Seung+Woo+Charlie+Fineman

=Charlie Fineman=

Continuous experiments and researches have discovered curable diseases and treatments for disorders because of the fact that our bodies are not perfect. One of the disorders, Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is an emotional illness that develops as a result of a terribly frightening, life-threatening, or highly unsafe experience. For example, witnessing severe accident, receiving a life threatening medical diagnosis, being the victim of rape are some examples of PTSD. In the movie Reign Over Me, it captures behaviors and characteristics of a character that suffers from Posttraumatic stress disorder.

Charlie Fineman is apparently suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder in the film. Because Charlie has lost all of his family members in the crisis of 9/11, traumatic thought has developed a mental disorder, which led Charlie to abandon himself with the rest of the universe. The mental disorder affects Charlie’s social behaviors, having hard time to socialize and being comfortable around others. Charlie’s action of pulling a gun on cop shows that he is easily irritated and threatens lives of others. Furthermore, he restrains from talking about his family members, or anything related with past memories due to depression, and tracing them as devastating events.

In treating posttraumatic stress disorder, there are both psychological and medial treatments. I would recommend Charlie to take both psychotherapy and medication because his behavior shows that he has difficulty controlling his emotions. It is essential for Charlie to periodically attend in psychotherapy, sharing his emotions and ideas of his crisis event. The education of PTSD usually involves teaching what PTSD is, and what to expect in treatment. This education would help Charlie to dispel any inaccurate ideas that he will have. Main treatments are teaching Charlie how to manage his anger and anxiety, improve his communication skills, and use relaxation techniques to have a full control of his own emotions. For example, some of relaxing techniques are breathing exercises, and positive imagery. These exercises would reduce Charlie’s anxiety and irritation. Medication such as antipsychotic would be useful because it deals with reducing anger and anxiety too.

In conclusion, Charlie’s traumatic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, is portrayed in the film by capturing his anxiety, emotional discomfort, and abstinence in talking about his family members. Though Charlie is currently suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, this can be cured through both psychotherapy and medication. It would be better for Charlie to recover from his disorder if his friends help him surmount difficulties, and create an environment where Charlie feels relaxed.