A Negative View Of Mental Illness - 1781 Words

When the phrase â€Å"mental illness† is spoken, the immediate thought that pops into the individual’s mind is the extremes such as Schizophrenia, or Bipolar Disorder. However, the majority of mental disorders fall into the spectrum of quite common disorders such as Depression, Anxiety, or Obsessive Compulsion Disorder (OCD). Why should the first thing that people think of be negative? What makes people think this way? Society has a negative view of mental illness because of media portrayal, the attitudes of individuals, and skepticism, and the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, makes a connection to these views of the world. In the novel The Catcher in the Rye, written by J.D. Salinger, the main character Holden Caulfield is clearly disturbed†¦show more content†¦A common symptom of depression is lack of concentration which Holden mentions multiple times throughout the novel (NAMI). â€Å"The trouble was, I couldn’t concentrate too hot - sometimes itâ⠂¬â„¢s hard to concentrate† (169). Another common symptom could be change in movement, referring to pacing, awkward movements, or in Holden’s case, running for no apparent reason. â€Å"I don’t even know what I was running for- I guess I just felt like it† (3). A more general view of Holden’s personality reveals that he is extremely pessimistic about life, which is a general checkbox under â€Å"depression†. Even though depression may seem likely for young Holden, there may be a more suitable option: PTSD. Symptoms of this mental disorder may include dissociation, which is a disconnection from reality, and avoidance, which could include physically or mentally avoiding the subject (NAMI). An example of dissociation from Holden comes from, once again, feeling like he’s going to disappear into the street, â€Å"Then all of a sudden, something very spooky started happening. Every time I came to the end of a block and stepped off the godd am 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’d ever see me again† (204). Holden is definitely separated from reality as he is in his own world of illusions and fantasies. An example from avoidance, other than