Girl, Interrupted

[Hershi]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Has anyone read this book? I read it and because of its ambiquity I still cannot figure out whether she really did have borderline or not. 😕

 

[pingouin]

Keep in mind that the clinical description of "borderline" has morphed significantly over the last 40 years. What we think of as "borderline personality disorder" today is not really what they're referring to in that book (or movie).

 

[michalita]

But doesn't she mention the DSM criteria in the beginning of the book? Self-injury, suicidal ideation, problems with interpersonal relationships and emotional regulation, and risky behavior (granted she was a teenager in the late 1960s so you can give 'er this one -- sex drugs and rock 'n roll) -- isn't that still under the DSM "definition"? An aside, but she also had visual hallucinations.

I may be completely speaking out of ignorance, so please school me if I'm totally wrong.

What I got out of the book was that she didn't fit society's expectations of what she was "supposed to" do (similar to the crisis that Sylvia Plath's character in the Bell Jar had), but it was really the suicide attempt that landed her in the hospital.

Also, Hershi, I think part of what she's trying to say is that she's not sure either.