PSYC335 UMGC W8 Personality Disorder Discussion
PSYC335 UMGC W8 Personality Disorder Discussion essay assignment
PSYC335 UMGC W8 Personality Disorder Discussion essay assignment
In giving an example of a character with a possible personality disorder, I look to the source I turn to for most of my guidance on life – The Golden Girls. All of the girls are so delightfully variable in their personality traits, but perhaps the easiest to pin down is the character of Blanche Devereaux. Blanche is the picture of a dramatic personality, prone to excess, and a chronic attention-seeker. Her appearance is almost always her weapon of choice when it comes to hunting her favorite prey – men. She is primarily known among her friends as being the seductive one. In illustration of her need to be center stage, when her roommate, Dorothy, started singing at her favorite bar – The Rusty Anchor – she responded by donning a skimpy outfit, grabbing a microphone, and hopping on a fellow’s nearby lap. When her plan went awry, she dramatically flung herself from the room in a dash and hid in the women’s restroom until Dorothy came and coaxed her out. Finally, during the course of the show, several characters remark how she had these traits even when she was growing up.
Get solution to your nursing paper : PSYC335 UMGC W8 Personality Disorder Discussion
She appears to be the picture of Histrionic Personality Disorder.
When it comes to the origin of Blanche’s personality, there is evidence in the show for a lot of it coming down to a combination of her biology in addition to her upbringing. In the first case, pretty much her entire family developed some neurotic habits as well, possibly pointing to a genetic cause. In addition, her upbringing was certainly unique. Her father – whom she affectionately referred to as Big Daddy – was strict and harsh, yet simultaneously melted when his daughter batted her eyelashes at him and said, “Please!” I think that sort of reinforced, learned behavior can stay with a person over time, build in small blocks, and get reinforced over and over.
As much pleasure as I take in describing the character of Blanche, however, the category of histrionic personality disorder – even without the problematic history of the term – positively drips with sexism all by itself. While many of the attributes could also apply to men (a decent example of which may exist in Barney from How I Met Your Mother, although his own therapist diagnosed him otherwise), many of the terms and traits seem coded for the way women are stereotypically expected to express their sexuality. This category feels like it is in dire need of revision.
Thank all of you for reading and interacting, not just for this post, but from all semester. I appreciated your insights!
– Brock Graver