Reign over Me: an Analysis
Iryka Smeke Psych P. 1 11-16-10 Prompt: 1 “Can I leave? ‘ ‘If you want it to be over. ‘ ‘It’s over.
” Charlie in “Reign Over Me” seemed to be a mainstream introduction to an area of the human psyche few will receive personal contact or interaction with in their lifetimes. Tragedy as a concept is a loosely defined term, one that varies greatly depending on exactly who is getting affected, how and why. Yet the writer of the screenplay chose to slab with this nearing-middle-age man, Charlie, as a victim of what universally most can say does warrant personal effect and disaster.
Death of a family. In but a situation he could not control (this theme of him constantly struggling to be the only outside influence that affects his life and decisions one that will be recurring), Charlie is in an instant shattered. His mind and all subsequent areas thrown to the curb and the realm of lost thought and cognition to be his home for the four years that have passed since the fated accident; what we see as 9-11.
Yet through a purely psychological standpoint, the question remains to be asked.
Has Charlie not as a fictional character, but embodiment of PTSD to be shown to many as the first impression of the disorder, been written off as an accurate and understandable portrayal of a reaction one would expect? (PTSD, also known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is an anxiety disorder characterized by insomnia, social withdrawal, haunting memories, and/or hypersensitivity to select situations or objects after a traumatic experience; Charlie has had experience with all. Due to personal bias with this disorder latter sections of this analysis may or may not directly oppose with the message of what Charlie has to bring as sufferer of PTSD, but overall Charlie’s cognitive, physical, and emotional damage due to his hardships are very different from my sense of “pain” through the disorder (in a sense you can say we together encompass both of the extremes of manifestation {A manifestation being something that pertains to a conscious feeling, idea, or impulse. }), yet of course since reactions are different it does not make Sandler’s portrayal of PTSD any less understandable. I.
To a psychology student who comes into this realm of mental disorder ‘tabula rasa’, or “blank slate”, Charlie’s actions and thought processes will be labeled as only understandable to one who went through personal tragedy. It is here that we must try to comprehend and see exactly where he as a subject is coming from, internally. The first scene of Charlie is of a man zipping along in his motor scooter, headphones securely fastened and music his welcomed escape. Oblivious of the calls of one Alan Johnston, college roommate and practicing dentist, it’s not until he directly confronts the man that some attention is given his way.
And even then, we immediately see the first effects of Charlie’s PTSD in play. Repression, in the form of all past memories he had kept prior to 9-11.
(Repression being one of the most basic defense mechanisms in PTSD which simply has one pushing back and away all anxious-arousing thoughts in the conscious. ) By not recognizing right away and keeping a dazed demeanor well into their conversation Charlie displays to Alan and us how it was merely easier to lock himself in the moment and now, while giving no consequence to bother keeping at hand such hurtful memories of the past.
Of his life “before”. It seems childish, which only becomes but another hallmark of Charlie’s character. He chose to regress, as the endless trivia questions to evade serious issues, religious video-gaming and selfish placement of his role in the world serve to be but a few of his traits represented in the movie.
And these are but cognitive problems. Emotionally his psyche is also affected by regression; his direct reaction when feeling “threatened” or “counseled” the main example throughout. Regression is another defense mechanism where an individual, when faced with anxiety-arousing thoughts or situations must like those that trigger repression, retreat to a more child-like stage to deal with the issue. )
When a child does not wish to open up or talk he snaps, he throws a tantrum and lets everyone else in the vicinity simply know that no discussion is going to be opened or closed anytime soon. His meltdown in Alan’s office one could have seen from a mile away, with it the ultimate heralding of displacement for Charlie’s pain, and final straw to let Charlie live his life alone. Displacement is but one of many defense mechanisms that involves shifting aggressive or hurtful emotions away from one’s self to a more “acceptable” or less threatening outlet.
) Yet for most who watched the movie most likely, Charlie didn’t get immediately better right away to their surprise. In honest words taken from an episode of House I once watched, he uttered a line that rings particularly true in this circumstance: “We tell ourselves it helps. To make [them] talk about it. To help…
heal.
When all you’ve done is make [someone] cry. After Charlie’s reveal of his true past he seems to be by all standards progressing. That is until he sets out to kill himself, if not by his own gun then a police officer’s. In all three main areas of his mental make-up Charlie has been both affected and ravaged, his entire being but a husk of what he accomplished four years prior. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is illustrated through Charlie as a life-changer, a psychological diagnosis that alters your entire core of being without proper therapy or treatment.
Diagnosis in this instance means a decision in regards to what is affecting your mind, reached from a psychological evaluation. ) It would be foolish to not see his symptoms as completely within the realm of a moderate-to-severe case of PTSD. II. On the flip side, my own personal diagnosis and effects of PTSD have affected me in a much less obvious and serious way. Nevertheless, I can say that my life has in a way changed because of it, as begrudgingly as I would like to admit.
My diagnosis was not due to death so obviously the two cases can’t compare, yet obviously I can still see me being affected in the manner Charlie chose too most likely. Difference is I was still able to remain cognitively healthy and choose to channel the stress not in a manner that echoes any of the techniques Charlie employed in the movie. (Anything related to a “cognitive” state of mind is referring to the area of the mind and psychology where the act of thinking is taking place. ) It’s stated that in the Psychology (Eighth Edition in Modules) textbook by David G.
Myers that after the events of 9-11, while “understandably stunned and grief-stricken” more than 9 out of 10 New Yorkers did not respond in a serious and “pathological” manner.
Many assume an event that either could affect directly or indirectly could be a much greater force than in actualization. In reality, the human will is a powerful thing. To be barely affected or not even display signs of PTSD on Charlie’s level is how I involved myself with the disorder, even though many people and even my psychologist saw it highly uncommon and unexpected that I am going through my symptoms as lightly as I am.
The key to coming out and being treated of PTSD is what one would say counseling most likely, however personally I see what’s most important is keeping your emotional, physical, and cognitive centers as stable as could be functioned. If you but lose one tier of your mind the rest is as good as lost, and in a domino effect your mental state will be compromised. The pain comes in different forms and manifestations, all which could just as easily become real for you as it did Charlie if your hold on reality is shattered.
III.
Now Charlie brings forth to the table a hopeless light of how exactly the human mind could end up. As mentioned before I could see myself becoming exactly what Charlie has mentally transformed into. Everyone has to come to terms with the fact they could very well enter a state of disorder as Charlie did, and find the steps necessary to heal. (A disorder being simply a disturbance, or more accurately problem with mental health or function.
) A lost mind adrift the trauma that he chose to let drag him down and prove an obstacle to moving on.
It’s all too easy for anyone to shut down and choose to live out life regressed or repressed, displaced or projected. (To project, as in the act of projection, also is a defense mechanism where people disguise or evade their own threatening impulses or feelings by attributing them to others. ) It only takes devoting and convincing yourself most of the time subconsciously even that this is necessary for life to be seen. It’s at this point you’ve succumbed to the madness so to speak, and are someone else than who you pictured what could have been days before.
The only answer to what could have been done about this is come to terms with it all.
Often this step must be taken alongside professional help such as a psychologist or counselor to lead the way, with follow-up of course once one has reached that pivotal point in their therapy. It wouldn’t do for anyone to finally come to terms of the underlying problem, but only crumble under the weight and attempt to kill yourself with the guilty and newfound depression as Charlie did. Depression as defined as a condition of great emotional dejection and withdrawal that is longer than any warranted reason. ) To seek help to come to that point of reclaiming your life is key, as long as you simply don’t stop there. In “Reign on Me”, Charlie is in desperate need of exactly what the movie is titled.
Suffering from PTSD manifested in numerous defense mechanisms the man struggles to live what could barely be considered a life, all due to just the end of his family.
Sympathy is what one could at first try to give, yet recoil back in shock to the untrained mind when the subject merely falls back into their shell of illusions. While I chose, not as a matter of choice but more advantage of the situation to keep all aspects of my mind somewhat grounded, this doesn’t excuse the fact that I could have, and in theory still could, transform into my very own “Charlie”. As could anyone, in a situation dire enough. Yet it’s the ability to turn it all around, and as Charlie did in the end of the movie move on, both literally and figuratively.
To free himself, the man had to break free of all ties to the past.
In a new apartment, with possibly a new woman within time, Charlie manages to grow in what is just a start for his healing journey. The mind often plays our conscious selves for a lark, and holds our very mentality hostage to the uncontrollable twists and turns that subconsciously we could subject ourselves too. It takes strength of mind, the power within you to reach down inside, and seek out that soul to help reign over yourself, and bring you back to the surface of where you came.
