MovieChat Forums > Filth (2014) Discussion > mental health bipolar manic behavior

mental health bipolar manic behavior

posted 11 years ago by silenthunder_ca
21 replies | jump to latest

In the synopsis on imdb it refers to the protagonist having bipolar. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in the film - even in the scene involving the doctor.

Many people have commented on feeling the main characters behavior seemed over the top, especially the amount of sex going on.

but in real life people experiencing mania and bipolar do many of the types of things that are going on here - and go even further.

I felt like the behavior in the film was pretty realistic with regard to the grandiosity, sexual promiscuity and 'riding the high' that people with mania/bipolar often express.

Even if he wasn't bipolar - its clear hes medicated with lithium (they showed the bottles in the movie) and thats often given for bipolar/mania.

[–] brclpp 11 years ago

as someone who is bipolar (and takes his medication religiously), this movie has continued the trend of annoying me with the way others choose to portray the disorder

as for the lithium, very very few bipolar people are on lithium. lithium is the LAST resort as there are not only much better medications, but lithium requires regular blood tests. lithium was used for a very long time, and is effective, but it is simply outdated, and the fact that lithium was used as treatment in this movie is just further proof that the writers don't actually know anything about the disorder

[–] Barbecue 11 years ago

"as for the lithium, very very few bipolar people are on lithium." Not sure where you're getting this information, as this is simply not true.

Yes, it's true that there are many other medications available now, and the more expensive (and more profitable) proprietary antipsychotics have become widely prescribed, due in no small part to aggressive marketing by the pharmaceutical industry, but while it's no longer the single most popular medication for bipolar disorder, it is still very widely prescribed, and is hardly a "last resort."

In fact, as more is learned about the side effects of newer drugs, lithium is starting to grow in popularity again, mainly because the side effects are very well known and easily monitored.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.002 8725

[–] brclpp 11 years ago

your source refers to england, a country with socialized medicine that will always default to the cheapest option - lithium.

here in the US, lithium is typically used last, and again that has to do with regular blood tests that are required

"Success rates of 70 to 85% were once expected with lithium for the acute phase treatment of mania, however, lithium response rates of only 40 to 50% are now commonplace. (Surgeon General Report for Mental Health)"

[–] cris-a 11 years ago

your source refers to england, a country with socialized medicine that will always default to the cheapest option - lithium.

But the film is set in the UK, therefore the use of lithium is accurate. That's what he was trying to say.

[–] imperialcross 11 years ago

Sorry, he has a far more serious mental condition than Bipolar disorder. He seems more like a person with Borderline personality disorder.

[–] andrewsky23 11 years ago

There are some who argue that the two are not different... and simply should be on the same spectrum.

As for lithium... it's reliable. Which is why a lot of mental health professionals recommend it over some of the newer drugs that haven't been tried and tested.

[–] imperialcross 11 years ago

The only similarity between borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder is affect/mood instability, and even in that there is significant difference. Bipolar patients experience a more stable and persistent shifts in mood in that a depressive phase can last several days to months at a time alternating with a manic or hypomanic phase which also has a predictable and stable time line of several days to months. Bipolar patients are also unable to prevent or change the course of their mood shifts because the problem is organic in nature (it is a chemical imbalance). Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder that does not produce any disturbances or confusion in identity (they have a well integrated and a normal sense of self and identity), and patients with bipolar disorder do not utilize primitive defense mechanisms (splitting, projective identification, denial, omnipotence, etc) nor do they display pathological narcissism. Bipolar disorder is also highly treatable and patients generally don't experience serious symptoms when on medications.

The mood shifts in borderline personality are far more violent, unpredictable, and intense and last minutes to hours at most. The extreme shifts in affect in BPD is due to external circumstances (ie. rejection sensitivity, abandonment fears, etc). BPD individuals experience a plethora of disturbances in identity, sense of self, and exhibit pathological narcissism and a total lack of empathy. BPD is a Cluster B personality disorder that is lies on the narcissism spectrum and in which the patients utilize primitive defenses, show high levels of aggression, suicidal behavior, self-mutilation, antagonistic behavior, hostility, self-loathing, severe worthlessness, helplessness, manipulative behavior, and extreme impulsivity. Traits like extreme jealousy, rage tantrums, and black or white thinking are not ever symptomatic of bipolar disorder, but they are traits of BPD.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] rzaxlash 10 years ago

Most mood stabilizers require blood draws, as they are also used as anti convulsants. I've worked in mental health for 8 years in the US and Lithium is still perscribed commonly, along with Depakote, Tegretol, etc...

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] robin_de_schepper 10 years ago

What about a bipolar narcissist?

[–] greg-goremykin 10 years ago

No one argues that, you just completely made that up. The two disorders have nothing in common, borderline personality disorder results from childhood abandonment and trauma; bipolar disorder has a psychological basis.

[–] andrewsky23 10 years ago

Thanks for your opinion greg... what degree in psychology do you hold?

People do argue that. There's a lot we don't know about psychology, and as we learn more we keep on finding more about connections between disorders that were previously thought to be unrelated.

Borderline personality disorder CAN result from childhood abandonment and trauma, yes... along with a whole host of other factors that can cause it. Things like genetics, chemical abnormalities in the brain, and environmental trauma.

"Bipolar disorder has a psychological basis"
Really? How so? Because last time I checked, every psychological disorder that exists has a psychological basis.

[–] parbon84 9 years ago

What he means is that bipolar is a physical condition, it cannot be cured through therapy. Only treated.

Borderline personality disorder can be cured through regressive therapy, it has been done. Extreme cases may take a lifetime to recover and therefore it could be considered physical, the point is the bipolar person is unable to regulate these moods, it isn't EVER anything to do with trauma, whereas borderline often is.

Borderline also includes significant self-detachment. Read the damn DSM if you're going to spout off like a know-it-all.

They are significantly different.

[–] greg-goremykin 10 years ago

Actually, the constant need for blood-testing makes lithium one of the most expensive treatments for bipolar disorder, so your logic is flawed. As a Canadian who has bipolar disorder and is lucky enough to live somewhere "with socialized medicine" I can assure you doctors provide the best treatment opinion for a patient and cost is not a consideration (it's part of their oath as physicians to do so, as you should probably know).

[–] parbon84 9 years ago

I know people on lithium, it is used for extreme cases after trying newer better medication.

Obviously the other stuff wasn't working for him.

This isn't portrayed unrealistically. I'm also bipolar and this portrayal is actually really well done.

[–] tenlegdragon 10 years ago

The diagnosis itself is irrelevant, I think. What they highlighted, imo, was the stress and impact psychosis can have on a person even when they utilize a myriad of coping mechanisms.

I was right there with him. My dad is a schizo and this is him EXACTLY. EXACTLY. Repeat again, EXACTLY.

He's beyond watching movies, but if he ever saw this he might get a burst of inspiration and kill himself within 5 minutes of finishing it. When you are good and properly fücked up, imo, the diagnosis doesn't matter a fück. It's more efficient, imo, to discuss it in terms of damage points or something. I clearly don't know, but the whisper voices he hears, the flashes of visual hallucinations and his swings between apathy and crushing misplaced guilt had me nodding along.

Lots of people claiming it was overacted but I really hope this wasn't the logic behind the award snobbery, because this is mental illness perfectly. Cried for a fücking hour when it was done. This is the realest portrayal of it yet. Scarily, disturbingly too fücking real, and Christ, I'm eating chocolates and cake and crying and typing and rambling on IMDB.

Clever people will recognize and tolerate nothing but cleverness.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] parbon84 9 years ago

Definitely a manic sort of state, I can relate to it, though I don't get as bad (maybe cause I stay medicated).

[–] parbon84 9 years ago

Manic states come out in many forms.

Those claiming this isn't bipolar obviously haven't experienced someone in a manic state.

This movie reminded me of myself, of memories before I was medicated, it is a good portrayal.

[–] parbon84 9 years ago

The thing people don't understand is borderline personality disorder is different, it is usually caused through trauma or abuse of some kind. Bipolar is in your genes.

I think this guy was actually both, suffering the results of extreme trauma, and experiencing severe manic and depressed states.