Charlie Kelmeckis „The Perks of Being a Wallflower“ Character Analysis, psychological folder

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multiple times, that he wants to keep his identity. a a secret, but still needs somebody to understand him. Apparently, from what he has heard, the friend is most likely to understand. The boy is in school when he hears his bestfriend Michael has commited suicide. Charlie explains his probably situation that he is both sad and happy as a result of his family and Michaels death and he tries to find out now that is possible. Charlie is a confused teenager who is looking for a person to share his problems with because he is. not feeling understood by his family or friends in a way he needs after the loss of his best friend. He is approximately 15 years old and about to start highschool He describes himself as "both happy and sed [..] still trying to figure how that could be" (11.17-18). Consequently, he is confused about his own feelings, which is also a reason for him writing letters. He wants to have someone out there, [who] listens and under- (4.11-12) Stands but nobody in his family does since they are the reason for him to feel messep up (cp. I 19). Neither do his friends because "[his friend] said [they] listen and understand " (1.3) instead of helping him by herself. Charlie lost faith in humanity as he says multiple time "he needs to know" (LL. 10, 12) if there is still somebody there who would understand (cp.11.13-14). He has nobody in his life he can be honest with and who makes him not feel alone and like an outsider even in his family there is nobody he can be honest with and who does not make him feel alone. Furthermore, his best friend Michael killed himself (cp. 1.27). Charlie went on this day to school and knew nothing about it until "Dave [...] told [him] that Michael killed himself" (L.27). He wasn't sure if that is the truth but "[he] heard (his principals) voice on the loudspeaker" (L 21) which justified the statement. The fact that he didn't know what was going on until it was too late make him doubt if he even knew Michael. Obviously he was his best friend and meant really much to him as "it's hard to remember" (L.26). He thought he knew Michael and that he would come with his problems first because Michael was his safe person who he would tell his problems. Therefore, when Michael killed himself, he also killed a part of Charlie, the part who made him feel understood and not alone. After his death Charlie felt like this was a lie and he felt wrong "by being this way" (L. 19). In addition to that Charlie often claims "[he does not]want [him] to find [Charlie] "(11.7-8 cp.L.5-7). It is important for him to stay anonymous. because as a result nobody can judge him "for [him] being this way" (L 19). Hence, he feels like his feelings are not valid and wrong. but he still wants "someone out there" (L. 10), who understands and helps him finding out "how [his feelings] could be " (L. 18). He has no close relationship to his family because his family made him feel confused and wrong about himself "especially. after [ Michael killed himself]" (cp. 11. 19-20) Also, writing to a stranger instead of speaking to his own family indicates. how messed up he must feel because no one understands him. did a All in all, Charlie is a teenager, who feels alone and not understood in a world where the only person he trusted unpredictable thing and killed himself without Charlie knowing anything. Due to that, he feels like living in a lie because his world broke down. He has no trust in his family or friends because they make him feel wrong, so he writes a person anonymously (so he couldn't be judged) who he hopes to be listened and understood at once because. he lost faith in humanity. English homework 1) How does Charlie perceive himself? Apparently obvious, Charlie sees himself as the quiet and introverted kid as he "keep [s] quiet most し of the time" (p.12 L.9). Although he thinks he's innocent and doesn't understand what he has done. wrong (cp. p.12 .22-23), Charlie knows that he can fight because he learnt it from his brother (cp. 15-17). Besides, he's not scared as he "could have hurt him a lot worse" and "might have to" (11.24-25) if Sean came after the kid who helped Charlie. Consequenty, he doesn't see him in a victom position. Furthermore, he is aware that he is "pretty emotional" (1.30) and that other people judge him for that because he cries often in the wrong situations. Feeling like an outsider in school and he really wants friends (cp. p. 13 L.42) but he does not think anybody would like. to be friends with him because he is a lonely outsider. In addition, he knows he's hard-working in order to make his family proud (cp. 39-40) because he thinks they would not be otherwise. 2) How is Charlie perceived by others? First, Charlie is not seen popular or cool and it is even "uncool" to talk to him as Susan "doesn't like to say "hi" to [him] anymore" (11.66-67) The other kids probably think that he is quiet and not fun because he "keep [s] quiet most of the time" (1.9). Furthermore, he is even invisible to others so they don't notice him as a result (cp. 11. 9-10). Besides that, he seems like a pretty easy victom to bully because he looks weak which he is not as he fights the bully Sean and "really hurt [him]" (L.17). The pupils are surprised that he faced the bully but also find him really strange and weird because he "couldn't stop crying after [he] did it(1.28-30). Charlie is perceived by others like an in a emotional way strange outsider and a unpopular/unknown. kid. English homework 3) How does his language reflect and underline this image? To begin with, he writes letters to an unknown person in which he describes his daily life like a diary. This definitely underlines his "image" of being Strange outsider because rarely anybody. in his school would do that. It also shows how incredable alone he is when he writes letters. anonymously instead of talking to friends about his feelings. Along that, the way he writes his texts is not Structured and changes a topic really quick just like Charlie's personality is. He is confused about his own feelings and fast distracted which is recognizable in the letters are structured and written. way his a Summary: September 18, 1991. In the letter of September 18, 1981 in the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower", written by Stephen Chbosky in 1999, it deals with Charlie's experiences in shop class. The letter starts with Charlie telling he's in shop class. It is his favorite class next to the advanced english class, in which he hands in his essay to their teacher Bill. In shop class there is a guy. who is called "Nothing" because his name is Patrick and he has said to call him "Nothing" instead of calling him Patty. Consequently, the kids in his school keep calling him "Nothing" since he has moved in the school district. In shop class, Patrick does an impersonation of their teacher Charlie and the teacher laugh when they see it because it is hilarious but not in a mean way. Charlie says it's the hardest he has laughed since his brother has left because he has told hilancus jokes all the time. In addition, Charlie explains that his sister asks for her mix tape. back and listens to it all the time Summary December 21, 1991. written by The letter of December 21, 1991 in the book "The Perks of Being. Stephen Chbosky in 1999, is about Charlie's Secret Santa" Celebration with his new friends. . a Wallflower", Firstly, Charlie visits the house of Som and Patrick for the first time due to their Secret Santa" game. Charlie gets to know their parents who are very nice. After eating dinner together, they leave the house Charlie reveals he is. Patrick's Secret Santa and although everyone already knew, Patrick acts surprised. Then, Charlie hands him his final present which is a poem that Michael has given to him. He doesn't know the person who wrote it but Charlie would like to make sure he is okay because the poem is really deep. After that, Charlie reads out loud the poem and everyone listens attentive. The others in the group exchanges their presents and Patrick hands a suit to Charlie because he is his, Secret Santa". Patrick explains he has chosen to suits. Charlie gives the presents he has bought for Secret Santa give him a new outfit because all great writers wear to them the others V but only receives one from Sam. When Sam receives her present from Charlie, she huggs him and Says she loves nim. Sam takes him to her room and gives him an old typewriter as a present. She asks if he has ever kissed a girl and Charlie shooks his head. Then Sam tells about her first kiss and disclaims that she likes Craig but wants Charlie to have his first kiss with a person that loves him. After that, she kisses him and Charlie is the happiest he has ever been. p.26 || 36-56; 69-5 - Relationship between their parents and how it affects the kids The relationship between them is respectful and they do not fight often. On the outside, it seems like the Idad is in charge but in reality their mom has much more to say. The children respect both of them but their mother a bit more Their relationship seems quite partriarchal because their mother was very very quiet [and their] father did all the talking" (p. 26 11. 36-37). In addition, Charlie's dad "doesn't lose fights" (p.27 1.55) and educates the children way more often than his wife does. Due to that, he takes care of Charlie's sister after she was violented by her boyfriend (cp. 11 37-39). Before her mother intervenes in this conversation, his sister keeps on discussing with her father that she "love [s] him" and that "it was all her fault" (11.39, 41). Although her father is clear and strict about that topic, she fights him back. Apparently, she doesn't react the same way when her mother Starts educating her. Charlie's sister states that the boy "is [her] whole world" (1.45) whereas her mother answers that she should never "say that about anyone again" (1.46) After that she "stopped crying immediately" (11.50-51) and doesn't fight a word back which indicates that she respects her more because she listens to her immediately. Therefore, her mother is more in charge than the dad even though he fights them way more often. Furthermore, Charlie's parents dont fight often in the mean time because firstly Charlie explains that when their "mom does say something, she always gets her way" (11. 49-50) and also that his "dad doesn't lose fights" (1.55). Secondly, his mother" choases her battles carefully" (1.48) so consequently she only fights anyone when it is really necessary. These two points indicate that they do not fight often because it is hard to get his mother upset. In addition, his dad does not want to lose a fight but he would have to because their mother always wins. Both also definitely respect each other in order to live in a balanced relationship because they know their jobs in the family life (cp. 11. 36-37) It affects the children because they know their mother lets their father handle certain situations. When their mum Starts to handle it, it is a really serious issue. Hence, they know it is nothing they. can still argue about and they accept her decision (cp.ll. 50-51). The relationship to their children is in both cases really loving and caring. For example, her dad says that their is no excuse that the boy hit her (cp. 1.40). Obviously, he finds it hard to show his love to her since he "only gave [her] a rave kiss on the forehand" (1.52) but the fact that he immediately drove to the boy's house, proves his deep love and caring for her. Their mum also loves her uncondionally because she wants her to be independent from everyone even her mother (cp. 1.46). Except once Charlie's dad hit him but after that "he felt terrible" and promised to "never [do it Jagain" (11.3-5 p.28). He explains "his stepdad hit him a lot [but] he decided [...] he would never hit kids" (11.1-2). He never did it again, which shows he was serious about that topic. All in all, their parents have to pretty good working and respectful relationship. They both know their roles in educating their children even though his mum has the last word in everything. His dad understands that and doesn't challenge her. For that reason, the kids know when to stop discussing with their parents and accept their decision Besides that, the parents really love them and only want the best for their future. loves them protects them, "1 accepts no no" isn't violent, Lo doesn't wants to bel respects him is quiet when he talks always get her way Dad doesn't fight often lets the dad handle certain situations has control over wife. has more to say when it comes to raising the children. doesn't lose fights but fights way mo Mom when she says something, kids just accept it prespect. doesn't fight often with them. Yonly when it comes to essential things Brother) Charlie Sister Opinion Piece about Page 15-16 It's about Charlie' sister who got hit by her boyfriend. Firstly, she bullied him and said Really mean things to him, for example how he didn't stand up to his bully. She continued even when he started crying. She underlines that even Charlie stood up to his bully. Then the boy hits her hard across her face and stopped crying. His sister didn't do anything. It wasn't OK that he hit her although she kind of challenged him to do it. In this case she was his bully and he stood up to his bully by hitting her. But still it is wrong to hit somebody especially your girlfriend. I suppose he has never hit a girl before and will probably never do it again. It is something quite unusual for him and he was really hurt in that moment. He did really scare her because she didn't say anything or react in any other way. Apparantly, he did it because she wanted a real man who stands up to his bullies or problems. I wouldn't say he is aggressive in general but there is always another way to solve a problem. For example, he could have talked to her and explained his situation instead of becoming somebody who is not his true inner self. He changed in a bad way for a girl. He really loves her which is kind of ironic because that is the reason he hit her. I think they both made mistakes, Charlie's sister bullied him with words and he bullied her back physically. He should have also stayed by the non physical side because he loves her but also hurts her. That makes their relationship look quite toxic to me. They both are toxic people to each other. Overall, I think their relationship isn't based on trust and understanding. That's the reason why it won't last that long in a healthy way. Instead of talking she bullied him and he hit her. They both did mistakes and reacted the wrong way. It is wrong to justify her actions but it is never the victim's fault. It was not okay to hit her no matter what she said before. But if I were him I wouldn't date someone who bullies me daily for being nice. Analysis Charlie's Family Background The novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", written by Stephen Chbosky and published in 1999, is about a boy named Charlie Brown and his life. His sister gets to know her current boyfriend who hits her. Her parents forbid her to see him again because of the horrible experiences they had with domestic violence in their past. Firstly, Charlie's parents find out that the boyfriend of his sister hit her in an argument. They started talking to her and her father stated she "was not allowed to see the boy [...] anymore" (p.26 II. 37-38). He also said he will talk to his parents about that issue (cp. II. 38-39). Consequently, he made clear it was a serious topic to him because there is "no excuse" (l. 40). You can tell, it was a really important situation for him as he stays calm even when Charlie's sister claims she hates him (cp. I. 44). Obviously, it was a serious issue for her mother as well. First, she did not say anything but after her daughter stated that the boy "is her whole world" (1. 45), she could not stay quiet. She said that she should not say that about anyone ever (cp. I. 46) because she wants her to be independant. Charlie explains that their mother does not fight often nevertheless she chooses to stand up for her daughter. As a result, it is also a really important situation for her. In Charlie's letter about their christmas celebration, it becomes clear why they deal with the situation immediately. To begin with her dad, his father died in Korea (cp. p.76 1. 7). After a few years his mother gets to know a new man, who she marries after a while. In the beginning he seemed to be a nice, respectful person but he "turned out to be a terrible person" (1.15). He hit him, his sister and his mother all the time (cp. II. 16-17). His dad probably associates his daughter with his mother so he stops the interaction with her current boyfriend immediately before it gets to late like it happend with his mother. Charlie's "grandma couldn't do anything about it" (II. 17-18) and he probably thinks Charlie's sister cannot do anything about it too. He handled immediately in order to help her out of this situation before it gets to late. His uncle Phil also stopped it when he found out about the domestic violence in their family (cp. II. 19-20). At that time only Phil, a male person, could end it, which makes him think, that a male person should handle the situation. That ist he reason he did all the talking and went straight up to the boy's house because he saw how his uncle handled the situation with success (cp. II. 20-22). Besides, Phil explained "if someone touched your sister or your mother, they paid the price" (II. 29-30) and he lived by this quote. That makes it clear why domestic violence is not tolerated by him in any form. Another point in his past is that his sister "Rebecca went through the same kind of husbands" (II. 33) just like their mother. As a result to that, he is scared that this legacy of the women in his family lives on in his daughter. At the time his sister was violated he left her because he knew it would destroy him if he keeps on living with them (cp. II. 55.57). He was overwhelmed by the situation and he feels bad sorry about leaving her in violence (cp. II. 68-69). Apparently, he does not want to do the same mistake with his daughter. He stood up for her and tried all he could to keep her safe. Charlie also 'saw [his] dad giving [his aunt] money" (II. 70) which shows that he is still sorry and feels awful for leaving her. He has to fight with this every day. That explains why he reacted drasticly. Charlie's mother also has domestic violence like a legacy in her family. Her sister Helen was molested as a teen (cp. p. 78 II. 33-34). It was a friend of their family who she was close to (cp. 1.33). Her mother did nothing about it (cp. II. 35), which explains why she said that not even she herself should be her daughter world (cp. p.26 1. 45). She realizes that not every mother protects her child from dangers like they should. In order to be different to her mother, she protects her daughter from her boyfriend. Obviously, she also feels guilty because she did not protect Helen (cp. II. 24-25). Due to that, she stood up for her beloved daughter immediately. To sum up, both of the parents have severe trauma from the past domestic abuses in their families. That is the reason, they immediately handle and stop any other interfer with the boy who hit Charlie's sister before it is to late. They compare her to Helen, Rebecca and her grandmother who were abused by men. Finally, both know how much trauma it causes and how slowly it developes. They try to stop the legacy of domestic violence in their family and are really afraid of the well-being of their daughter. Helen Kelmeckis Helen has severe PTSD due to the traumatic events she had to deal with as a child. She was molested multiple times by a close friend of her family when she was younger. The young girl told her parents but they would not listen and did not believe her. This point was especially traumatizing because she started thinking it is normal and she deserves being sexually abused. Her PTSD developed because of the extreme and immense fear, horror and helplessness, she felt. It was not just as upsetting as losing your job or a divorce since PTSD only developes after Helen experiences extreme disturbing events often. The symptoms of the illness were still shown months and years after the abuse stopped. She tried emotional numbing by taking drugs or drinking alcohol in order to deal with her feelings by not feeling anything at all. Nevertheless, all the drugs and alcohol could not suppress her feelings like she wanted it to. As a result, she kept on dating men and boys who hit her like her former abuser did. She let that happen again because she thought it was normal and she deserved it since her parents and of course also the abuser himself did not help her out of it even if she wanted it to stop and told them. Therefore, she developed trust issues in the people close to her like her family. Helen did not tell most people for example her nephews and nieces about her sexual abuse. In fact, avoidance is a pretty common symptom of PTSD since Helen did not want to be reminded of the event. Consequently, she tried to push the memories out of her mind by not thinking about it in a detailed way. After Helen spend some time in our mental hospital, she started feeling better and she moved in with her sister and family. On the outside, she looks pretty stable since she lost weight, got new jobs and told the man who hit her to leave. Sadly, the events of the past could not leave her alone. Her PTSD developed in another form. She started sexually abusing her little 6-year-old nephew Charlie almost every week. Re-experiencing by doing what was done to her as a victom is not rare. She thought it was normal and that was how she showed her love to the little boy. When she ,,got better" on the outside, she took the role of her own molester. The man seemed to have a good life and no problems so finally, she did what he did to her. As a consequence, the young Charlie got her role in the abuse. This could be a reason why her life got better because now it would go back to ,,normal" for her. But other than to her past, she is now the perpetrator, who had in her eyes a really good life. That is also why she did not feel bad about it when she really loved Charlie. In her own mind, it was not wrong to abuse a child because nobody thought it was wrong in her case. Furthermore, she only touched Charlie sexually because she loved him the most and her abuser also only touched her and not her sister (who she probably thought, he loved less). She did not molested Charlie's siblings. Overall, Helen unfortunately could not beat her PTSD disease and even caused it on her beloved nephew. Consequently, she had a low self-esteem and lived in her own reality in which abusing was a sign a love. Patrick Miller The novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", written by Stephen Chbosky in 1999, deals with the teenager Charlie, who has many psychological problems and starts highschool. One of his best friends is Patrick. In the following, I will dig into his interesting character. Patrick is charming and funny most of the time but he went through a bad episode of depression connected to emotional numbing by smoking, drugs and alcohol. He is not always the best friend to Charlie but he loves him. Patrick is a senior at Charlie's highschool. At first, Charlie sees him when Patrick does a really funny but not mean impersonification of their teacher (cp. p. 17 II.53-54). In addition, he is a welcoming and nice person since he immediately invites Charlie when he speaks to him for the first time (cp. p. 22 1.7-9, 1.15). Apparently, he is interested in Charlie's life and a decent human being because he asked him a lot of questions and he didn't let him struggle (cp. p. 22 1.28). Furthermore, Patrick used to be popular but his father moved in with his new wife and Patrick changed School. Obviously, he does not mention his biological mother which indicates that she could have left him or died (cp. p. 17 II.44-45). He is really tough and does not let anyone bully him because on his first day of school some Kids called him Patty and he answered "[I]isten, you either call me Patrick, or you call me nothing" (p. 17 II.39-42). After that, everybody called him "Nothing". In spite of being fun to spend time with (cp. p. 22 1.53), he is like a big brother to Charlie and explains many things to him (cp. p. 28 II.10-11). Besides, he has good and true friends and integrates Charlie into their group of friends (cp. p. 33 II.69-70). Apart from this, Patrick has a really complicated love life. He is gay and in love with the popular quarterback. Brad loves him too but he wants to keep them a secret since nobody should know that he is also gay. Consequently, Patrick does not feel truly accepted and he has to hide their relationship and also his identity, too (cp. p. 36 1. 10,27,33; p. 41 II.40-41,64; p. 42 II.21-22,34,37). Firs ly, he is okay with that because Brad makes him happy and be lov s him (cp. p. 36 II.43-45). After a while, Brad's father caught them making out and starts to beat Brad up (cp. p. 125 II. 60,62). As a result, they cannot be together and Brad does not want to talk to him at all anymore (cp. p. 128 II.13,20-21). Patrick is in love with Brad and misses him. He walks up to him to clear things up but Brad called him a" Faggot" (p. 28 II.33-34) and Patrick starts a fight. Charlie helped him out of a it and after both of the events occurred and Patrick almost gets beaten up by his former boyfriend and his friends, his mental health gets bad. As a consequence, he lands in an episode of depression. He is fed up with his life and spends all the time with Charlie (cp. p.132 II. 19,21-22,31-33). Patrick is at his worst and tries emotional numbing with drugs, alcohol or cigarettes (cp. p. 133 1.46-48). On the other hand, Charlie is his safe place and diversion from all the pain, he makes him happy (cp. p. 135 1.65-68). Patrick wants to get away since he talks about that it gets all better when he goes to college (cp. p. 133 1.65). It is his plan to attend to the University of Washington to be near the music and to get away from the old-fashioned people in his small town (cp. p. 143 II.41-42). In order to feel loved, he starts making out with other guys and kissing Charlie every time they see each other. He still loves Brad and was hurt so he immediately started crying and talked about Brad (cp. p. 137 II.36-37,48-49). On May 11, he saw Brad with a other man and suddenly his mindset changed. Therefore, he starts to get better and forgets about Brad since he knows for sure, it is over (cp. p. 139 II.61-63). On one side, Patrick is the nice and good friend to Charlie, who makes him feel good, but on the other hand, he is not always a true friend. Patrick only hung out with Charlie when he felt sad and lonely because of Brad. Charlie was always there when he heeded him, whereas Patrick never spend time with Charlie when he needed him:" [Patrick] said that he would be busy with Brad and family things, but he 'd try to call [Charlie] if he could find the time. So far, he hasn't" (p. 118). His attention to Charlie was just temporary when he felt sad, since he never really returned that favor of being there for somebody. Except when Charlie was in the mental hospital and he visited him. He makes Charlie feel better and normal around as always (cp. p. 176 II.36-39). All in all, Patrick is a decent man, who enlightens his friends with his funny and easy-going character. He often seems goofy and spontaneous but his sexuality is also new for him. Patrick has to explore his feelings and Brad on the other side wanted him to hide it. After losing his last anker Brad, he felt into a depression and tries to numb his feelings. Charlie helps him out of it and Patrick really got to explore himself and his feelings. He gets better and happy again. Patrick loves Charlie and is a faithful friend but the friendship to Charlie is ratner one-sided when it comes to taking care of each other since he let Charlie down. Sam Button The novel "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", written by Stephen Chbosky in 1999, deals with the teenager Charlie who is about to start highschool and has a lot of mental issues. He gets to know a girl named Sam who plays an important role in his developement. In the following, the character of Sam will be analyzed. Sam is a very kind and caring person, who had low self-esteem issues and seeked for male validation in the past. Throughout the book, she becomes more mature and develops a deep love and responsibility for Charlie. Sam is a senior in highschool when she meets Charlie. She has brown hair, green eyes and is good- looking (cp. p. 22 1.21) and is Charlie's crush. When he speaks to Sam for the first time, she answered him friendly and does not let him struggle with silence. In addition, she shows interest and opens up to him by looking for similar interests (cp. p. 22-23 II.14,29-42). Her step-brother Patrick and Sam invited Charlie to a party and Sam takes care of him after he ate a "brownie". She feels like it is her duty since she invited him which indicates she is really responsible and caring (cp. p. 35 II.43-72). Besides, she shows real interest in Charlie because she got him a typewriter for christmas because he likes writing even though she did not had to (cp. p. 61-62 II.22-42). Apparently, she deeply cares for Charlie. She gave him his first kiss since she wanted him to have the first kiss with somebody who loves him (cp. p. 61-62 II.52-55, 69-72). Furthermore, when Charlie had flashbacks coming from his PTSD, she takes care of him and is really understanding. She liked Charlie for a while but he was not determined to make a move on her which hurt her. She wants somebody who tells her what they feel for her and not just have a crush (cp. p. 170 II.13-17). After that talking, Charlie and her got intimate and when she started touching him, he blocked. Sam immediately stops, what she was doing and tells Charlie that it is okay if he is not ready (cp. p. 171 II.59-60, 68). In addition, she is really worried about him and wanted to drive him home. Consequently, Sam cares for Charlie and he is more important to her than anything sexually. She said many good things to hype him up and was there for him when he needed it (cp. p. 172 II.31-35). This underlines her image of a very kind and understanding person who feels deep love for Charlie. Sam was cal I the "blowjob queen" in the past. She was molested as a child because a friend of her father kissed her without consent (cp. p. 62-63 II.30-42). Due to that, she had image problems because she thinks that she does not deserve to be loved. As a result to that, she used to look for male validation by blowjobs and dated people who made her feel small for example her former boyfriend Craig. Her self esteem was very low. Furthermore, Craig is way older than her because she wanted to appear mature since her reputation was to be the "blowjob queen". She changed herself for him to be the perfect girlfriend but he cheated on her all of the time (cp. p. 170 II. 59-60, 68). Sam pretended to be someone else but in the end she was mature enough leave Craig behind and to understand it was wrong to change. She claims she will never do that again (cp. p. 170 II.29-31). She grew up to a responsible adult visiting college and leaving boys who does not treat her right in her past. She seems like she has everything and is really confident since she goes around just in underwear at her theater play (cp. p. 44 II.20-21). On the other hand, Sam is also scared of going alone to college what Charlie never expected (cp. p. 165 1.44). As a consequence, she gives everyone the feeling that she is tough and not scared while she is soft on the inside. Sam cares about her looks but is not obsessed with them since she ordered a diet coke with nachos when they were in the 'Big Boy' for the first time. Furthermore, her mother left her father and married Patrick's father. Sam loves her truck and it reminds her of her father (cp. p. 33 II.51-52). Consequently, she misses her father after the parents' divorce but she does not contact him. This could be related to the fact that he reminds her at her molestation as a child because it was his friend and he did not stop it. Sam smokes a lot and due to the fact that smoking releases stress, she is not as chill as everybody thinks she is (cp. p. 22-23 11.25,46; p. 24 II.30-31; p. 34 1.13). School is not her priority because she prefers smoking instead of going to class but she is still really smart (cp. p. 44 1.25). In addition, Sam got into two colleges, her safety and her dream college which underlines her smartness (cp. p. 143 II.48-49). Besides, Sam is a really great friend. When Charlie kisses her, she went directly after Mary Elisabeth, his former girlfriend, and tried to comfort her although she wanted Charlie to show his love to her (cp. p. 116 II.28-31). She is loyal to her friend and not happy because Charlie hurt her. Mary Elisabeth was there for her in a though time and she wanted to do the same by not speaking to Charlie until Mary Elisabeth feels better (cp. p. 130 II.32-39). After Charlie helped Patrick and her best friend got over it, she thanked Charlie for staying away to not hurt Mary Elisabeth and forgives him which is very mature (cp. p. 131 II.45-46). To sum up, Sam is a really good person. She cares for Charlie and acceptes him as he is. Furthermore, she loves and supports him when ever he needs her. Unfortuntely, she had a really difficult past with boys coming from her molestation as a child but she leaves it all behind and is smart enough to move on which might help explain the deep bond Charlie feels towards her since he had to go through the same. She is very mature and talked it all out with Craig without getting personal. Sam is a loyal friend and would never hurt anyone she loves. She feels responsible for Charlie and just wants him to be happy. Besides, she is a confident, smart young woman who is fun to be with and an amazing friend. Charlie Kelmeckis (patient #1836) Arrival date in St. John's Hospital: 22.06.1992 Release date in St. John's Hospital: 22.08.1992 Treatment: successful including on-going therapy Attending doctor: Dr. Stephen Parker Diagnosis: PTSD The patient shows several symptoms of multiple mental diseases. I've diagnosted PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) which includes failure to recover from extreme emotional trauma. The causes of this illness are his molestation as a child, his aunt's car crash and his best friend's suicide. Charlie was sexually abused by his aunt as a child until he was 7 years old. He repressed the memories of these events until which is called avoidance because his brain could not handle the memories and pain and used this as a defense mechanism. On June 22, he got triggered by a woman touching his thigh and penis like his aunt used to do. He starts having flashbacks and nightmares of the molestation as all the memories begin to slowly return which is called re-experiencing. The patient was in a trance of suppressed memories when he was found and brought here. His aunt died on december 24, his birthday in a car crash because she was getting his presents. He feels responsible for her death because of that. He starts having wrong memories and obsessive thoughts about his favorite aunt who molested him because she was the only one who thought he was great and that was how she expressed her love. He feels a lot of guilt which was triggert by the LSD he took last christmas. He saw flashbacks oft he event he used to suppress because LSD is a drug that acts on the human brain's central nervous system. Another Result to his PSTD is his social awkardness and introverted personality because he suppressed so many memories he did not know how to interact with other people. He did not want to do something that the other people might not like so as a result he just watched and always put other people's problems before himself. For example the patient never did his move on Sam, the girl he is in love with, because he thought she might not like it, so he did not try. This is connected to his repressed memories about his own molestation which he did not want but his aunt did it anyways. He does not want to talk about himself and finds it normal if someone only talks about himself and does not acknowlegde Charlie often. The criteria for PTSD of the DSM-5 has to be fulfilled to diagnose a mental illness which I will list below. Criterion A (one required): The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, in the following ways; Direkt exposure: He got sexually assaulted in young age by his aunt, Learning that a relative or close friend was exposed to a trauma: his aunt got molested as a child and his bestfriend killed himself. In Charlie's case he fulfilled these two points of criterion A. Criterion B (one required): The traumatic event is persistently re-experiences, in the following ways: Instrusive thoughts: He was often overthinking things, Nightmares and Flashbacks: After he took the LSD and Sam touched his thigh all his memories started returning and were all he could think about, Emotional distress after exposures to traumatic reminders: He got triggered by Sam, the LSD which released neurons in his brain and had to think every year on his birthday about the death of his aunt Criterion C (one required): Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after the trauma, in the following ways: Trauma-related thoughts or feelings or trauma-related reminders: He avoided being touched by people and did not talk about neither his assault, his best friend's suicide and the death of his aunt often. He supressed his sexual assault completely. Criterion D (two required): Negative thoughts or feelings that began or worsened after the trauma, in the following ways: Overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself or the world: He thought that people were in pain all of time and and that nobody sees it, exaggerated blame of self or others for causing the trama: He thought it was his fault that his aunt and best friends died, Feeling isolated: He felt often alone and like an outsider Criterion E (two required): Trauma-related arousal and reactivity that began or worsened after the trauma, in the following ways: Irritability or agression: In school, his friend was in a fight and he ended the fight for him in an agressive way, Risky or destructive behavior: He drank a lot of alcohol, took drugs and smoked many cigarettes, he drove too fast, Hypervigilance: He watched and noticed everything and everyone but was not included Criterion F (required): Symptoms last for more than 1 Month: They lasted for many years Criterion G (required): Symptoms create distress or functional impairment (e. g. social): He had social anxiety, did not know how to interact with people and had no/few friends Criterion H (required): Symptoms are not due to medication, substance use, or other illness: He did not take medication to have his problems Clinical depression (and social anxiety) Secondly, individuals with PTSD are 80% more likely to have symptoms for another mental disorder which is called comorbidity. I also diagnosed him with major depressive disorder, which is also known as clinical depression. It is a persistent and intense feeling of sadness and voidness for a long time. The causes of this mental ilness are the guilt of his aunt's and best friend's death and not getting enough acknowledged in his family which caused a lack of love. His aunt died getting his birthday presents in a car crash. He consistently thought about that is his his fault and stimulated situations when she would not have died (for example if he was born in school, if she did not get him two presents,...). His best friend Michael commited suicide and he often repeats that he could have talked to him instead of killing him self. Another cause was that he often felt not seen or noticed by his family and that they would not acknowledge his issues and problems and just brought him to counseling. As a result to that he got social anxiety. He often avoids social situations or endured them only with intense anxiety for example his first day of high school or being alone in school. The patient is not talkative and scared about making friends. Social phobia is marked fear of social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scruntiny by the others. Another result is a feeling of worthlessness and sadness. He said there was so much pain and he does not know how to not notice it and it never stops. Every day is a struggle for him and he felt like he did not deserve Sam's love so he did no move. He was sad all the time and only felt good when he was with his friends and they acknowledged him. He was obsessed with bad things like his aunt which is also a symptom of his depression. Criterion A: Five of the DSM-5 criteria for clinical drepression have to be fulfilled to diagnose clinical depression. Charlie fulfilled 8. Criterion one (fulfilled): Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad, empty, hopeless): He often felt like he did not deserved to be alive and was not enough for anybody, he was sad most oft he time Criterion two (fulfilled): diminished interest or pleasure in all: He wants to be alone in his room most of the time when he did not meet his friends Criterion three (not fulfilled): Weight change Criterion four (half fulfilled): Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day: He could not sleep because of his nightmares Criterion five (half fulfilled): Psychomotor agitation: He wrote letters to somebody he did not even know because he did not know what else to do Criterion six (fulfilled): Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day: He was in his room most of the time and did not go out when he did not meet his friends Criterion seven (fulfilled): Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappriate guilt: He blames himself for the deaths of his aunt and his best friend Criterion eight (fulfilled): Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day: He could not say no for example to Mary Elisabeth even though he was not sure if he likes her or not, so he went on to date her Criterion nine (fulfilled): Recurrent thoughts of death (not just the fear of dying): He thought of Michael's and his aunt's death often Criterion B (fulfilled): The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning: Charlie often did not know how to socially interact or had social distress in high school or making friends Criterion C (fulfilled): The episode is not attributable tot he physiological effects of a substance or to another medical condition: He did not take any drugs or medicine to have the mental illness, he just tried to cure it with taking drugs or smoking cigarettes to release distress Content of therapy: The patient had all of his mental disorder coming from the sexual abuse in his childhood. He had a bad mental breakdown when he had to deal with the repressed emotions again. So this was the first thing we had to work on. I decided so try psychological analysis to release repressed emotions and experiences, like Freud said 'Make the unconscious conscious'. At first, the patient did not want to talk about that topic at all and in the first week, he said nothing at all. He just told me about flashbacks and difficulties sleeping because of nightmares. I listened and understood like he always told me. After building up trust and respect between us, I started asking him several questions about his aunt, his friends and family, he chose to answer truthfully. Charlie loves all of them very much. His friends and family are really important to him which is one of the reasons he started accepting his treatment. He did not want them to not be proud of him, since they are all he can rely on. I found out Charlie deflects himself with the problems of others to forget his own problems. In addition, he just wants everybody to be happy, for example when Sam was in love with her boyfriend, Charlie was not sad at all. He just wanted her to be happy even though that would mean that he would be unhappy. You could say it was just him being a good friend but it was also a defense mechanism. If he do not let his emotions take over, they stay repressed. That is also the reason why he writes letters to a stranger throughout the whole year. It started after his only friend Michael commited suicide. Charlie even calls him a friend because he was craving for friendship to provide from emotional release. Charlie's mental breakdown were when he lost his friends, for example when all of his friends hated him because of what he did to his girlfriend. He felt alone, so his emotions could come through. That's why when Patrick (his best friend) introduces him to their friends, it was a crucial moment in Charlie's life because he could rely and trust others and do not be an introverted outsider sitting alone in the cafeteria. Charlie also struggels to maintain relationships like the one with Mary- Elisabeth as he could not tell her the truth and told her it in a worst possible way because he do not knows how to socially interact. He told me about his true love for Sam and how sad he is that she left for college. After a few therapy sessions, he started accepting the fact that everybody goes their own way and that this does not mean it is over with Sam since they could meet in the vacations. We worked with the fact that a goodbye is not always a bad thing and that he should focus on the good things with that person and the good time they had (same goes with Michael and all of his other friends). Besides, his family was another huge milestone we climbed. He accepted that they all love him no matter what and that he could always rely on them. Charlie loved having visitors since they all came as often as possible. Finally in the fourth week, he opened up and lets his memories and feelings out. First, he had his mental health worsened a lot but after we outtalked everything, it suddenly went great with Charlie. Since he is not suppressing anything anymore, he could finally relax and start living in the present. Weh ad many more talks about his life and what he is going to change when he goes home. Treatment: A possible treatment plan is medication and therapy. After I've diagnosted him with PTSD, anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, I've began the best kind of therapy for these three illnesses which is called CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy). It works with emotions and thoughts and the goal of the treatment is to change perceptions and behaviors that affect how we think and feel. Medicine also makes living easier for patients with PTSD, anxiety disorder and clinical depression since it increases serotonin, dopamine and nerepinephrine in the human brain changing how the patient thinks in feel. In Charlie's case, the therapy plan without medication was enough to make him feel better since he do not suffers from suppressed memories anymore. We continue to see each other in therapy sessions twice a week and looking forward to decreasing this to once a week. Charlie is on the road to recovery and he is doing pretty good. https://www.psycom.net/depression-definition-dsm-5- diagnostic-criteria/ Sources: https://www.brainline.org/article/dsm-5-criteria- ptsd https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/ conditionsandtreatments/cognitive- behaviour-therapy