Every once in a while Hollywood comes out with a film that's genuinely thought provoking. One was "A Beautiful Mind" which posited that some mentally disturbed people can cure themselves.
No, wait a minute...that's not exactly right. Forget the word "cure." The film was actually saying that some mental problems don't lend them selves to a cure, and that the best solution for some people was to learn to live with their ailment, sans cure. The guy in the film never stopped seeing people who weren't there. He just taught himself not to acknowledge them, and that allowed him to have friends and hold down a good job.
Like I said, Mel Gibson's character is depressed. Therapy and pills don't work, so he attempts to cure himself by letting a hand puppet speak for him. The puppet can be garrulous and outgoing where Mel can't. The solution works fine. Mel makes a success of his ailing company, and reunites with his family. But there's a problem.....
Everyone's delighted that he's his old self again, but they can't see why he continues with the puppet. He's cured, so why not get rid of the toy? What they don't realize is that he's not cured, and may never be. They're so focused on the idea of a cure that they fail to see the miraculous advance that he made simply by learning to cope. It's an interesting distinction.
I'm no expert about these things, but it could be that even when cures are possible, they're not always desirable. You have to wonder if years of expensive therapy coupled with sedating pills rob some patients of their elan. Are they really better off after that kind of cure? The film posits that small odd behaviors may sometimes be a workable compromise. What appears odd may sometimes be a rational, even heroic attempt to deal with something genuinely scary.
I say "may." I just don't know enough about the subject to know.
14 comments:
Interesting post!
On other note, might "Ted", that foul mouthed Teddy Bear movie hit, have been inspired by "The Beaver"?
currently our society is fixated on get fixed quickly type cures! change your thinking and you can change the world around you! simply give up being depressed and you wont be depressed! no one cares what the reasons are...just dont be depressed! viola!! ive been in therapy for 2 years and even my therapist subscribes to these kooky ideas! im thinking of giving up the therapy, the psychiatrist wants to keep me pilled up and the therapist simply wants me to stop being depressed!! i talk about the reasons for my depression..he gets bored!! even yawns!! no real solutions, just sing a chorus of "dont worry..be happy". it no wonder there are never any real resolutions to americas problems..were so bad at acknowledging we have any!!
Is it just me, or is this an unintentionally awful title for a movie?
"So, what did you see last night?"
"Jodie Foster's Beaver."
"!!"
Stephen: Haw!
Stephen: Haw!
Kurt: I haven't seen Ted. Is that worth seeing?
My personal debate has been how long do you go fighting depression (or whatever mental "disorder" of choice) before you give in by accepting and coping? I'm all for the latter but there's that nagging feeling that I either haven't tried hard enough to overcome it or am simply enabling bad thoughts.
Brian O.
Thought provoking indeed! I've not seen "The Beaver" and purposefully avoided mentioning Jodie Foster until now to avoid embarrassment. Glad it was not a remake of Wally and Theodore, or porn.
I did see "A Beautiful Mind" and it scares me with the implications because I happen to know two young men who suffer from voices and people who are not there. I am in know position to understand what goes on in the mind and wonder if maybe these guys do exist but on another plane perhaps like ghosts? Isn't that what clairvoyants do, see and hear people who aren't there? Thought provoking...
Anon: Interesting! It hadn't occurred to me that there would be a form of the disorder which would render the victim unable to know if he has a really chronic, organic problem or something milder.
Now that I think of it, that's probably the most common form. No doubt it would be hard to diagnose correctly.
It goes to show that we're still in the dark about the correct diagnosis and treatment of depression.
Talking: It seems like people with this problem need to network with other people who have the same problem, and have found partial solutions.
Joel: I wonder what they thought of "Beautiful Mind."
Eddie, I use a technique that really IS a fast and easy way to relieve any kind of stress, anxiety, depression, phobia, painful memory, bad attitude, physical pain, etc. People think it's crazy because the process looks a little strange. It's called FasterEFT and involves physically tapping on a few accupressure points, as you change and restructure your inner world. I absolutely love it, I've shared it with many people to wonderful effect. If you want to try it, there are 500+ free videos on youtube at this channel: http://www.youtube.com/healingmagic or you can read about it at the site http://www.fastereft.com I hope you take a few minutes to try it out and see for yourself how dramatic the shifts can be, even with a few minutes of easy effort.
I really could go on and on but I'll just leave those links and cross my fingers that you check them out. A recent post you did about the strangeness of memories, reminded me to share it with you someday. I have used this with people, where they were stressed and sad about memories from their past, and within two or three rounds of the process, they were having difficulty even remembering what they had been so upset about before. It's really amazing to see. I hope you like it!
Kutwil, in regards to your original comment, I believe you could find the methods demonstrated in the videos to be very effective, resulting in long-lasting peace. Try it and let us know if it's useful. It doesn't just relieve stress...it completely rewrites your internal references for "stress," so the things that used to trigger stressful feelings, soon have no bearing on your mood. It's fun!
Kelly: Thanks a million for the links! They look terrific but I got real busy for a couple of days and haven't been able to look them up yet. I promise to do it tomorrow (Tuesday)!
@Stephen:
At least it's a better title than "Rosie O'Donnell's Beaver."
Kelly: I watched three of the videos and they were pretty interesting. I'm not depressed or addicted myself but I can see where this method might be helpful to people who are.
It sounds a little like the basic advice that Christianity offers: don't hate and don't dwell on past misfortunes (it's a sin against the virtue of hope).
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