Sybil

“In calming Peggy, she was calming her own heart.”

            I had got a mix of feelings by watching the movie, Sybil; it is so intense that I doubt someone could finish it without having a word or two to say.

            Firstly, as mentioned in DSM 5, there are some criterion for Dissociative Identity Disorder to be diagnosed including the presence of two or more distinct personality states, recurrent episodes of amnesia, symptoms causing significantly impairment in daily life, disturbance is not part of cultural practice, and symptoms are not attributed to physiological effect of substance or medical use (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In the movie, Sybil had possessed more than two distinct personality states; Peggy, Vicky, Sybil, Marcia, and Vanessa are the examples of those rather prevalent ones. Sybil had also suffered from remembering parts of her daily life like how she ended up of seeing Dr. Wilbur, or the experiencing of blackouts, and due to all these issues, she could not live normally, but being distracted seriously. I was simply amazed by how one could switch from one identity to another so quickly and easily, and the different identities did not necessary aware of the existence of each other.

Then it was so much saddening to know that Sybil was actually abused and traumatized by her schizophrenic mother. Sybil was so helpless as a child to understand that the acts of her mother was not really love towards her, let alone to inform somebody about the abuse. And, because of these traumatizing experience, her defense mechanism had shaped out many different identities, or led to the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder in order to protect her, with the painful experience to be placed into her deepest unconscious mind. However, thanks to the psychoanalytic approach and hypnosis used by Dr. Wilbur, Sybil was set free, though the accuracy of Dr. Wilbur doing it in the movie was highly arguable. Understanding that under hypnosis, patient gets to enter a deep relaxation with heightened state of awareness to explore the underlying unconsciousness, but Sybil was appeared to be rather easily to be hypnotized within seconds, or even simply accepting to be hypnotized in the first place. Even though Sybil did experience some serious struggle and pain while exploring her deeply rooted traumatizing experience, but she still rather easily to follow all the instructions and inductions given by Dr. Wilbur during hypnosis. Speaking of Dr. Wilbur, she had arguably appeared to be crossing the boundary between a professional psychologist and client; she was more of a motherly figure to Sybil, considering the food offer, tons of physical contact, as well as the private investigation to Sybil’s house. Acknowledging that everything she did might just purely intend to help Sybil to recover, but at the same time, these boundary-crossings could actually cause client to form a sort of dependence and transference on therapist, or even unconditionally follow the instructions given by the therapist, which might however manipulate the accuracy of the traumatic experience. Nevertheless, I personally think that Dr. Wilbur was indeed being an unethical therapist, but her acts were debatably acceptable, considering she just wanted to help Sybil to walk out from her deepest pain. However, I think it is not really suggestible for therapists to cross the ethical boundary, but when it comes to extreme case, careful and situational boundary-crossing may be necessary if it can help and comfort the client.

Although some parts of Sybil’s reactions and responses seemed to be rather exaggerated, but I think most of them were quite accurately matching the criterion mentioned in DSM 5 because those identities were appeared to serve a respective function basing on her traumatic childhood than being faked out as nonsenses. For instance, Marcia who was obsessed with suicidal thoughts due to all the traumatizing experience Sybil had, Peggy who had a bad temper tantrums with the fears to piano, purple colour and mother-like figure because of Sybil’s anger towards to her mother’s abuse, and also Vicky who was well-mannered and confident, representing the capability of Sybil being able to do things well.

Just one thing that I was very angry at, why did not someone out there to actually realize the paranoid and schizophrenic Sybil’s mother, or the abuse Sybil suffered during her childhood, especially her father was the one annoyed me the most which enhanced my anger towards people who choose to ignorantly and blindly put their faith into religion, rather than considering the importance of science. Her father’s overly trust towards her mother had become a mask for him to not recognize all the painful and inhumane sufferings Sybil had had form her mother’s abuse on top of his great extent of belief and faith in religion. Sybil could have not suffered from all the traumatizing experiencing if her father were more rational and sensible towards his surroundings, and not chose to be an ignorant individual.

All in all, I had learned a lot from this film, especially the treatment of hypnosis; shamefully to say that I was originally misled by the other commercialized movies to perceive hypnosis as some kind of deep sleep with the unawareness to be easily controlled and instructed by the therapist. People with Dissociative Identity Disorder are pitiful, considering the severe trauma they went through in their life, but on the other hand, the hope legitimate counselling and therapy can give is calming. To go through the traumatic experience is perhaps the toughest moment of life, but to walk out from it, makes one the bravest and toughest person.

Reference

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Association.

Schindler's List

Does human being born with compassion?

            Oftentimes, people may easily use the word “insane” to express the feeling of them being shocked or surprised intensely, then after watching this movie, Schindler’s List, I fully understand “insane” would be better used to describe Nazi. I just cannot accept; seeing all the scenes where innocent victims had been killed randomly by the Germany army, even the kids were killed by them without having to show a single sign of mercy or regret because they just did not care. All they saw was just powerless and filthy Jews, or simply some toys for them to have fun with, as in life of a human being was not even sounded anything to them. Understanding that Germany was being on the winning side of the war, but did that even translate to be able to kill anyone they wanted to? I would certainly say no; only I realized how much I have taken life for granted; millions of guiltless lives were hoping for a chance just to be alive though they did not even do a single wrong thing.

            It has got me started to wonder about humanity, like was there a such thing back in the past, or exists in contemporary world. It was scary, so scary to see that envy of someone’s ability and capability was arguably the cause of the idea of Anti-Semitism, which led to the death of so many poor souls. Putting the sense of superiority of own race to the others, or “pure Aryan race” altogether with Anti-Semitism, there came a miserable Holocaust. However, did every German actually support the idea of this; affirmatively no. It was not really that they did not want to stop it, but the unarmed or powerless them had got themselves to confirm to it. Fortunately, Oskar Schindler in the movie had found his compassion, his basic sympathy towards the innocent ones.

            Schindler was a war profiteer and womanizer who initially had no intention to help or even save any Jews; he kept on denying that he was shown to be inclined to help the Jews. It has become obvious when he turned out to help a woman’s parents by giving them jobs in his factory although he was rejecting her angrily at the first place. This was debatable of him started to show the first sign of altruism that led to his later action. Though it was really confusing with his narcissism shown in the beginning of the movie, imaging himself as a great one to be written in the history, and to be remembered by everyone of him doing something extraordinary, making a hell lot of money with originally nothing, but later his emphasis of being powerful to Goeth was to have the ability to let go a person when one has the every justification to kill the person was just another sign that he showed his subtle altruism indirectly in my opinion. And, Schindler again tried to spray the water to the people on the trains, helping them to ease their suffering although it was perceived as an evil act by the Nazi of him trying to give the people a fake hope. In the very end, he spent almost all of his money just to get as many Jews as possible to move with him to his so-called new manufacturing factory; he was not pleased or forced to do all these, but doing all these willingly. Schindler could not take it anymore, and burst with tears when he was actually being thanked by all his workers. He was a hero, a hero in their hearts.

            It was really hard to explain why Schindler had actually decided to behave in this altruistic way, but he indeed showed the altruistic act during the very hard time. He showed that humanity did exist in a very least way; compassion might certainly not be something one born to have, but a realization in the possibly worst mankind or most miserable circumstances. Schindler was a serious contrast to those evil Nazi although he admitted himself as a part of them, but his later altruistic acts just did not justify that. He had risked his life and everything to save the others without any reciprocal return, and perhaps that demonstrated one’s most humble altruism and nobility of humanity. Schindler might not the greatest one in history, but he certainly showcased what a person could at least do with his or her very own limited yet influential ability to contribute an effort to humanity, to remind human beings what made us different from insane animals, and to human civilization.