staff, 2010) Perhaps, in letting Alex open up, she can finally determine the rationality behind her actions and ultimately, reflect for herself if it were all worth the trouble. For Alex’s particular situation, I find the Dialectical Behavioral Theory most suitable for her since it basically promotes the development of behavioral skills to cope up with stress, identify and manage emotions, and also learn how to strengthen and maintain interpersonal relationships. (MayoClinic Staff, 2010) In addition to that, this is also the greater area of her personality where severe difficulties had gone to emerge. Meanwhile, there are medications that aim to eradicate specific symptoms. (This is a general prescription for any personality disorder.) For instance, Antipsychotics can be taken for cases of paranoia, impulsivity, cognitive disorders, and transient psychosis; Antidepressants can be taken for panic attacks, phobias, ADHD, compulsivity, and depression; Mood stabilizers can be taken for dyscontrol, rage, violence, affective labiality, and impulsivity; and Anxiolytics can be taken for panic disorders, social phobia, and agoraphobia. (Ekleberry, 2000) Hypothetically speaking, both psychotherapy and the constricted intake of medications may remedy her obsession and rehabilitate her whole self in order to start anew at the end of the curriculum. In hindsight, Alex may have just been overwhelmed by her weakness; thus, leading to her shift in personality. But then, with good help, she may just find herself again in time. And by then, she might just be stronger. Bibliography Davis, L. J. (2008). Obsession: A History. Chicago, USA: The University of Chicago Press. Ekleberry, S. C. (2000, March 25). Dual Diagnosis: Axis II Personality Disorders and Addiction. Retrieved May 04, 2011, from The Dual Diagnosis Pages: http://classic-web.archive.org/web/20050206075612/www.toad.net/~arcturus/dd/pdsa.htm MayoClinic Staff. (2010, September 10). MayoClinic. Retrieved May 04, 2011, from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs Nakazawa, T. (2008, March 17). A spectrum for obsession and personality disorder. Retrieved April 04, 2011, from Pubmed.gov: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9201766 Stoddart, J. (2007, October). Personality Disorders. Retrieved April 03, 2011, from The Royal College of Psychiatrists: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/problems/personalitydisorders/pd.aspx Wirth-Cauchon, J. (2001). Women and borderline personality disorder: symptoms and stories. New York: Rutgers University Press. Read More