Topic > Silver Linings Playbook: Mental Illness

Introduction: Silver Linings Playbook is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O.Russell. Background: The film was based on Matthew Quick's 2008 novel The Silver Linings Playbook. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher and Julia Stiles in supporting roles. Cooper plays Patrick "Pat" Solitano Jr., a man with bipolar disorder who is released from a psychiatric hospital and returns to live with his parents. Pat is determined to win his ex-wife back. He meets a young widow, Tiffany Maxwell, who offers to help him get his wife back if he enters a dance competition with her. Thesis Statement: The two grow closer while training and Pat along with her father and Tiffany examine their relationship with each other while dealing with their personal situations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Topic Sentence: After eight months of treatment in a mental health facility for bipolar disorder, Pat is released into the care of his father Patrizio Sr. and mother Dolores in his childhood home in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. His main goal is to reconcile with his ex-wife, Nikki. She walked away and got a restraining order against him after Pat beat up the man she cheated on him with. During her time at the clinic, Pat befriends Danny McDaniels, an easygoing man who is involved in a legal dispute with the clinic over whether or not he is eligible to leave. Pat's therapist, Dr. Patel, tries his best to convince him to continue taking his medication, as a repeat of his violent outbursts could send him back to the clinic. But Pat tells him that he has a new outlook on life: he tries to see the good, or silver lining, in everything he experiences. Pat uses the Latin phrase “Excelsior,” translated as “ever higher” or “ever upward,” as the mantra of his new optimistic outlook. Meanwhile, Pat experiences a series of anxiety attacks in his new life, including a violent reaction to Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms," ​​which he throws into the backyard, shattering his bedroom window in the process. Evidence and Quote: According to Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Dr. Steven Schlozman, they do their best to get people to take their meds. He says: “We do our best to get people to take their medicines. We can see if they take them in other ways, through blood levels and things like that. But it always assumes some level of lack of adherence to the regime, for a while, as people get better. And you can understand that, I mean, if you don't have an awareness that there's something wrong, it's hard to find a good reason to take the medicine. And also if you know it's best to take medicine, many of them have really unpleasant side effects. So there are many reasons why you might decide not to take them. He further adds: “Even though we imagine bipolar disorder as a kind of sine wave where you go up and down, most people have mixed states when. They're decompensating. So they'll be very irritable, going a million miles a minute, but not euphoric." wife. This is because he is determined to repair the damage he has done to his life and to surprise everyone by always moving forward and upward. His motto is "Excelsior!!" At the top of his priority list is rebuilding his marriage with his wife, after they separated, he beat up his newengaged, but the past is the past. Pat assures his parents that everything will be fine. They're not so sure. One of the good things about “Silver Linings Playbook,” the new screwball comedy, is that Dolores is a healthy, caring woman and has a long track record of dealing with compulsive behavior, because her husband is a fanatical fan of the Philadelphia Eagles stadium to fight , Pat Sr. now focuses uncomfortably on the television, convinced that the Eagles will win only if his many superstitions are satisfied. He is harmlessly obsessed with Eagles, gratefully in love with his wife, and sympathetic to his son, who he doesn't realize is an apple that fell very close to the tree. One of the ingenious and courageous achievements of Russell's screenplay, inspired by a novel by Matthew Quick, is the way it requires both father and son to face and deal with their mental problems and, against all odds, finds a way to do so through both. an Eagles game and dance competition. Topic sentence: On the other hand, judged by standards of realism regarding psychiatric diagnosis and mental health treatment, the film is not perfect. Pat is labeled as having bipolar disorder, this complicated diagnosis is controversial and confusing even among mental health professionals and in Pat seems to manifest itself primarily in aggressive and violent outbursts. Likewise, Tiffany, Pat's love interest, explains too simplistically her compulsive and self-destructive promiscuity (a compensation for the guilt she feels for inadvertently causing her husband's death). It's hard not to see that character and wonder a little about his borderline personality disorder. I think we should probably feel guilty for thinking that after hearing her story, which is silly, because people are allowed to have horrible stories and people are allowed to have borderline personality disorder, and there's nothing wrong with none of these things. So she had a significant response to a pretty terrible trauma, the death of her husband. Assuming there is depression because someone gave her Effexor, which is an antidepressant. But you can have both: you can have depression and borderline personality disorder. Furthermore, the film sums up the pieces too neatly, suggesting that Pat and Tiffany's successful performance in a dance competition and their passionate love for each other are enough to dispel all the simmering psychological and interpersonal tensions. Falling in love is an absolutely amazing and wonderful thing, but it won't cure bipolar disorder any more than it will cure diabetes. It just doesn't work that way. On the flip side, we know from all kinds of really good studies that people with psychiatric illnesses — terrible depression, bipolar disorder even schizophrenia — do better when they're in love. This is one of the things that gives resilience. So it's not an unheard of story, the unheard of part is that suddenly you don't need the meds anymore and life goes on just fine forever. Finally, the portrayal of the therapist, Dr. Patel, is problematic. He intentionally provokes Pat by playing a song that reminds him of a traumatic event, and later in the film he completely abandons his professional role to join Pat as a maniacal Eagles fan. The narrative formula of these films is probably this: two people meet and are attracted to each other, however they have personal problems that prevent them from immediately starting a healthy relationship, through a series of bad decisions and misunderstandings, they learn, mature and eventually they manually declare their love for each other and live happily ever after. Criticize hope in any formas unrealistic perhaps misunderstands the nature of hope. Of course, the object of hope is always about the future, and the future is always uncertain. But the feeling of hope can be supportive in the present, and the tormented characters of Silver Linings Playbook offer an inclusive vision of that feeling that is far more universal and powerful. In Silver Linings mania and breakdowns have a serious side and a diagnostic side. Pat is practically vibrating with intensity as he returns to his parents' house armed with new knowledge about his disorder, requiring visits to a therapist and medications that he isn't inclined to take. Obsessed with the illusion of winning back his wife who among other things has issued a restraining order against him - he spends a lot of time running around the neighborhood to keep fit, wearing a garbage bag over his clothes to induce more sweating. The portrayal of mental illness is sharp and engaging, with immensely talented lead actors playing flawed but terribly likable people. And they are surrounded by other such things: family and friends who are themselves strange and obsessive, but also loving, forgiving, and not at all embarrassed by eccentricity. Part of the film's message is that it takes a lot of mutual support for people to be themselves, regardless of whether or not mental illness is involved. And that if we don't fear mental illness, don't try to hide it, we can help people manage their symptoms and reach their potential. It's when Pat realizes who his true love interest is that he's motivated to take his medication and let go of his delusions. There is recognition that mental illness is real and needs to be treated that way, with therapy and medication – whatever works, but the feelings and behaviors involved are not foreign to any of us. The more we accept this and the more we don't feel shame or fear, the better it will be for everyone. Topic sentence: The film underestimated the behavior, emotions, and mindset of a person dealing with bipolar disorder. I felt that Pat's character's antics and excitability were more characteristic of a man with quirks and anger issues. I couldn't understand how the public could understand the severity of a person suffering from manic depression if Pat's actions were simply dismissed as the actions of an eccentric man throwing a tantrum. At some points in the film, we experience trauma and turmoil. For example, when Pat starts freaking out because she can't find her wedding video and goes on this wild rant, pulling her hair, walking around the room and screaming that she can't find the wedding video. It's so loud it wakes up the neighbors. He accidentally hits his mother in the face and someone calls the police. Luckily for Cooper, the cop just told him to calm down. She didn't drag him back to the psychiatric clinic. It is an external entity that causes something inside you to connect to an old emotion or trauma and almost instantly brings back all the previous emotions, fears and doubts you felt when that entity first caused the trauma. Both Pat and Tiffany don't take their meds until later in the film. Tiffany can handle it. Pat cannot, as demonstrated by his tantrums and erratic behavior. Topic Sentence: One or both of the protagonists in a romantic comedy are expected to go a little crazy in some way. But this film takes it a step further. Pat is released from a mental hospital and Tiffany is battling her own demons. Neither, however, has the typical Hollywood version of mental illness. Pat's bipolar disorder and Tiffany's unnamed condition manifest in realistic ways,even terribly banal, Tiffany texts unknown relatives for phone calls when she gets depressed, and Pat channels her mania into lengthy jobs and rails against Hemingway. Yet the film has generated controversy among some viewers regarding its depiction of mental illness. Evidence and Quotes: Dr. Steven Schlozman, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, when asked about the film said, “It's Hollywood, so there will still be things that are there more for story than accuracy. But they did a great job of describing manic-depressive illness or bipolar disorder in someone who is quite bright and who has limited but present insight into it. Only about 40% of people with bipolar disorder will think back to a manic episode and he will realize that he has been manic.” Topic sentence: Bipolar disorder also known as manic depression is a disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. Comment: The exact cause of bipolar disorder is not known, but a combination of genetics, environment, and altered brain structure and chemistry may play a role. It is very common, with nearly more than 10 million cases per year in India. Treatment can help but this condition cannot be cured. It is chronic and can last years or even a lifetime. Requires a medical diagnosis. No type of laboratory and imaging tests are required. Symptoms of manic episodes are high energy, reduced need for sleep, and loss of contact with reality. Depressive episodes can include symptoms such as low energy, low motivation, and loss of interest in daily activities. Mood episodes last for days or months and may also be associated with suicidal thoughts. Treatment is usually lifelong and often involves a combination of medications and psychotherapy. Some of the therapies include support group, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, family therapy, and psychotherapy. Anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, and SSRIs can be used as medications. The person suffering from bipolar disorder may be hospitalized for supportive care. According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are four main categories of bipolar disorder: bipolar I disorder, bipolar II disorder, cyclothymic disorder, and bipolar disorder due to another medical or substance abuse disorder. . Factors that may increase the risk of developing bipolar disorder or serve as a trigger for the first episode include: Having a first-degree relative, such as a parent or sibling, with bipolar disorder. Periods of high stress, such as the death of a loved one or another traumatic event. Drug or alcohol abuse. Bipolar can worsen with age or over time if this condition is not treated. As time passes, a person may experience more severe and more frequent episodes than when the symptoms first appeared. Without effective treatment, bipolar disorder can cause severe episodes of high and low mood. The symptoms of these episodes can negatively affect a person's life. Bipolar disorder can also increase the risk of self-harm and suicide. Studies report that some people with bipolar disorder have complained of memory disturbances during high, low, and sometimes in-between moods. As a person's mood changes, it can signal changes in their memory as well. As moods become more extreme, memory problems may increase. The blood of bipolar patients is toxic to brain cells and affects the connectivity ability of neurons, a new study shows. The blood of bipolar patients is toxic to brain cells and can affect the ability to connect.