In the movie “As Good as it Gets” Jack Nicholson played Melvin, an obsessive-compulsive man whose communication with the world was mostly limited to insults. Obsessive-compulsive disorder falls under the category of anxiety disorders, which contains a group of disorders that share similar characteristics. Anxiety disorders all typically become aroused over apprehension from anticipated problem. One obsession that Melvin suffer from was the fear of contamination therefore, he washes his hands dozens of time a day with a new bar of soap each time. He eats the same meal at the same table in the same restaurant at the same time every day. Melvin always brings his own plastic utensils to use at the diner instead of the utensils provided. He thinks that the utensils provided at the diner are not clean, even though everyone else at the diner uses them. This again shows his obsession over contamination. The movie also show a great way to see how unique relationships are develop. Melvin, a man who squats in the apartment where he has crushed out romance novels for women. He makes racist, sexist, homophobic and physical insults at everyone he meets. The movie illustrated how Melvin becomes in a relationship with carol, the waitress …show more content…
When the movie started, Melvin was portrayed as an arrogant, insensitive person who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. By the end, Melvin becomes a more caring person and suffers slightly less from obsessive-compulsive disorder than he does at the beginning. The main way to treat the disorder is through intense exposure to the obsessions without letting the subject perform the compulsions associated with the obsessions. Melvin was forced to overcome his obsession and compulsive behaviors. It shows in the movie that when Melvin becomes connected to Carol and the dog, his symptoms start to diminish with personal
Mr. Unger is approximately 55 years-old, is Caucasian-American, and recently separated from his wife with whom he has two school-aged children. He dresses impeccably in pressed suits and polished shoes. He is clean cut and shaven. His hair is cut short and is neatly parted to one side. He has a rigid and stiff posture. He displays rigidity in his thought content which are manifested in preoccupations with cleanliness and his family affairs. He is inflexible in his personality. His wife recently separated from him and called him “impossible to live with.” During their relationship he displayed a huge need to be in control by doing things such as re-cooking a meal she made because he felt he could do a better job or obsessive cleaning their apartment and complaining when she was messy. While he loved her very much and had a sense that he was annoying her, he is so inflexible in his personality that he was unable to make changes. Mr. Unger’s mood is normally elevated due to his obsessive-compulsive nature. He is generally pre-occupied with his job,
Melvin takes his obsession of being clean to extremes; this is a very common manifestation of someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder. When Melvin goes out for breakfast he takes his own plastic utensils wrapped inside of a plastic bag, because he thinks that the silverware at the diner are not clean enough for him. This is another example of his fear of contamination.
Mental disorders can hinder a person’s ability to make proper decisions and therefore influence their lifestyle, behavior, and actions in most situations. Triggered by Fletcher Wortmann is a memoir about the negative effects of obsessive compulsive disorder can have on a person. The mental state of a person with obsessive compulsive disorder is one of uncertainty most of the time. Though a mental disorder determined many decisions in his life so far, his goal is to prove that mental disorders do not define who a person is. Through long stories about things that typically wouldn’t matter to an average person, it is clearly evident Wortmann is a male author who is very young, but also not as experienced. There is a specific writing style to
Melvin Udall suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Melvin sticks to the same routine every day in order to not upset himself, if one thing goes wrong in that daily routine, Melvin’s entire day seems to be ruined to the point where he cannot function well. Melvin is afraid of the germs that are all around him. He does not enjoy being touched in any way, or by anyone, whether it is a stranger walking down the street or a friend, of which Melvin does not have many. Melvin always enters his house and turns around to lock the door, which he counts as he does, turning the lock five times before he is certain that he will avoid any danger that might come if he does not fulfill these rituals; he has the same
In this movie, Melvin displayed many compulsions. When he comes back to his apartment he locks his door 5 times and turns on and off the lights 5 times. He also washes his hands with 2 new bars of soap each time he washes his hands. When he walks, he avoids stepping on any cracks. He also sometimes repeats words quietly after someone has said something. Instead of trusting one, his has two clocks side by side near his bed for an alarm. These are just a few examples of the many compulsions Melvin has. He always
The protagonist in the film As Good As It Gets, Melvin Udall is a successful romantic novelist who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. From the onset of the film, Melvin displays ritualistic behavior that aligns with the diagnostic criteria for OCD, specifically the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both. This paper focuses on Melvin’s particular psychopathology, analyzing the character’s current symptoms and diagnoses, the etiology of the disorder, and the key elements of his treatment.
One of the first things we notice when we meet a person is their outer appearance. More than ever, in today’s society, we put emphasis on what we look like. We are constantly being bombarded by commercials and magazine ads about what makeup to use, what stores to shop at, what the latest health beverage is just to name a few. On social media, there are pages dedicated to fitness and what men and women are supposed to look like after months of working out, fitness inspiration, and at home workouts. Although it is extremely important to feel good about your outer appearance and be physically healthy, mental health is just as important. It is a topic that is
Psychological Explanations of One Anxiety Disorder Phobias are an example of an anxiety disorder and the psychological explanations of these are cognitive, psychodynamic, behavioral and social factors. The Behavioral, Psychodynamic and social factors of the psychological explanation will be discussed in greater detail. Behavioral explanations say that all behaviour is learnt whether it is normal or abnormal and this approach has been applied to humans and animals.
We feel that One Flew over the Cuckoo’s nest is filled with many psychological connotations. This movie is set in a mental hospital where McMurphy was admitted to be psychologically evaluated because of violent behavior. Upon his arrival McMurphy noticed that the patients were very robot-like in their actions. The hospital is extremely structured where the patient’s daily life was monotonous. We will discuss the various connotations by answering the following questions that have been asked.
The anxiety started when we checked into the hotel. I was in Syracuse with three of my best friends, ready to have a weekend full of exhilaration and laughter.
Marvin Udall displays typical behaviors that many functioning obsessive compulsives have in common. Mr. Udall has obsessions which are, “persistent thoughts, urges that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted, whereas compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession (American Psychiatric Association., 2013).” Very early in the film we see Mr. Udall struggles with contamination-related obsessions and participates in ritualistic activities which serve to lessen his obsessional anxiety. We see him engage in hand washing rituals with extremely hot water and several bars of soap which is only intrusive to him, to later in the film where he must take a shower before dinner and has the character Carol waiting on him for what seemed like hours. Mr. Udall has a ritual to eat at a certain restaurant everyday for breakfast, where he also must bring his own plastic silverware for fear of germs.
“In people with (OCD) obsessive- compulsive disorder, there is an excessive need for orderliness and attention to detail, perfectionism, as well as overly rigid ways of relating to others (Nevid and Rathus 293).” Martin is a very demanding individual and has an obsession to have everything in order. For examples, towels have to be evenly spaced with the same length on the towel rack and canned foods have to face label forward, as well as neatly stacked in the cabinet. Martin’s overall main crisis is his obsession with his wife, Laura, is he cannot live without her and he won’t let her live without him. He
Hanna was referred by her GP, because she has been experiencing some anxiety difficulties. Client reports that she began to have anxiety five or six years ago. Reportedly, she recently moved out of her parents’ home and this may have caused the anxiety to escalate. This is the first time client has moved away from her parents.
This paper is going to be about anxiety disorders. I am going to explain what anxiety is and the different types of anxiety disorders. The types of anxiety I am going to talk about are Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-Traumatic Stress, Panic Disorder and Social Phobia.
Howard Hughes was a business tycoon, aviator, and film director who had a fear of germs that over time evolved into a phobia. With his fear of germs, Howard develops obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which throughout the film plagues his life with problems and challenges. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric condition in which unwanted obsessions or compulsions are very time consuming and cause a great deal of distress or impair daily functioning (Weis, 2013). This is very much true in the sense of Howard’s condition.