Girl, Interrupted, By Susanna Kaysen - 1248 Words

Girl, Interrupted is a memoir written by Susanna Kaysen who was admitted to a mental institution as a young girl. She was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder due to some her â€Å"depressive† and â€Å"crazy† behavior. Throughout the memoir, we are able to see the realizations that Kaysen has regarding the treatment of young women and mental patients. She touches on some of the stigmatizations that she witnessed herself and of others around her. Some of her experiences surrounding her stay at the institution were positive and some were negative due to the way she was treated. Nonetheless, not only were the views on mental illness often negative, but the way certain illnesses were diagnosed due to views on the way women act were also a†¦show more content†¦After her experiences during her two-year confinement at the mental institution, Kaysen was able to get a clear sense of how people are diagnosed. She realized that we need to protect women and soci al norms when diagnosing because of her own experience and the experiences of those around her. â€Å"Normal† behaviors of women at this time were often seen as things that needed treatment and medical help. When she was first being seen by doctors, it was a time when mental illness and cognitive impairment were seen as basically the same thing. Women were particularly targeted when discussing mental illness, even though their â€Å"symptoms† did not match up. Women’s rash behavior was often categorized as a mental illness. For example, hysteria in women was seen as them being over dramatic and having attention seeking behavior. Charles A. Reed did a study of women’s nervous systems and concluded that were controlled by their bodies and reproductive system, not their mind. Women’s behavior at this time was often dismissed as a mental illness, even if it was a â€Å"normal† personality trait they showed. According to the DSM-IV-TR borderline personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability in relationships, self image and affects, and marked impulsivity. â€Å"Another symptom is affective instability due to marked reactivity of mood such as intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety lasting only a few hoursShow MoreRelatedGirl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen1305 Words   |  6 Pagesonto others who may be unlike oneself, although in reality, are simply non-conforming, as opposed to insane. In Susanna Kaysen’s Girl, Interrupted, this fine line between sanity and insanity is explored to great lengths. Through the unveiling of Susanna’s past, the reasoning behind her commitment to McLean Hospital for the mentally ill, and varying definitions of the diagnosis that Susanna received, it is evident that social non-conformity is often confused with insanity. When life becomes overwhelmingRead MoreGirl Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen1155 Words   |  5 PagesGirl Interrupted is Susanna Kaysen s memoir a series of recollections and reflections of her nearly two year stay at a residential psychiatric program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. She looks back on it with a sense of surprise. In her memoir she considers how she ended up at McLean, and whether or not she truly belonged there. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of her experience. Founded in the late 19th century, McLean Hospital had been a facility for troubled members of wealthyRead MoreGirl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen836 Words   |  3 PagesIn the book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Susanna Kaysen was only 18 years old when she agreed to enter a medium security psychiatric facility in Boston, McLean hospital in April 1967, after a failed suicide attempt. She insisted that her over dose on aspirin was not a suicide attempt, but after a 20 minute interview th e doctor decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital. During her prolonged two-year stay at the hospital Kaysen describes the issues that most of the patients in her wardRead MoreThe Movie Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen981 Words   |  4 PagesThe movie, â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† by Susanna Kaysen, offers an individual perspective on what it is like to live in a mental institution. As a troubled teenager, Susanna was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, in which she disagreed with. Susanna parents and a family friend recommended her to admit herself into a mental hospital named Claymoore because she had overdosed on aspirin and vodka. Within, the 18 months that Susanna stayed in the mental hospital she came across many individualsRead MoreSusanna Kaysen from Girl Interrupted2095 Words   |  9 PagesCharacter Analysis – Susanna Kaysen from Girl Interrupted This character analysis is based on the character, Susanna Kaysen (played by Winona Ryder), from the feature film ‘Girl Interrupted’ directed by James Mangold and distributed by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. in 1999, Rated MA15+. The film is based on the true story of Susanna Kaysen’s time in a mental institution, set in the 1960s. Exploring Susanna Kaysen’s character through an interactional viewpoint, many psychological conceptsRead More`` Girl Interrupted `` : A Of A Woman Named Susanna Kaysen1293 Words   |  6 PagesGirl interrupted, is a biopic of a woman named Susanna Kaysen. Even though this movie was about Susanna’s experience in a mental hospital, Lisa’s Personality definitely dominated the movie. Lisa was surly a girl who was interrupted. She had a personality so bold, vibrant, deceitful, corrupt, and intrusive all at once. Over the years, her personality was known by many names. Labels consisting of Mania without delirium, moral insanity, egopathy, sociopath, and psychopathy (Barlow Durrand, 2015)Read MoreThe Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath And Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen3528 Words   |  15 PagesPlath and Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Comparing two women trying to deal with mental illness and are trying to cope with the mental pressures they put on themselves and by other people. Although the differences between these two novels are The Bell Jar shows Esther’s life before she descends into mental illness whereas Susanna’s story is about her time in a mental institution and experiencing other patients who are in similar situations. The title Girl, Interrupted â€Å"Interrupted at her music:Read MoreAnalysis Of `` The Yellow Wallpaper `` And The Memoir Girl, Interrupted By Susanna Kaysen1515 Words   |  7 PagesCharlotte Perkins Gilman, and the memoir Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen all tell the story of three women slowly descending into mental illness. Esther, the main character of The Bell Jar falls into a deep depression and attempts suicide despite appearances of being successful. The unnamed narrator of The Yellow Wallpaper becomes insane under the care of her physicist husband, John. And Susanna, the autobiographical main character of Girl, Interrupted, attempts suicide by overdosing on sleepingRead MoreEssay On Girl Interrupted1394 Words   |  6 Pagesto spread awareness on said condition. â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† by Susanna Kaysen is a memoir telling the story of a young girl taken to a psychiatric hospital in the late 60s. The memoir was published in 1993 and continues to have an impact due to its descriptions of mental illness. By analyzing the memoirist’s descriptions of her time spent hospitalized and her perspective on these experiences, it is evident that Susanna Kaysen’s purpose with â€Å"Girl, Interrupted† is to seek awareness of mental illnessRead More Girl, Interrupted Essay1244 Words   |  5 Pages Girl, Interrupted Part I: Critical Analysis Author: Susanna Kaysen. Girl, Interrupted: New York Division of Random House. Inc 1993. 1.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;What is the author’s topic? The author’s topic is about a teenager name Susanna Kaysen. At 18 she voluntarily turned herself into McLean Hospital. 2. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Identify the author’s main idea(s). In other words, what is the main point the author is attempting to make about