Psychological analysis of the protagonist of Antwone Fisher

Often cinema is close to clinical psychology and mental health to show us different aspects on both issues. This is the case of the movie Antwone Fisher. This film, based on real events, explains the life of An American sailor, who reacts violently to offensive comments and teasing their classmates. The frequent fights in which he is involved, entails a series of consequences, being forced to visit, with many reluctance, a navy psychiatrist, who advises him and gives him the opportunity to address his problems to control his gonna.

Content

• The protagonist disorder
• The symptoms
• The origin of suffering
• Overcome adversities

The protagonist disorder

As in all psychological problems, The violent behaviors shown by the protagonist of the film are only the visible part of an iceberg. A professional psychotherapist will work, together with your client, with the symptoms or discomforts that the person has, as with the causes of that problem (the hidden part of the iceberg).

Violent behaviors can be part of different problems. A sudden change in mood is not the same, which manifests itself in frequent rabies bursts and that lead to losing quality in the person's friendship, family or couple relationships, that violent reactions associated with a traumatic moment.

A trauma is an experience that exceeds the person's abilities to face the situation, which puts their well -being or survival in check, to the point that they lead to revive that critical moment as if it had not finished.

The symptoms

The person shows symptoms that indicate that this experience is recurring for her, such as nightmares or distressing and lived memories as intrusive in the mind, in addition to psychological and/or physical discomfort before trauma moments. There may also be disconnection reactions, where the person, in the most extreme cases, disconnects from reality and revives the traumatic event.

The discomfort that these people live, leads them to avoid moments or memories similar to what has lived, however insurance these situations are or there is no danger (a social event, a desired sexual encounter, etc.). The human mind creates patterns and reacts to the present based on the experiences of the past. If that past has not been able to elaborate or put an end point, the person will live with anguish, fear and notable discomfort moments that are associated with trauma.

It is not necessary to know exactly the symptoms of trauma, that responsibility is from the mental health professional. Anyway, it is important to know certain notions, in order to know when a loved one or ourselves are suffering great discomfort and it would be convenient.

The origin of suffering

The movie Antwone Fisher reveals what a person can suffer at different times of his life.

It is also interesting to see the difficulty that we can find mental health professionals in helping a man, due to his personal history, to the stigma that psychology and psychiatry have (since going to a specialist can mean being crazy, although less and less), and to gender stereotypes of patriarchal masculinity.

The latter implies a series of matrices (according to Luis Bonino, psychotherapist and expert in male problems), which lead men to resist and be self -sufficient. This entails that masculinity is questioned if help is received, feeling threat sensation. In addition, it is very difficult to relate to equal to the same, the others are above or below one. Also There is an opposition to the emotional world traditionally associated with the feminine (for example show sadness when crying, fear, tenderness or any emotion that can be called vulnerability).

Thus, the male emotional repertoire can be reduced by these gender mandates, to the point of showing only joy and anger. Even when a man does not behave how he should behave for being a man, he can feel ashamed. Obviously, all men are not the same, although we do have different relationships with these mandates of patriarchal masculinity.

Overcome adversities

However, the film, at the same time, It is an example of the ability we have to overcome adversities, provided that people have the necessary conditions to be able to rework what has lived and, consequently, show our resilience or ability to get strengthened from complicated moments.

To do this, it is essential that we can self -regulate, through breathing or any activity that offers us tranquility and security (for example a hug of our own), in addition to being able to focus on the present if unpleasant emotions or negative memories surpassed us.

Going to someone of trusted, especially a mental health professional who empathizes with us, is also of great help, although social relationships (couple, friendships, family) are equal or more important. Being able to tell traumatic situations in an environment of trust and understanding, encourages much of the reworking of traumatic moments.

Once these two steps (self -regulation and significant relationships) can reflect on what happened from a more objective vision.

Overcoming trauma is hard, you can lead to work both traumatic experience and other aspects related to the problem, such as identity, self -safety, etc. That is why it is impossible to get out of these problems. With the proper professional help, in addition to loved people who offer support and empathy, it is possible to leave behind the past that limited us and that supposed a very high load for our mental and even physical and social well -being.