Holden's Mental Health In 'Catcher In The Rye'

Kierlyn Flynn
English ⅚
March 2, 2023 A mentally healthy individual has the characteristics of emotional intelligence and spiritual consciousness. Holden didn’t have those characteristics. Mental health issues people went through in the past differ from how it is today in the present. Mental health was treated poorly especially in younger adults who experienced it the most. In the novel, Catcher In the Rye, Holden went through a significant amount of psychological issues which had a huge toll on his mental well-being such as, emotional disorders, behavioral disorders, as well as the medications that were prescribed for that issue, and risk taking behaviors. The novel was based in the 50s which was when treatment for mental health and the understanding

Emotional disorders are very common in younger adults. Some emotional disorders are anxiety, depression, personality disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, etc. Anxiety and depressive disorders can affect school attendance and schoolwork in younger individuals. Holden was known to have lots of anxiety throughout the novel. He showed psychical and mental symptoms like sweating, difficulty finding his peace of mind, and leaving the setting when he would have little panic attacks. In the novel Holden states “Then all the sudden, something spooky started happening. Every Time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the goddamn curb, I had this feeling that I’d never get to the other side of the street. I thought I’d just go down, down, down, and nobody would ever see me again. Boy, did it scare me. You can’t imagine. I started sweating like a bastard.” (Salinger 106). The novel made it clear that Holden was having a panic attack when he was about

Risk taking behaviors are behaviors that individuals do that have the potential to be harmful or dangerous. For example, smoking, drinking, making sexual references, or insulting other people. Holden would do all of these things. Holden lusts over women almost every chance he gets. In the past, it was known to be somewhat of a “normal” thing to do. It is known that in the history of sexual harassment, it was considered to be a “mans property” rather than a crime agasint women so it was never justified, that is why Holden would do these things back in his time period because it was common and normal for them. There was disregard for the victims trauma and feelings and nothing was ever a harsh punishment for the guilty. As for smoking and drinking, it is commonly used as a coping mechanism for people going through what Holden goes through. Back in the past, there was no scientific research on the use of tobacco and how horrible it is for your mental and psychical health. In fact, commercials would promote smoking as they thought it was benefiting your health, not making it worse. Holden would get extremely intoxicated and use nicotine throughout the novel. This explains that Holden went through a very hard time with his mental issues so he would use these things to cope. No one would be looking out for him because nobody knew the effects and danger of these substances, which explains his very