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Catcher In The Rye: A Psychological Analysis Of Holden Caulfield

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Holden Caulfield is a 17 year old boy from New York who came to me seeking help. He shared with me his many experiences and stories that I believe to be the source of his problems. From what I have heard Holden does not suffer from a mental illness, he is suffering more from a harsh transition from childhood to adulthood. Holden seems to be “falling” into adulthood rather than transitioning. Without further treatment is when Holden might develop a more serious illness. However If I am forced to diagnosis him with an mental illness now, I would have to say that his symptoms resemble those Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) or Major Depression Disorder(MDD). Patients suffering from PTSD have trouble sleeping and may feel on edge after experiencing trauma. Holden has been showing a combination of both disorders with PTSD showing more dominant. Holden can vividly describe his past traumatic experiences and talks often of death. Holden seems detached and antisocial because he is …show more content…

He is at the point where he needs to decide who he is and what his calling in life is. Holden’s traumatic experiences and depression are holding him back and without proper care, he could be lost forever in a constant cycle of hate and confusion. I recommend that Holden repairs the relationship he has with his parents. If they were closer, Holden wouldn't feel so distant and unloved. Instead of just shipping Holden away to a boarding school, they should try to talk to him about how he feels and what they could do for him. Holden will also need to learn how to cope with his feelings effectively and that not everybody is out to get him. Life isn’t always easy but you can’t just give up. Prescription medication is not necessary unless his symptoms worsen. Holden should stop treatment when he acknowledges his priorities and learns what life is really about in a world full of obstacles that everyone faces, in a correct

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Throughout the book holden gives off a vibe of being depressed, which might have started when his brother passed away. It’s seems like after that happened he lost all enthusiasm and energy to really try and also to really plan out his future. Most

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Holden Caulfield is a seventeen year old male who shows evidence of a possible diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) and Borderline Personality Disorder(BPD). This possible diagnosis is due to sudden outbursts of anger,constant deceitfulness, feelings of emotional numbness, and many other symptoms. Some people who say that he’s just a spoiled child however, there is evidence to prove that there is a much deeper issue. Traumatic events such as abuse(emotional,mental,and sexual), neglect,death of a loved one,abandonment, feelings of emptiness, and suicidal thoughts can cause these mental illnesses. With his long list of symptoms, the evidence proves that he suffers from PTSD and BPD.

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Holden’s Diagnosis In The Catcher in the Rye Holden tells us the story of how he got into a mental institution. The 17-year-old is presented as an anti-phony, anxious, and an angry teenager. Holden deals with a lot in the novel like being kicked out of school, getting beat up, and struggles with the death of his brother Allie. It is clearly shown in the novel that Holden is dealing with some serious mental health issues.

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Holden’s Journey Towards Healing Holden’s mindset and attitude have not changed by the end of the novel. Holden is unable to understand his own mind, which makes it hard for him to understand the world around him. His introspectiveness makes it hard for him to find his place in society, which is the barrier Holden must overcome in order to start his healing process. Holden is not able to interpret the reasoning behind his own thoughts, which causes him to disregard his problems. He continually disregards and undermines his own experience in order to give some sort of explanation for his issues.

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Although Holden is a fictional character, many of the symptoms he displays during his journey are real and affect real life teens. Teen depression is a serious mental health problem. One of the possible dangers is the probability that it's not temporary and may affect the teen in a

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Has anyone in your family ever dealt with mental illness, if so you know how vulnerable they are and how a person can't do anything about it to get help because they’re not right in the head. The person has no idea that they have a problem, this can be seen in holden Caulfield from Catcher In The Rye he suffers from mental illness like depression, but he was untreated for it because of the time period he is in and that society has built up stigmas around mental illness so in turn, he was alienated for it and rejected by society, holden is constantly running from problems and he can't go to his problems and home because of the stigmas in society There are several side effects to mental illness that holden shows like thoughts of suicide and homelessness.

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During the study of patient, Holden Caufield, we have diagnosed him with many illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder, Manic episodes, and PTSD as well as the beginning stages of anxiety and anger issues. Holden has also mentioned that in the past he has felt very lonely and suicidal. All of these medications will help Holden’s mental health drastically. Bipolar disorder is a disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. Manic episodes are caused when your mood shifts to mania or hypomania, you may feel euphoric, full of energy, or unusually irritable.

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I am writing this letter to inform you that I have been providing your son, Holden Caulfield, with psychotherapy to help treat his concerns with a number of different mental and social issues. Upon conducting therapy with him, I discovered a lot about how Holden lived life thus far, what psychological changes he went through in specifically recent times, and the events that led him to these changes. The reason I believe he 's here for psychotherapy in the first place is due to the rather awkward tendencies he has, and fixing these flaws is part of my job as a psychotherapist. Through vigorous and close inspection of these tendencies, I uncovered a few issues Holden finds himself dealing with: general skepticism and distrust in others, loneliness,

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The first cause of Holden 's mental illness that readers notice is that he lacks control over his actions. As Holden was 13 years old, his brother Allie died of leukemia. Holdens behavior in response to his brothers death was very violent. “I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it (Holden Caulfield 39).” Holden admits that he didn’t know he was doing it, but says it was a stupid thing to do.

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Furthermore, Holden starts to hate all the adults or loses faith in them, calls them phony. Holden has a second thought of becoming an adult he loses hope in his future and it seems to him nothing in the world matters to him anymore. We can see that throughout the book. He smokes, gets drunk, and does daring acts like getting a prostitute in his room. He also tries to escape all this guilt and grief by wasting time with unnecessary people he calls phony.

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Holden struggles with growing up and facing reality. There are many examples of Holden’s immaturity that are displayed in many forms such as facing responsibilities, his speech, his actions, and etc. Holden’s outlook on adult life is that it is superficial and brimming with phonies, but childhood was all about looking pleasing and innocent. He wants everything to stay the same and for time to stop. As Holden progresses in age, he will discover more about becoming mature in the

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At the end of the novel, when Holden is finished telling his story, he says that he could probably tell us about how he got sick. He also acknowledges “the one psychoanalyst guy they have [there]” who asks if he is going to start applying himself (234). The fact that there is someone analyzing his behavior is a clear indicator that he shows signs of mental illnesses. Holden dodges any questions about his feelings of what happened to him because he does not know how to feel. The psychoanalyst also asks Holden if he is going to start applying himself in school more, but Holden does not fully answer the question.

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He has trouble growing up and accepting life as it is. Holden thinks adults are "phony" which makes him hate the fact of growing up and staying innocent as much as he can while he is old enough to become an adult. He is frustrated with the world and people which makes him act with anger. His innocent childish dream is to be the Catcher in the Rye, to catch the kids before they become phonies like Holden says about adults. The moment he realizes that he cannot keep kids from falling or in other words, from growing up and becoming adults, he, reaches adulthood, and takes a big step towards it at the end of the novel.

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Along with Holden’s many health problems, he is also mentally unstable in that he makes very erratic and irresponsible decisions, particularly when it comes

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Throughout The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has abnormal tendencies. Although he could just be a typical teenager, dealing with difficult situations, after analyzing his behavior it is believed that he is suffering from a mental ailment of some sort. Events from Holden’s past are still currently haunting him and it is evident that he is struggling. He needs the guidance of those around him in order to help himself through these tough time.

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