Joan Crawford's Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Susanna Kayson is a character in the film Girl, interrupted that has borderline personality disorder (BPD) (Wick, Konrad, & Mangold, 1999). As Susanna Kayson meets 5 of the 9 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 criteria, Susanna can be diagnosed with BPD. According to criteria 1, Susanna often restrains from stating her true feelings about a situation or a person to maintain relationships. Lisa, a resident of the psychiatric ward, would tease or humiliate Daisy, eventually leading her to commit suicide. Susanna knew that Lisa’s actions were inappropriate but she did not stand up for Daisy. This is an example of criteria 1 (Barlow, Durand, Stewart, & Lalumiere, 2015). One day when Susanna’s boyfriend Toby came to visit, they are caught in the middle of a sexual act and decide to escape to the grounds. Toby said he wanted to be with her, and she stated that she had no inclination to be with him. This is an example of criteria 2. Susanna tries to commit suicide by consuming a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka, and later also stated that she understands what it feels like to not want to be alive. This is an example of criteria 5. When the wife of a man who Susanna had an affair with confronts her, she begins to laugh. This is an example of criteria 6. Lastly, Susanna’s inability to understand her disorder causes her to have bouts of intense anger, which satisfies criteria 8 (Barlow et al., 2015).

Many individuals will often experience the initial judgments of others due to their innate unconventional behaviour and actions. However, despite their strange, unfamiliar actions, they are able to embrace this individualistic nature that vastly differs from others. In the excerpt from The Orchid Thief, Susan Orlean suggests that when individuals decide to embrace their eccentric beliefs and values, they are capable of instigating unexpected positive change within society and affect other people’s initial perception of them. Furthermore, because of their desire to retain their own unconventional behaviour rather than succumb to the mainstream society, the individual is capable of developing a unique, distinctive identity and earning the respect

Psychological disorder: According to the textbook, Psychology: Principles in Practices, they are behavioral patterns or mental processes that can cause personal suffering. With that being said, wouldn’t that mean that if a person had a psychological disorder, they would have a disturbance within them, or more importantly, their brain? A psychological disorder, by definition, are the behavior patterns or mental processes that cause serious personal suffering or interfere with a person’s day to day life or routine. In contrast, a personality disorder is characterized as patterns of inflexible traits that can cause a disturbance in the afflicted person’s personal life and may cause distress. To fully understand disorders, psychologists

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

Without any dispute, the 1992 feature film "Single White Female" is an excellent example of a psychological "thriller", which it was initially touted as and seemingly confirmed by grossing several million dollars. However, the one particular aspect of this film that truly confirms to the label of psychological is the characterization of Hedy Carlson, who functions extremely well as a case study for Borderline Personality Disorder. By definition, Borderline Personality Disorder is a condition in which someone exhibits "A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts"¦" (APA 2000). A fairly comprehensive examination of Hedy's actions and personality within "Single White Female" lends credible evidence that she is in fact suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, and also alludes to forms of treatment that may be of assistance in any attempts to counteract the effects of this condition.

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.

Marilyn Monroe is a well-known legend and has been a public figure for several decades. Monroe was a distinguished model, actress, and singer, who quickly became known as a major sex symbol. Monroe starred in a large number of successful motion pictures during the late 1940s and early 1960s. She began her career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Throughout her career, Monroe's films grossed more than $200 million ("Marilyn Monroe Biography," 2013). Marilyn Monroe swiftly became more known to the public for her behavior and outlandish actions; she was eventually diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.

The movie Mean Girls is about this new girl Cady Heron who becomes friends with The Plastics. Cady befriends this group of clique as a way to spy on them with the help of her friends Damian and Janis. In the Plastics Regina George can be seen as the Alpha of the group, Gretchen Wieners can be seen as an insecure person and Karen Smith was portrayed as an airhead. In the movie Cady begins to have a crush on Regina’s-ex boyfriend, Aaron Samuels, Regina finding out about this Kisses Aaron Samuels and become his girlfriend again purposely hurting Cady. Throughout the movie Regina can be seen doing mean things or saying mean things to other. According to the DSM-5 Histrionic Personality Disorder is categorized as a pervasive pattern of excessive emotionally and attention seeking, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.

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.

She allows herself to believe all she is told. She also allows herself to believe that being treated as she is is going to make her better, when in fact it is only making her worse. Her being sent up in a room, like a penitentiary will add loneliness to her illness. Her being told not to write or not to go and see family and friends, again, adds to her loneliness. She is separated from society. Therefore, she feels as though she is alone in society. She gives into the fact that the male-dominated society would rather her alone, than be with lots of women and cause chaos. She gives into everything the world wants instead of listening to her inner self. She ignores herself, causing her to act out in madness. When one does not listen to one's inner self, he or she is then turning away from his or her conscience. It's like the "devil and angel" episode that has been seen in numerous cartoons. If the person listens to the little devil, it will end up being the wrong decision. It the person listens to the little angel, it will be the right decision. The narrator listens to almost neither. She allows what is happening to happen and does nothing but sit back. This would cause anger inside anyone.

What does life with borderline personality disorder look like? A prime example would be Misery by Stephen King, the classic psychological thriller. Annie Wilkes, one of the main characters in the film, exhibits multiple signs and symptoms of having a psychological illness, making her subject to diagnosis. Through Annie’s behavior and emotional instability, it is evident that she has borderline personality disorder. This paper will provide a proper treatment plan and prognosis for her illness.

In psychology personalities are developed through several theorist, but from these personalities can become skewed, causing a psychological disorder on a person's personality. These personality disorders can commonly be seen in about 31 million Americans, which densely equals out to 15% of our population population (Davis, n.d.). Psychological disorders are seen as behavior patterns or mental processes that creates a difficulty for oneself or a hinder on an individual's strength to endure certain situations that take place in life everyday. Disorders are primarily discovered through psychological testing, however, it is possible to identify them through watching psychological films or thrillers. In this case, the character Joan Crawford will be analyzed for her dominant personality disorders in the movie Mommie Dearest. While watching the movie Mommie Dearest the audience can easily recognize obsessive cleaning rituals, a fantasy over one’s own success, and dramatic changes of moods that swing up and down. The main character, Joan Crawford, displays dominant characteristics of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and a narcissistic personality disorder. As an audience we see that these disorders become very upsetting to those that are close to her, affecting her relationships with everyone and everything, specifically with her daughter Christina.

It is hard and uncommon for someone to be diagnosed with NPD because when someone has narcissistic personality disorder, they may not want to think that anything could be wrong, doing so wouldn't fit with their self-image of power and perfection (American Psychiatric Association; 2013). Some psychologists say narcissism can be diagnosed by asking one question: “are you a Narcissist?” This is because some believe that if a person is narcissistic, then they will have no problem saying so because they are unable to see any flaws in themselves. People who are willing to admit that they are narcissistic are actually more narcissistic then others. Treatment of narcissistic personality disorder typically involves long-term psychotherapy with a therapist

Eliopoulos states that the personality throughout a person lifetime stays the same (2014, p.64). Nonetheless, psychological changes can occur, impacting the human mind and behavior, for instance; health problem, genetics, brain injury, drug abuse, stressful life events, and financial problems. As well, alter brain function can affect emotion, leading to personality changes, and capabilities. For I.B, she stated that there were times in her life were she was depressed, when her parents died, one of her daughter committing suicide, and her husband passing away. However, with the help of her family, and friends, who support her, she was able to get back on track. Overall, I.B said her life has a lot of happiness, joy and satisfaction. Her relationship