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Holden Caulfield Mental Illness Essay

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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. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgment, behavior, and the ability to think clearly. PTSD is an acronym for Post-Traumatic Stress …show more content…

Although ASD is not the same as PTSD they both fall into the same category. Both PTSD and ASD are caused by a traumatic and terrifying event. ASD is a mental health problem that can occur in the first month after a traumatic event, mostly triggered by the loss of a loved one. Holden here has had to experience this when he was thirteen years old coping with the loss of his younger brother Allie. He resulted in violence as a way to cope with the emotional loss of his brother. With his fist he punched all the windows of his summer house garage, “I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it… I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie”. We are concerned for Holden considering we have seen early signs of PTSD, which without the proper medication or proper treatment it could lead to extreme levels of anxiety or affect other things. To help start treating this disorder we recommend having him join a PTSD support group, it helps talking to other people who feel the same way as him and could possibly relate to that distraught feeling he feels. Studies show talking to people with PTSD as well has helped them cope better and become more comfortable with the topic. But be aware to not move too quickly and instead try moving at his

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The symptoms of PTSD that Holden has are Re-experiences, avoidance, hyperarousal, and peculiar cognition and mood. In order for Holden to be diagnosed with PTSD he must have one re- experiencing symptom, one avoidance symptom, two arousal symptoms, and two symptoms of a peculiar cognition or mood. Holden has PTSD, he has

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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

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Holden says it "drives [him] crazy if somebody gets killed...and it's somebody else's fault," referring to Mercutio in this instance. However, his statement also applies to Allie, who died from leukemia through no fault of his own. Holden expresses his frustration and disillusionment with the world in this situation. Holden has already informed us that his parents are apathetic to his situation: after he shows his frustration at his brother's death by punching out the windows, instead of addressing his grief sympathetically, Holden's parents attempt to send him to be "psychoanalyzed". Holden should be diagnosed with teen grief, rather be sent to a mental institution, an unhealthy, oppressive environment which would dramatically worsen his condition, because of a personality disorder that he does not have.

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PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event, either experiencing it or witnessing it. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling numb, anger, and irritability, but there are many ways PTSD can impact your everyday life. Sometimes these symptoms don’t surface for months or years after the event or returning from deployment. They may also come and go, which makes it really hard for the soldiers to adjust mentally. This Disorder made it hard for many soldiers to find work and be able to just live a normal daily

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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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Another symbolic manifestation is the effect of Allie’s death on Holden and how it relates to his bipolar disorder. One of the symptoms of a manic bipolar disorder episode is impulsive behavior and reckless decisions. Throughout the novel the mention of Allie’s death by Holden and his following actions and feelings allows the reader to understand the depth of Allie and Holden’s relationship and how Allie’s death affect Holden. For example, Caulfield is seen being reckless and impulsive after Allie’s death by trying to hurt not only himself but the things around him: “I even tried to break all the

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However, there are solutions to help with anxiety. Holden would recover best if he sees a therapist and spends time at home, instead of boarding school. He will be able to have multiple people talk to about his struggles. The therapist can help him learn different ways to deal with anxiety and PTSD. The New York Times explains how talking about personal issues to others will help them cope with the problems they are dealing with.

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The best treatment option for Holdens specific needs is getting him on some anti-depressants. I think getting him medicated is the best thing for him because it could help regulate his emotions and hormones to get him back on track. A long-term assistance treatment that will further improve Holden's well-being is getting him to realize he can't save every kid and making him understand that it's ok for kids to grow up and lose so much of their innocence that it isn't the end of the world to grow up and that he and everyone else will be ok. ¨In the latter scenario, children and adolescents are forced, immediately, to come to terms with their parents’ inability to protect them.¨(HORSLEY 3) Experiencing the death of a loved one as a kid is

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Holden has a very different way of showing his depression in the novel. His depression is present when he tries to keep his innocence and stray away from adult hood all while trying to keep his relationship with his brother Allie. Holden wants to be the “catcher in the rye “. He wants to be that person who catches those kids who are falling off the cliff into adulthood. Holden wants to protect those who are close to him and those that he loves.

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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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Holden shows signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and flashbacks. Holden will act out whenever someone references his childhood

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PTSD is an anxiety disorder that follows the experience of a traumatic event. Of the 2.7 million American veterans that served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, at least 20% were diagnosed with PTSD (Veterans Statistics). PTSD affects everyone differently but the most common symptoms of PTSD include: reliving the event, increased anxiety, and avoiding any reminders of the trauma (Robinson,Segal, Smith). These symptoms negatively affect their life

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Boy gone crazy or depressed? Holden is in a deep depression but, does he stay depressed or go crazy? After Holden’s brother (Allie) dies he gets very depressed. Holden wasn 't even able to attend the funeral.

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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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Holden constantly relives his past, which can indicate his diminishing mental state along with post-traumatic stress disorder. A common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder is reliving the past, or being unable to move on. He repeatedly has flash backs of moments shared with Allie when he is depressed. He wishes to be able to modify scenarios such as when he kept his brother from going out with him and his friend, Bobby. He finds comfort in recreating scenarios in his head, because he believes that it would have helped Allie live.

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