Holden Caulfield is a sixteen year old boy that suffers from many different mental disorders. These disorders include post traumatic stress disorder which lead to depression and bipolar disorder. From the death of his younger brother, Allie, to his life decisions and choices it shows his state of mind. Post traumatic stress disorder is a disorder characterized by failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying thing. After Holden’s brothers death he, “slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist” (Salinger 44). He went into the garage to isolate himself from everyone else and broke the windows out of anger. His post traumatic stress disorder kept getting worse because he continually …show more content…
This applies to Holden because if he faces the things that he has been keeping inside he would go past it and grow. Bipolar disorder is a disorder associated with episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive loads to manic highs. Manic episodes are a part of the bipolar disorder which can include racing thoughts, talking fast, jumping from one idea to another, and the inability to concentrate well. When Holden is talking to Sally he went on and on about all that he hated jumping from one thing to another, “I hate living in New York and all. Taxicabs, and Madison Avenue buses, with the drivers and all always yelling at you to get out at the rear door and being introduced to phony guys that call the Lunts angels, and going up and down in elevators when you just want to go outside, and guys fitting your pants all the time at Brooks, and people anyways” (Salinger 145).Holden can’t stay on the same topic and his train of thought isn’t focused in the least. When he says this, it exhibits the symptoms of the disorder and more specifically, a manic episode. Effective treatment for bipolar disorder includes mood stabilizing medication combined with therapies such as Cognitive