What's+bothering+Holden?

· Individuals who have lived an extremely stressful situation tend to develop PTSD. · The use of cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana can be associated with PTSD but not all people develop this. · If PTSD goes untreated things in the victims life can have very bad consequences on their families and the relationships in their lives.
 * Posttraumatic Stress Disorder**

//This connects to Holden because he lived through an extremely stressful situation when he was 13 years old. Holden's brother Allie died of Leukemia in 1946. I truly believe that Holden hasn't recovered from his little brothers death. He constantly asks for alcohol when he goes out. This is considered a sign of PTSD. Holden's untreated PTSD affects the relationships around him and especially the relationship with his parents.//

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media type="youtube" key="LM_nw5N3n-I?fs=1" height="385" width="480" This is a video on a man who suffered with PTSD. The video shows the types of things in his life that caused the PTSD like his alcoholic father and serving in a war. Not only does this video show the causes but also it shows how he learns to cope with the disease. (Spellegini)

**Depression** · Having trouble sleeping, either too much or none at all. · The thought of death or suicide · Depressed most of the day · A loss of interest in activities

//This condition is connected to Holden because he can be connected to all these bullet points. His first night in New York City he didn't sleep at all he kept going and going the thought of sleep or being tired never really crossed his mind. When Holden was at Pencey he constantly thought about suicide, whether it was that he couldn't stand the people at Pencey or that he just hated being there all together. These thoughts made him depressed. If Holden hates school constantly and doesn't try obviously it isn't going to turn out well. His depression has ruined his years in high school because he doesn't seem to want to try hint to why he was failing most of his classes. Holden's mind is somewhere else and isn't focusing on the things that should be important most to him.// []

media type="youtube" key="IeZCmqePLzM?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

This video explains that when someone has depression it causes changes in the structure of the brain.

media type="youtube" key="qVEueGutbSs?fs=1" height="385" width="480" This video talks about the steps to take after finding out that the patient has depression. Some of the steps he talks about are anti-depressants and seeing a therapist. (Spellegrini)

**Five Stages of Grief and Loss** · Denial o This reaction is normal to bad news like death and illness. Denial deny the reality of the situation, and hide behind the facts its like a defensive strategy. · Anger o This feeling is after denial, this is the first time they actually get the emotions out and face them. The anger can be aimed toward family, friends and even complete strangers. · Bargaining o This feeling is a need for help and being vulnerable its how the victim can try to regain some control in their lives. · Depression o In a state of hopelessness, frustration and morning the loss of the person. Feeling very numb and even as far as suicidal. · Acceptance o This step isn’t reached by a lot of people, it’s finding the comfort and healing of the loss. Keep the good memories close.

//When I think of Holden connecting to the five stages of grief and loss I think of when he had the break down in the garage. When he was in the garage after Allie died he broke the window in the garage and this can be both denial and anger toward his brothers death. I don't think Holden has made it through these five stages yet. I don't even think he has made it past the second stage that is anger. Throughout the book he hasn't opened up to much about his brother other then his baseball mitt so until he opens up and talks about the death he will never complete these stages.// []



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· Death affects everyone in the family especially children. · Children find it hard to recall memories of a dead loved one until they are reminded of them. · A good source of comfort is a picture, or item of theirs. · There are many warning signs that a child displays that lets people know they are not coping like they should be. o Depression o Fear of being alone, loss of sleep and no apetitte. o Constantly talk about joining the dead person. o Removing themselves from their friends o Refusing to attend school, showing no interest in school. · If these signs persist professional help should be needed.
 * The Impact of Death on Family**

//This connects to Holden because he found comfort in describing his brothers baseball mitt when he wrote Stradlater's homework. The way he got so detailed into the project really made Holden feel close to his brother again which is always a good thing. Holden displays many warning signs of how a death in a family affects the children. The way Holden always speaks about suicide it could be his way of saying he wants to be with his brother again. The reason that Holden always makes fun of everyone around him or judges a book by it's cover before he meets them could be a sign and how he removes himself from the situation. With Holden making fun of everyone it allows him not to get close to anyone and really make friends because maybe he could be scared of losing someone else. Once again a continuous sign we've seen throughout these conditions is showing no interest in school which is normal for a teenager, but it's not normal to be kicked out of three schools his brothers death has definitely left and impact on him.// [] (Spellegrini)



Diagnosis: Suicidal/Depression. Minor bipolar issues

Holden feels guilt and sadness from his brothers death. This starts the depression stages. • Normal Grief: Grief is a natural reaction to loss. Triggered by a specific event, it involves sadness, lethargy, and in serious cases, for example, grief after the death of a loved one, often despair, anger, insomnia, poor appetite, or weight gain, obsessive thoughts about the departed one, and possibly guilt about problems in your relationship with the person. But eventually, you recover. After losing a job you wanted, it may take a week or two to bounce back. After a lay-off, it may take a few months. After the death of a loved one, it may take a year. But if you never become your old self again, you may have clinical depression and should consult a doctor.

• Mild Depression (Dysthymia). This causes loss of self-esteem and low-level symptoms of major depression (see below). You become a “sad sack” and feel like a loser. Quite often, dysthymia (dis-THIME-ee-uh) has no specific trigger, no loss or life change. But just as you can catch a cold seemingly out of nowhere, you can also slip into dysthymia for no apparent reason http://diagnosis.com/category/diseases-conditions/depressio

Not only is Holden depressed, he can also be diagnosed as suicidally depressed which would be titled as Major Depression. • Major Depression. This is what people mean when they call someone “seriously depressed.” Major depression often causes despair and hopelessness so profound that you lose interest in life, become incapable of feeling pleasure and sexual arousal, and may be unable to get out of bed or eat for days at a time. But this illness may also cause other symptoms not popularly associated with depression: anxiety, irritability, agitation, chronic indecisiveness, weigh loss or gain, or sleep disturbances (insomnia or sleeping all the time). In other words, you can suffer major depression and not feel very blue. Quite often, major depression strikes without any triggering loss. Beyond the misery it causes, the big risk with major depression is suicide. Within five years of suffering major depression, up to 25 percent of those with major depression try to kill themselves. http://diagnosis.com/category/diseases-conditions/depressio

Link on depression help Video: http://www.morethansad.org/materialstd.html

• Severely stressful events. For those predisposed to depression by heredity or upbringing, severe stress may trigger it, for example, job loos or death of a loved one. Depression may not develop immediately, but may take six months to a year. • Children and Teens. It can be hard to spot depression in young people for two reasons: Even when not depressed, they often experience frequent, roller-coaster mood swings. In addition, depression in kids and teens may not cause classic symptoms of depression. Instead, you might notice irritability, angry outbursts, and problems in school. Tragically, suicide is the third leading cause of death among Americans to age 24, taking more than 5,000 lives each year. http://diagnosis.com/category/diseases-conditions/depressio

Holden, on top of being depressed, can also be thought of as Bipolar.

Bipolar: He states one thing, then says it's a lie. He is telling the truth then goes on to say, to himself, that he is crazy.


 * Holden's Madness:**

Holden Caufield began some of his madness days when his brother died. Although he sometimes disliked his brother because he was rich and living in Hollywood, he was still one of the closest people to him. Holden also loved his little sister Pheobe. When his brother died, Holden expressed is sorrow by breaking stuff around the house, specifically, the windows in the garage and later on tried to break the station wagon. Holden was out of control and later admits it himself. The reason he was not able to break the station wagon was because his hand was already broken. This is a direct quote used my Holden himself during this time:

//**"I was only thirteen, and they were going to have ... my psychoanalyzed and all, because I broke all the windows in the garage. I don't blame them. I really don't. I slept in the garage the night he died, and I broke all the goddam windows with my fist, just for the hell of it. I even tried to break all the windows on the station wagon we had that summer, but my hand was already broken and everything by that time, and I couldn't do it. It was a very stupid thing to do, I'll admit, but I hardly didn't even know I was doing it, and you didn't know Allie." (5.7)**//

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There were other ways that Holden expressed his madness around that time, and this one was completely relevant to the story. Holden was scared to mature. He did not want anything to do with adult-hood. He was scared to grow up, even though his gray hairs came out, and at times he did act like he was older to get a few drink. Unfortunately, he was never able to get any drinks because people already knew his age. Holden kept on imagining himself in a field of rye, where there are a lot of little kids playing around. At the end of the rye was a cliff that in his mind lead to adult-hood. Holden was so scared to move on-to adult hood that he waited at the edge of the cliff and made it his personal duty to catch any of those kids, if they were ever going to move towards that cliff. Here's another personal quote explaining this:


 * // "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around-nobody big, I mean except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. I mean if they're running and they don't look we're they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I have to do all day. I'd just be the Catcher in the Rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy "//**

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After he was moved into a sanitarium, Holden was acting so crazy, as he admits it himself, that he started walking around the place, down the halls, and up and down the stairs, reenacting movies and such. He was pretending to be wounded in the gut by a bullet, and that he had a machine gun strapped to his side and he was just praying and spraying. Here's another quote explaining it thoroughly:


 * //" Holden exhibits the madness described before at often times throughout the book and in the end it ends up sending him to a sanitarium. He knows he has become mad and he even tells himself this many times in the book; but he never really believes it. One time in the book when he displays this madness is, But I'm crazy I swear to God I am. About halfway to the bathroom, I started pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old Maurice had plugged me. Now I was on the way to the bathroom to get a good shot of bourbon. I pictured myself with my automatic in my pocket, and staggering a little bit. I'd walk down a couple of floors-holding on to my guts, blood leaking all over the place. As soon as old Maurice opened the doors he'd start screaming at me. But I'd plug him anyway ."//**

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