Student Doctor Network Forums - View Single Post - Fictional Characters and personality traits/disorders

Member 450104 · 02-07-2012, 01:27 PM

I think Charlie Sheen's character in that sitcom of his was a good portrayal of NPD. De Niro's character in "Raging Bull" was a good example of paranoid personality though that's probably debatable. "Fatal Attraction" is a good example of more severe BPD symptoms though I think BPD patients rarely end up doing something like kill the person, so that was just theatrics. But the boundary violations, the possessiveness and identity disturbance, the moodiness, the gradual decompensation, the severe pain inside that comes out in various ways (such as self-cutting), all were there. I think a better example of BPD is "Single White Female." It especially focuses on identity disturbance. "What About Bob" is a wonderful movie about boundary violations, about a patient with a bunch of issues, mostly OCD, though later as a result of improvement of those symptoms apparently, he also becomes quite dependent on this doctor, so maybe DPD as well. The doctor has some NPD traits himself though not enough for a full diagnosis. Great movie, recommended just for the humor.

02-07-2012, 01:27 PM	#27
Member 450104 New Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 1	I think Charlie Sheen's character in that sitcom of his was a good portrayal of NPD. De Niro's character in "Raging Bull" was a good example of paranoid personality though that's probably debatable. "Fatal Attraction" is a good example of more severe BPD symptoms though I think BPD patients rarely end up doing something like kill the person, so that was just theatrics. But the boundary violations, the possessiveness and identity disturbance, the moodiness, the gradual decompensation, the severe pain inside that comes out in various ways (such as self-cutting), all were there. I think a better example of BPD is "Single White Female." It especially focuses on identity disturbance. "What About Bob" is a wonderful movie about boundary violations, about a patient with a bunch of issues, mostly OCD, though later as a result of improvement of those symptoms apparently, he also becomes quite dependent on this doctor, so maybe DPD as well. The doctor has some NPD traits himself though not enough for a full diagnosis. Great movie, recommended just for the humor.