Mental Health in the Movies
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor’s Name
Date
Mental health in the movies
Case formulation
A predisposing social factor to the drug addiction problem by Suzanne is the nature of her mother. The movie shows how Suzanne grew up under her mother’s shade and that she had tried all she could to get away from her mother. Suzanne’s mother was a self-centered woman (Fisher, 2012). A predisposing psychological factor is that her mother was very loud and irritating while issuing orders and private conversations that she used to engage Suzanne as advice platforms. A predisposing biological factor to Suzanne’s condition was that her mother is also a drug addict (Fisher, 2008).
A precipitating social factor to Suzanne’s drug addiction was that she was a young lady who needed to explore the love and relationship world. Going on a date had resulted in a cocaine overdose. A precipitating psychological factor to her condition could be her mother’s judging nature, which made Suzanne resent her even more for treating her as a child even at her adult age. A precipitating biological factor could be the fact that her body felt empty due to loneliness hence pushing her into drugs.
An example of both social and psychological perpetuating factors to Suzanne’s drug addiction is that she was alone and far from her family. As a human being, there is always that part of us that feels that we should be close to family or relatives. It was not the case for Suzanne because she had run away from her family (Fisher, 1990). Therefore, she felt lonely and deceived herself that she could get over the situation of wanting to be close to her mother by getting high on drugs. Her mother’s alcoholism can be considered as a biological perpetuating factor in her condition.
A psychological protective factor presented for Suzanne was that she had undergone rehabilitation and was recovering to a position of getting back into a working condition. A protective social factor is evident in Suzanne after refusing to go on a date with Dr. Frankenthal (Harris, 2006). A biological protective factor was that her body was used to the absence of cocaine after the rehabilitation.
Though there are some similarities between Suzanne and her mother in terms of drug abuse, it would be hard to say that drug abuse can be genetically transmitted. I would ask, would be, why does the film try to show a biological relationship of Suzanne’s addiction and her mother’s alcoholism? And how is it that the two have a close relationship yet there is resentment?
Diagnosis
Using the DSM-5, Suzanne’s symptoms meet the gauges associated with cocaine abuse and addiction. In most cases, her highness was short-lived. Was there a time when she happened to have it for more than thirty minutes after the drug intake? [11:03] (A1). She also, in most cases, after she had taken the drug, said that she felt good because cocaine does not allow the recycling of dopamine. Therefore, the feel-good neurotransmitter was always active and hence the feeling [12:44] (A2). The need to sleep is common to Suzanne, and she was also characterized by low appetites every time she was under the influence of drugs [22:33]. Excess needs to engage in activities and be exceedingly talkative after taking small cocaine [29:22] (B). However, the symptoms would not appear after large or excessive intakes of the drug. After breakdowns and a period of recovery from the highness begun, Suzanne would eat and sleep abnormally. Weight loss, irregular and constantly changing sleeping patterns, unpredictable mood swings, dilation of the eye pupils, running nose, and the desire to have a male companion in her life were additional factors that show Suzanne had been a cocaine addict [55:02] (C).
Suzanne resented her mother and chose to flee from her, which can be termed as the desire to be alone, which is also a contributing factor to the condition’s diagnosis. Paranoia and anxiety generally throughout the film was also evident in Suzanne. Most of the characteristics that led to the diagnosis that she had been using cocaine and, at times, extensively are behavioral because addiction, though can be termed as a condition, is not easy suspicion creates the pathway to recognizing the problem at hand. Hence, the condition could have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for the times that she took overdoses. After taking the overdoses, lab experiments confirmed what she had been under the influence of and hence the diagnosis. Suzanne takes excessive risk-taking behavior, which was identified by the behavior of substance abuse through the experiences of overdosing.
Stigma
The film covers both the positive and negative sides of being a cocaine drug addict and covers the stigma attributed to cocaine addicts. A positive message that the film portrays about cocaine use is related to the individual use of cocaine to be Suzanne vale. She is placed in a rehab center to help reduce the use of cocaine (Ebert, 1990). This positive message shows addicts can be put up in rehab centers that can be useful in the determination of their future, through the change enacted at the rehab centers. This can be helpful in reducing the associated stigma to the addicts of drugs, and in this perspective, the cocaine addicts. This portrays a positive message to the drug addicts who can also recover through undergoing rehab centers through her recovery. She also becomes responsible because she was the one who rushed her mother into the hospital after learning that she had crushed her car due to driving under the influence of alcohol. Suzanne also develops a sober mind because she seems to be affectionate about the relationships she was now forming. A negative message that has been portrayed through this film is the continued use of cocaine drugs by the actress Suzanne Vale which leads her to become an addict (Ebert, 1990). This may increase the viewers’ stigma through the description of what the actress goes through as an addict. Through this perception, this may affect the society in becoming drug addicts, which could lead to effects such as overdosing, which is evident by the actress who overdoses on a date (Ebert, 1990). Such drug addicts may be reluctant to disclose their addiction levels, such as in Suzanne, which may increase self-stigma due to the experiences associated with drug use, as portrayed in the film.
References
Ebert, R. (1990). Postcards from the Edge movie review (1990) | Roger Ebert. Rogerebert.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/postcards-from-the-edge-1990.
Fisher, C. (2012). Postcards from the Edge (film). Annette Bening 1 The Great Outdoors (film) 6 Valmont (film) 10 Postcards from the Edge (film) 14 The Grifters (film) 18, 14.
Fisher, C. (2008). Postcards from the Edge. Simon and Schuster.
Fisher, C. (1990). Postcards from the Edge (1990) – IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100395/.
Fisher, C., & Reynolds, D. (2016). Postcards From the Edge Was Carrie Fisher’s Perfect Mother-Daughter Opus. Vulture. Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://www.vulture.com/2016/12/postcards-from-the-edge-carrie-fisher-debbie-reynolds.html.
Harris, H. (2006). Postcards from the Edge | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice. Spiritualityandpractice.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020, from https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/3106/postcards-from-the-edge.