Art Mimics Life Mimics Jesus's Life

so in my travels this weekend to celebrate mother's day w/ my mum and her entourage of female relatives, i watched/listened to several DVD's in my car as i drove. and it just so happened that several of them had themes of mental illness. one was "dream team," recommended to me by my brilliant second cousin. it was funny and sweet, interesting, and surprisingly poignant. it was set in a mental institution in the 1980's and hinted at turning trends, using psychotherapy without the aid of medications. it starred, among others, michael keaton who was a violent antisocial (think jack nickolson in "one flew over the cuckoo's nest" without the dire consequences), christopher lloyd with OCD and delusions of grandeur (he had a delusion of being a competent doctor...that one was a little too close for comfort for me), and peter boyle who drank and swore and walked around naked, but also believed he was the son of God. the other movie that i found interesting in its observations on mental health was "year of the dog" with molly shannon and john c. reilly. she was a socially awkward, but comparatively normal woman who after the death of her dog, lost all reason, her job, and her family in the pursuit of animal welfare.

it's interesting how fascinated we as a society are by psychiatric issues. i'm thinking of movies like "silence of the lambs," "taxi driver," "summer of sam," "fatal attraction," "a beautiful mind," "girl interrupted," "sybil" and "mrs. doubtfire." but issues of depression, mania, suicidality, psychosis, and gender identity are seen in many other films and TV shows. neurosis is funny, psychosis is scary, and characters with personality disorders reflect our friends and families. that's just good entertainment.

a common delusion i've seen a lot here is related to religious ideas. it was funny to see that peter boyle character, because just last week there was a patient here that considered himself "the only living Son of God." i see a lot of persecutory thoughts of devils and satan, sometimes commanding actions, sometimes criticizing. or thoughts of speaking directly to, being immediately directed by, or actually personifying God or Jesus. it's fascinating. we had an ethical debate about whether or not to commit a patient who was being told to move across the country by God. all seemed well when you met him, but the more you listened to the reasoning behind his actions, and the consequence (homelessness) the more he seemed unstable. but i have to say, it crossed my mind more than once- what about faith? you KNOW we would have locked up joan of arc ( i think they tried) if she'd presented today. and what about allowing people self-determination? it's a fine line between keeping people safe and maintaining too stringent a parameter on what is "normal."

anyway.

i'm finding psych interesting. i miss using my stethescope and actually touching patients to evaluate their wellness. i couldn't just dialogue all day like this, i need more contact and procedures. but this has been really good so far. and no matter what i end up going into- i'll see psych issues. regular ol' medical patients will present with depression, anxiety, insomnia, substance abuse, sexual issues, and others. the things i'm learning now will be good to have.