BBP Depicted In Girl Inturrupted: This is a paper that compares the movie Girl Inturrupted to the actual symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder.

Essay by swelch, University, Bachelor's, March 2003

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There are many movies that depict mental disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and many more. Girl Interrupted portrays several women with different disorders. How precise is this movies to the actual symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, to the disorder? We will discuss and compare these issues.

Susanna Kaysen spent two years in a psychiatric hospital, McLean. Twenty-five years after her release she began to write a memoir about her stay. Once it was completed her memoir was converted into a movie called Girl Interrupted. This movie reveals Kaysen's passage from adolescence to adulthood. This movie is based on actual events.

Winona Ryder stars as Susanna Kaysen, who is struggling to find independence, and integrity. In 1967, 17 year young Susanna, attempted suicide by combining a bottle of asprin with a bottle of vodka. She was sent away in a taxicab, after a session with a psychiatrist. The taxi's destination was Clay Moore, a mental institution. A short period of rest was recommended. Once at the hospital she meets a wide range of people including Daisy, who has a predilection for rotisserie chicken and laxatives, Polly, who is a burn victim, Georgina, who is a compulsive liar, and Lisa, who is a fascinating sociopath. Lisa and Susanna form a tight friendship bond during her stay. Kaysen meets with her parents and a different psychiatrist, while in Clay Moore. It was during that meeting that she found out she had a disorder. She thought she was just an ordinary girl, trying to make sense of her life, and was only there for a short rest. Borderline Personality Disorder was her diagnosis. Susanna recovered from her condition after staying there for one year. This movie questions the boundaries of freedom and confinement, madness and sanity, and friendship and betrayal.

The disorder...