Introduction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a well-known film based on the 1999 book by Stephen Chbosky. It follows the story of a character named Charlie, who is entering his junior year of high school. Background: As if the transition to high school wasn't stressful enough, the adolescent enters the school year fresh from hospitalization. The culminating symptoms escalate into a panic attack, which lands him in the hospital, and are just one of many psychological symptoms the character exhibits throughout the film. Thesis Statement: His story highlights the difficulties he faces coping with a combination of symptoms and how he manages daily life as an individual living with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Topic Sentence: As mentioned, in the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie exhibits symptoms of PTSD and his symptoms are present in three patterns; biological, psychological and sociocultural. Evidence and Citation: It is evident that the main character suffers from mental health problems as he exhibits three of the four D diagnostic criteria in abnormal psychology; distress, dysfunction and danger (to himself). Comment: The diagnosis such as PTSD encompasses some symptomatic qualities that anxiety and depression exhibit, but other symptoms of PTSD such as intrusive thoughts, negative thoughts and feelings, and arousal/reaction symptoms were sufficiently present in character so viewers can decide that Charlie was "I don't just suffer from anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, the character has experienced traumatic events since his childhood, starting with being sexually assaulted by his aunt as early as his Early in the film, we see that Charlie has a strong bond with her aunt and feels greatly blamed for her death. Her death was the result of a car accident in which she was going to give Charlie a ". special gift” and never returned home This makes the audience think that Charlie is exhibiting PTSD symptoms due to guilt, but we later learn that Charlie has such a “bond” with her aunt because she. had sexually abused him. Evidence and Quote: In addition to the two traumatic events we learn about, Charlie states that the summer before high school, his best friend committed suicide. From what we know, the friend who killed himself was the only friend Charlie had. At this point in the film, we learn that Charlie now experiences feelings of guilt and blame for two deaths in his life, as well as a sexual assault that he went untreated because he did not receive psychological treatment for this. which causes his character to block the memory. Like many psychological disorders, Charlie exhibits all four clusters of PTSD symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a “psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, serious accident, terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.” Topic Sentence: There are four cluster symptoms associated with PTSD, the first being intrusive thoughts. This can be described as “repeated involuntary memories; distressing dreams; or flashbacks of the traumatic event” (Parekh). Charlie exhibits this set of symptoms in the form of flashbacks that are often triggered by eventscausing the same emotions. For example, there are several occasions throughout the film where Charlie experiences flashbacks to times when something is upsetting him; i.e. hitting a sister who gets hit by her boyfriend. Another example is when he and another main character, Sam, are romantically involved, he has very somatic flashbacks where he can remember almost the entire event. Evidence and quote: Because Charlie was so young, faced with the traumatic event caused by his aunt Helene, we can assume that he has now developed an abnormality in the chemical activity associated with his stress response system. The film doesn't specifically mention biological factors, but it is evident that he has increased cortisol production during these flashbacks experienced. Additionally, we see that the biological factor in Charlie's experience is that he is treated with therapy as well as antidepressants. Topic Sentence: Another group of symptoms Charlie exhibits are negative alterations in cognitions and mood. Evidence and Quote: We see throughout the film that this character often experiences small portions of flashbacks and cannot remember the entire event (which would explain why he only realized he had been victim of sexual assault until later in the film). In addition to the lack of memory, he also experiences feelings of guilt and guilt for the trauma and its consequences. These feelings of guilt are mainly associated with the death of his aunt Helen, as well as the suicide of his best friend. Additionally, Charlie expressed negative emotions related to the trauma, such as fear and shame, as well as a feeling of estrangement from others. At the beginning of the film, the main character says that he has no friends and that he is afraid of going to high school because he knows he will be considered "the weird kid who was institutionalized because that his friend committed suicide. Commentary: On a positive note, Charlie develops a wonderful relationship with his teacher/mentor as a result of this lack of friends. These symptoms manifest through psychological and sociocultural patterns. Topic Sentence: We can see this on a psychological level: Behaviorally, Charlie maintains PTSD symptoms through negative reinforcement. Evidence and Citation: He avoids, obtains short-term relief after a negative experience, then engages in more avoidance and more intense negative experiences. Charlie's coping skills with PTSD lead him to a lifestyle filled with distress, dysfunction, and danger to himself. Throughout the film we see him isolate himself, become upset and revert to the feelings he experienced during the flashbacks, he is unable to interact with his peers (at the beginning of the film), and at the end of the film, he presents himself as a danger to himself as we see him pick up a bread knife to self-harm (but someone saves him and helps him get to the hospital). Although his treatment for the cognitive experiences associated with PTSD takes the form of therapy and medication, it is apparent throughout the film that Charlie could benefit from psychotherapy. Subject sentence: In addition to the other two symptom groups, the protagonist expresses alterations in arousal. and responsiveness. Comment: These symptoms present in the form of irritability/aggression, self-destructive/reckless behavior, difficulty concentrating, and trouble sleeping. Evidence and Quote: We see an example of sleep disturbances throughout the film as there are a few shots of Charlie lying awake, revisiting memories of certain events. Additionally, we see examples of irritability/aggression when Charlie steps in to beat up the.