JiYoon+Charlie+Fineman

=CHARLIE FINEMAN (REIGN OVER ME)  =

 **//Your first job is to create a set of criteria to establish a working definition of what might be considered a "behavior disorder". In regards to the character Charlie Fineman, how would you classify his behavior? What sort of treatment should he be getting? What could you be doing for Charlie if you were his friend? //** 

I think I’ll have to thank members of the National Honors Society, picking me as a member of NHS for 2008 and 2009. You might be wondering what I’m talking about. Few months ago, I have started participating in an activity in NHS, which was tutoring any underclassmen who had problems with specific subjects. I was looking for a student who needed help in mathematics and while going down the list I stopped at a name and it was a random pick; his name was Callum Pedroni. He was a fifth grader attending here in KIS who needed special help in solving word problems and basic multiplication/ division problems. I open up my email account and started writing an email to his mother to ask her when Callum is available for tutor lessons. I see a new mail popping up and as I read, I read over three times of the lines, “My son has ADD, so it might be hard for him to concentrate and focus on one thing. I think that is also why my son is having a hard time improving in math. It might be hard but he is never a bad boy. He knows how to behave himself so you’ll be fine with him.” Not only these sentences touched me, it was making me want to meet Callum earlier to learn more about him. I was also wondering how his mother would feel like everyday looking at her son who’s suffering with ADD every moment of his life. This is never something we can make fun of and we have definitely no rights to do that. As I got to know Callum, I knew how severe and hard behavior disorder could be. I’ve researched that anyone with ADD is also suffering from mental health problems with a focus on behaviors that both identify emotional problems, create interpersonal, and social problems in the course of their development and life.

While watching "Reign over me" from youtube, I’ve never been so touched before. Charlie Fineman shuts himself from the world he lives in because of one catastrophic event that was sorrowful to watch and believe. Losing a big chunk of his life- his wife, three daughters during 9/11 was just unbelievable and depressing. After this traumatic event, Charlie starts to see everything, everyone as his wife and his daughters and refuses to talk and to share stories about his family. But it was very interesting to see Charlie telling about the tragic day he remembers and how it’s really bothering him and how it has changed him right now. Charlie Fineman has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a type of anxiety disorder that's triggered by an extremely traumatic event. After some research, I've realized that PTSD is caused when there is a death or a serious illness of a loved one, car accidents and plane crashes, or other violent crimes. This is exactly the case of Charlie and what is happening to him. He has got an immense shock that has leaded him to post-traumatic stress disorder. Some people might find it difficult to see that Charlie was normal before a catastrophic incident that occurred to him, but to me it seems very familiar. Sometimes everyone has disastrous events happening in their life, they never forget it and it brings some small discomforts in a way. To be specific, I have a friend who had a car accident when she was in elementary. After her accident she can never fall asleep in the dark, all the lights need to be on before she starts dreaming. It might be slightly different in what I’m contrasting but I can understand how Charlie is reacting to the world and how he has PTSD.

To treat post-traumatic stress disorder, there are ways such as medications and most importantly, psychotherapy. Charlie should be getting maybe antidepressants which helps symptoms of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and could even help him improve his concentration. But I would prefer Charlie Fineman to take psychotherapy because there are different kinds of therapies: cognitive therapy, cognitive behavior therapy, and exposure therapy. These therapies should help Charlie learn how to control his angers, fears, and stress about the catastrophic event. If so, he would be able to control his emotions and feelings with positive attitudes. Just when he tells his stories to the counselors, if he is willing to share his hard times while receiving therapies, he should be able to learn ways to manage living without being bothered by traumatic events that has happened to him. If I were Charlie’s friend, I would have helped Charlie to at least go and talk with the doctors. Of course I know I would fail doing that a several times but I would never give up since PTSD is something we can cure and heal. We should never judge someone weirdly just because of their appearance or their behaviors because there is always a tearful story behind their wounds.