Abnormal Behavior in "As Good As It Gets"

The Jack Nicholson character is an obvious and visible example of a dysfunctional personality, with characteristics and attitudes that are blatantly obsessive-compulsive. The interesting thing about this movie, however, is how he starts to make changes in his behavior, using both medication and support from other people.

There are a number of behaviors that the character engages in which are indicative of a psychiatric problem. He avoids stepping on cracks in the sidewalk, and when faced with a floor pattern rife with cracks, he is almost

overwhelmed. His eating behavior is extremely rigid and organized. He demands the same waitress, the same type of food, the same table, the same silverware and organization of silverware, and the same basic set-up in all respects. It is not his personal interest in the waitress that impels him to go find Helen Hunt, but his need to reestablish order in his universe of compulsions.

There is nothing in his history from the movie that would help us, except the information that he has already been in treatment for the disease, but has been unable, or unwilling, to consistently involve himself in that treatment. He seems to have chosen to say with the ritualized behavior and the life he has created for himself around those rituals. In terms of earlier history, though, there is little information.

. . .
ng the history of thought about the etiology of OCD, NIMH (1999) noted that it was previously thought to result from attitudes learned in childhood, but is now thought to be more neurobiological in origin, with environmental influences and cognitive processes which support the problem. In a PET scan comparison of the brain of a control individual and an individual with OCD, there is clearly increased activity in the frontal cortex of the brain. In addition, MRI studies of the brain indicated that individuals with OCD had less white matter than control subjects (Jenike et al., 1996). Still, there is more than one kind of treatment of OCD. As mentioned earlier, the two common ones are the biological - focusing on treatment with medication - and the cognitive-behavioral - emphasizing changed thoughts and behaviors. For the most part, however, contemporary treatment involves both modalities. In looking at them separately, however, they offer different perspectives. The biological, or neurobiological, approach, assumes that there are genetic and biological factors which lead to the behaviors that the individual engages in. There may be a triggering mechanism in the early or adult environment, or there may be a gene interaction w
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Approximate Word count = 2066
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)