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Posted By: Dr. Hershey-MH Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/23/13 09:26 AM
Mental health disorders are often depicted on the big screen, from borderline personality disorder in the movie Fatal Attraction to dissociative disorder in Fight Club. But no one presents a more chilling and graphic case of psychosis than Jack Nicholson's character in The Shining.

Psychosis on the Big Screen

Did you know Stephen King is coming out with a long-awaited sequel?
Posted By: Lori-Dreams Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/23/13 11:22 AM
I didn't know that a sequel was on its way. That's exciting! Thanks for the heads up.

One of my favorite films that depicts mental illness is "A Beautiful Mind." "As Good as It Gets" is about OCD, and I enjoyed that one, too.

Can you define psychosis versus mental illness?

Also, when you think of the definition of delusion, it makes me wonder if we all suffer from it as we each have our own belief sets that run contrary to others. I don't want to open up a can of worms here but, for example, there are people who believe that the earth is only 4,000 years old and that evolution is a lie even when there is irrefutable evidence to the contrary!
Posted By: Dr. Hershey-MH Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 11:44 AM
In short, psychosis is a loss of contact with reality and
mental illness is a condition that can disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning.

Delusions come in many forms...persecutory, grandiose, etc. Having a thought or belief that is mild and stands alone (no other symptoms) would not make one delusional or mentally ill. Hope that helps smile
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 12:33 PM
I was a tad offended by the enamoring and the macabre glee in people never tiring of watching ' The Shining '.

It's ' entertaining ', unless of course you actually have gone through it.

It is abject horror to go through it.

No entertaining parts whatsoever.
Posted By: Lori-Dreams Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 03:30 PM
I'm sorry, Burt. frown

I never saw "The Shining" from beginning to end because I am not into the horror genre per se. But my daughter is a Stephen King fan and so I am happy she has something to look forward to.

It's not that I find films about mental illness entertaining but rather informative. I am always interested in seeing how people live under conditions they are given. And I love to see them triumph despite their challenges!

Yet, I understand how you feel regarding such movies. My uncle who was a war veteran refused to watch war movies. He did not find them entertaining at all either.

Living with mental illness can be like going through a war every day.
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 03:38 PM
Thank You Lori smile

Yeah, it just hurts that we as a whole seem to enjoy seeing others suffer.

We all have that darkness within us to be attracted to ' The Dark Side '.

Your daughter may be older than a teenager, but girls that age are real big Stephen King fans.

I just don't enjoy watching other people suffer or have a ' come up ance '.

I think God and the Cosmos will provide plenty of retribution.

-- Burt B. smile
Posted By: Nancy Roussy Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 04:50 PM
A sequel to The Shinning and it's written also by Stephen King? This is so exciting! I love that movie and book (although the book was read when i only spoke french so i will have to buy and read it again in its original version), I also love horror (movies and books) but I have to admit that eventhough the movie is well done and acted it did not scare me. I suffer from depression, I have lots of stress and I also have panic attacks (it is so severe that i thought for a few months that i was choking when i was eating, drinking, swallowing spit and not doing any of that...it came to that point all because of a tooth ache) and I never have been offended when any of these things end up in a movie. I never get offended anyway while watching a movie (or reading a book or watching a show or looking at a website or by toys or whatever else like these things) since it's all fiction. I preffer to be offended over real things like for this subject real people who put down and judge people who suffers from mental illnesses and mental problems.
Posted By: Lori-Dreams Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 05:04 PM
Yikes! I definitely do not like to witness the suffering of others! That is not what attracts me to films about mental illness. I think it is because "there but for the grace of God go I" and also, I have my own mental challenges to manage albeit, thankfully, on a lesser scale.

My daughter has her own which is why she is/was attracted to the genre. She just informed me, however, that she has "outgrown" that. LOL. And she now prefers fantasy novels.


I think there is a prejudice against the mentally ill and in film, the afflicted are all too often portrayed as murderous psychopaths. That is why I very much like the movies that depict those with mental challenges in a more positive light.
Posted By: Lori-Dreams Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 05:06 PM
Originally Posted By: Dr. Hershey-MH

Delusions come in many forms...persecutory, grandiose, etc. Having a thought or belief that is mild and stands alone (no other symptoms) would not make one delusional or mentally ill. Hope that helps smile


Yes, that helps a lot. Thank you!
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 05:12 PM
Once stigmatized, you have your civil liberties stripped from you.

Ever hear of a sheltered workshop ?

It is a federal program where once you are in a mental institution, they have the right to take 70% of your SSI check then send you to work and pay you a whopping $15 cash for an 80 hour week.

So, please forgive me if I'm a bit on the bitter side.
Posted By: Lori-Dreams Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 05:21 PM
We need major reform in this area and it seems that no one wants to see the plight of the mentally ill in America.

I once read the autobiography of Dorothea Dix who pioneered for better care for the mentally ill. What courage, strength and intelligence that woman had.

I often thought about what I might be able to do, but there are no quick fixes or easy answers.

Any thoughts?
Posted By: Burt B. Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 05:26 PM
No, there are no quick fixes.

Problem is we used to live in a culture where ' the squeaky wheel got the grease '.

Now, the squeaky wheel gets replaced, or even worse, assassinated.

We live in a world where you get rewarded for out-competing and putting down the other guy.

If you have compassion, you are weak and will be run over.

Kill or be killed.

-- Burt B.
Posted By: Lori - Marriage Re: Psychosis on the Big Screen - 02/24/13 05:46 PM
One reason why this issue can be ignored is that the mentally ill are easily forgotten. They are out of sight, out of mind.

Unlike in Hollywood movies, they are not criminals. They do not rape, pillage, steal, murder. The cops have enough to do with trying to catch criminals.

Churches used to feed, clothe and house the mentally ill but not so much now. Those are few and far between.

The government is reactive, not proactive, when it comes to fulfilling needs.

Private industry and scientific research offers some hope. I'm hopeful when reading about brain research. There is help on its way.
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