After the watching the documentary boy interrupted you should have a very good picture of what bi-polar disorder looks like.. Take some time to discuss the signs and symptoms of bi-polar disorder that were shown in the film. Give some examples. Also, discuss if you feel this disorder is more nature or nature and given reasons why you feel this way. Finally tell me what you would do if you were the parent of a child like this... I know your not, but one day you could be. So give me a few of your thoughts. You guys are great, sorry I am a bit late posting. I look forward to teaching you tomorrow have a great evening.
Mr. Hamilton
24 comments:
In class we watched a documentary about a child named Evan that had committed suicide when he was in his early teens. Ever since a very young age, approximately two years old, Evan would have thoughts of death and it seemed to the people around him, such as his teachers, that he was obsessed with the idea of death. He would often say to people that he would want to kill them or he would say something like I want to jump out a window. His parents tried to get help from different psychologists but in the time period that this took place it was thought that children could not be suicidal. When they could not get help, Evan's mom started filming him so that she would have proof that he was indeed suicidal and/or obsessed with the idea of death. It was later determined that Evan had bi-polar disorder. This is when people can go from a very happy state, which is called manic, to being in a very sad and depressed state. When someone is in a manic state, they are on a tremendous high, the greatest high that you can achieve. However, in an instant, they can go to a depressed state and the change in states is so durastic that when they go into this depressed state they can get really upset and angry. When Evan was in a manic state he looked like a normal kid that had a good life. But when he went into a depressed state it was quite obvious. The look on his face would completely change and it looked sullen and lifeless. Also when he would talk, he did so without any emotion. It was very monotone sounding. I feel that this is more nature than it is nurture because in the documentary it appeared like Evan had a good home life and loving, caring parents. This disorder comes from a chemical imbalance in the brain. The chemical melatonin is the chemical that makes us happy and I believe that this chemical was not balanced in Evan's brain. In other cases it could be more nurture than nature because of the individual's home life. Finally, if I was the parent of a child like Evan I would do anything in my power I could for my child. It would not matter what it was or the cost, that would be my child and I would love my child unconditionally and see that it could have the best life possible. My parents love me unconditionally no matter who I am or what happens to me and that is how I will be with my child, no matter how big the obstacle may be for my child.
After watching Boy Interrupted in class, my eyes were opened to a disorder that I did not know much about. Evan, a young boy with bipolar disorder, was filmed throughout his fifteen years of living before he committed suicide. “Am I good or am I bad?” was one of the first quotes from Evan that stuck in my mind. Being bipolar means to have a disorder where a person lives in two different stages, mania and depression. The mania stage is when a person is extremely happy as if they are on a high. This stage brings about physical activities, no sleep, and being distracted. The flip side for a person with bipolar disorder is the depression stage. During this stage a sadness or anger comes over a person. The signs and symptoms of Evan’s bipolar disorder were being a perfectionist, reacting to insignificant things in a significant way, and wanting to jump out of a window and kill himself at the age of five. I feel this disorder is nature. Because of the extreme changes in moods of Evan or anyone with bipolar, I do not think it is something someone can be nurtured into. The things that Evan would say did not match up with his parent’s views or what they agreed with such as him killing himself at five; therefore there was no one to nurture him into that state. If I was a parent of a child with bipolar disorder I would do the best that I could to make them feel comfortable and cope best in the state that they were currently in. I would try to be consistent in what I said during both of their states so that they would have a home that was constant even if they were not always the same. But most importantly, I would make sure that they knew that I loved them and that no matter what I would always love them and take care of them because even for the moment they need to be happy and feel safe and secure.
Yesterday in class we watched Boy Interrupted. It was a documentary made by the parents of a young boy who committed suicide. His emotions were always crazy. One minute he would be a fun, loving, athletic, normal child. Then he would be very depressed and angry. His face would be happy then go completely blank with a stare that could kill. At a very young age the boy showed many signs and symptoms of the bi polar disorder. Some signs were things like he had a rifle and was going to use it to kill his dad, also he climbed on top of the roof at his elementary school and said he was going to jump off, he did plays growing up and once did a play about him dying and everyone grieving over him. Multiple times he tried to commit suicide by hanging himself off his bunk bed. I feel like this disorder is nature because his symptoms are a product of inborn tendencies. Also, he had a loving family and good home life that everything seemed normal with. Nurture is something that his environment would have shaped and it seemed like he had a very good home life. His environment seemed very supportive and loving, it did not seem harmful in any way. If i was a parent of a child like this I have no idea what I would do. I know I wold do whatever it took financially wise to make sure he or she got the proper treatment. I would always love them unconditionally and of course I would be constantly praying for them and praying for Gods help. I would always be by their side and support them and be there for them.
-Samantha Bruner
Well given the choices of nature or nature I think I'll go with nature, but I do believe that nature is what causes bipolar disorder. I think it would be possible to cause a sort of bipolar disorder through environment, but it would take a lot of mistreatment, being malnourished, and a loveless environment to arrive at the same results. I also believe that nature was the result in Evan because his parents clearly did everything that they could to keep him happy and provided for. In "Boy Interrupted" Evan was filmed for the purpose of making a documentary. I think Evan first showed signs of being bipolar when he was on vacation with his family in the Dominican Republic and he made strange comments about his brother. It also began to escalate as he got older. At the age of 7 or so he started talking about suicide. He even casually discussed death with a therapist and was entirely fine with dying. On another family outing he offhandedly mentioned having a rifle to shoot people with. Then Yet on another vacation where they went whale watching Evan expressed no excitement about seeing whales. He also threatened to commit suicide of the roof of his school. Evan also wrote weird and depressing songs on his guitar.
The reason I feel it is nature is because his parents gave him all the attention he wanted, took the family on numerous vacations, and paid for therapy along with medicine. The only questionable thing that they did was lock him in his room when he went through a manic episode.
If I had a child like this I'm not entirely sure of what I would do. The first thing I would do is see if he/she wanted to participate in therapy. I would also try to show them that life is not purposeless and we are given purpose through God. Obviously show the child love and last just pray about it. This is all you could do I think.
Bipolar is when an individual swings back and forth from a Mania, high, to a Depression, low, state of mind. This act can happen at any given moment and can last for a long time or a couple of minutes; it all depends on the character. In the movie that we watched there was a boy that suffered from Bipolar. When the boy was young, he had a “perfectionist” characteristic. He never seemed to handle disciplinary actions very well. When he was put on punishment, he would have some sort of a break down. When the boy started to attend school, his Bipolar condition started to get a little worse. He would randomly talk about death and the look on his face and tone in his voice, his teacher could tell that he enjoyed death, very fascinated with death. He could be talking about a wonderful vacation and be in a happy state of mind but then talking about killing someone with a gun and keeping that smile on his face like it was nothing. It even got to the point that he would try to jump out of the window of six, or more, story buildings and build a lynch in his room to show his parents how he wanted to die. At the age of eleven his whole facial features made him look like a sixteen year old boy and his attitude did not help the situation either.
In my opinion, I believe his condition was real and that the boy was actually Bipolar, but I feel that his condition could have been less severe. I personally feel that when the little boy was told or even overheard a conversation about how his Uncle committed suicide by jumping out of a window, he took that little piece of information and ran with it. I feel that it would be different if he talked about death as a whole, but when his conversations were surrounded around jumping out of a window or jumping off the roof of a building then I believe that most of the boy’s condition was nurtured around the fact of his uncle. Since the boy has a family history of people going suicidal and suffering from depression, I believe he started to feed more into his condition then what it really was.
If I was placed in the same condition, I really don’t know what I would have done. I would have doomed my child for the worst especially if I knew that this run the family. I would have given my child the best care in the world. My child’s condition would have slowly started to affect my life. I would probably be going through depression the same time he was going through it. All I would be doing was making the situation worse.
Gabriella Borden
In class we watched a documentary about a boy who was Bipolar. He started showing signs at a very young age such as sudden anger, and certian things he would say. He could go from being happy and care free to being on the roof of his six story school building wanting to jump. He also said very disturbing things such as he would kill his dad and wrote strong lyrics to a song about death, and also a play. I believe is this case that it stems from a nurture factor. His uncle killed himself and he heard his parents talking about it which had to have huge affects on such a young child. If he was my child i honestly have no idea what i would do. I would have to follow my heart and do what i felt right as his mother.
In class the other day, we watch a documentary about a child named Evan who suffered from bi-polar/manic depression. AT a young age, Evan began talking about death and killing himself and others. He seemed to be al,ost obsessed with death. Also, his facial expressions would change when he go back in forth from moods. When he was happy, his face would be glowing. When he was sad, however, the muscles in his face would relax and look downtrodden. Evan also tried to commit suicide on numerous occasions, and his mother would take pictures and film his erratic behavior to describe to therapists and doctors what her son was doing. Evan went through therapy and a mental hospital, and also went to a special school to try and help his bi-polar disease. In the end, Evan ended up jumping out a window and died at the age of 15. I think that this disease is more nature than nurture. After watching the film, it seemed Evan live a happy life and had parents who were crazy about him. Nothing in his life seemed to have been able to bring on the disorder. If i had a child like this, I would try and get the best help for them. I would also do the best that i could to show them how much i loved them and how important their life is to me and everyone around them.
Taylor Anderson
Yesterday in class we watched Boy Interrupted. It was a documentary made by the parents who are film makers and their son, a young boy named Evan, who committed suicide. Ever since a very young age, Evan would have thoughts of death and killing himself. It seemed to the people around him, such as his teachers, that he was obsessed with the idea of death and killing himself. He would often say to people that he would want to kill them or would say "I want to jump out a window".Evans parents tried to get help from different psychologists, but in the time period that the documentary took place it was thought that children could not be suicidal or be getting these thoughts that evan was having. When Evans parents could not get help they started filming their son and what he was saying. It was later determined that Evan had bi-polar disorder. This is when people can go from a very happy state, which is called manic, to being in a very sad and depressed state. When someone is in a manic state, they are on a tremendous high, the greatest high that you can achieve. However, in an instant, they can go to a depressed state and the change in states is so durastic that when they go into this depressed state they can get really upset and angry. I feel this disorder is more nature. For it to be nurture the kid would have to have had a really bad and abusive childhood. If my kid had this there is nothing that you could really do but give him as much help as i can get and try to give him a normal life.
-Shaun "Mcbreezy" McCool
In the documentary, “The Boy Interrupted,” a young boy named Evan suffered with bipolar disorder from a very young age and eventually ended up committed suicide when he was fifteen because of this. He would go from his manic stage then to his depressed stage very quickly, but he was normally in the depressed stage. Some of the signs and symptoms of his bipolar disorder was that if he wasn’t the best in something, he would get easily frustrated, he reacted bigger to situations than normal, getting dressed was difficult for him, and he was obsessed with death and talked about committing suicide in kindergarten. Also, when he had to go to time-out, his parents had to lock him in his room because he would get so mad that he would throw things. I believe bipolar disorder is more nature because I don’t really see how it could be passed down genetically. I think that a person’s family and life situation in which they live in daily affects their attitude majorly. Evan had an uncle who committed suicide, so maybe him knowing this made Evan sad and depressed. If I was a parent of a child like Evan, I would be extremely sad and maybe even become depressed myself to see my own child depressed and not enjoying life like a little, innocent kid should. I would constantly be trying everything I could do in power to make my child laugh, smile, and be happy. It would absolutely break my heart to see my child going through bipolar disorder and talk about killing himself.
Meredith Peacock
In class we watch a video about a boy named Evan with a bi-polar disorder. This disorder caused him to commit suicide at the young age of fifteen. Evan started showing signs of being bi-polar as young as a toddler. He would always talk about death or how he would want to kill himself by jumping out a window. He would talk to his teachers about death and even wrote a play about a child dying. He felt that if he died people would come together and talk about all the good things about him. Evan also told his dad that he was going to shoot him. Even though he said this while laughing he really considered and thought about things like this. I feel that this disorder is more nature. You cannot nurture a person to be suicidal and act like this. The people Evan lived with did not act like him at all and would not have aught him to be like this. Although he did have other family members that killed themselves that incident would not teach him to be like that. If I were the parent of a child like this I would do everything I could to help them I would take them to a doctor or therapists or whatever was needed. I would also try to spend as much time with my child as possible to make sure they knew they were loved and that there was no reason to harm themselves. If this did happen to me in a real life situation it would be scary and tough but I would just try to do as much as possible.
-Courtney McCollum
In psychology class we watched a documentary on a young boy who showed initial signs of having a desire to take his own life, and then later proceeded to do just that. Extreme signs within the video was the constant talk of death and the seriousness of things such as "I would shoot you," when most people his age would have been joking when saying something like that. Most everyone began noticing that Evan was obsessed with death, just by the way he talked and the things he sang when he would sing. The signs of bipolar disorder was the fact that he seemed like any normal, fun, and loving child at some points of his life and then would suddenly change to a depressed, upset, and death obsessed little boy. In my personal opinion, I feel like this disorder was brought upon Evan more as nature than it was nurture. When watching the documentary, it seems as if his family loved him and that he lived in a good and fun loving environment. You can look at him and tell that he is some what off, even if most chose not to recognize it. Another reason that leads me to believe it's nature and not nurture is the fact that his siblings, as far as we know, didn't and don't battle bipolar disorder, though they were raised within the same household.
-Sarah Cook
Mr. Hamilton.......i just wrote like FIVE PARAGRAPHS on here and i was so proud of it but i hit submit without putting my name at the bottom and when i clicked back it wasnt there..so i really dont feel like typing it again lol. Please dont hate me.
~Brooke
In class yesterday we watched a documentary on a boy named evan who suffered from bipolar disorer. Evan suffered from this disorder as early as two years old. Evan would begin to have obsessive thoughts about death. These thoughts led him to participating in a school play that he wrote based on death. Not only did his obsessive thought lead him to actions but also led him to verbal attacks. Evan would proclaim that he wanted to kill his dad and thought nothing of it. These comulsive urges led evan to climbing ontop of his schools roof and wanting to commit suicide. Not only did he do this, but he also sang a song on his guitar about death. Unfortuantely Evan committed suicide at the age of fifteen. They don't know exactly what was the reason why he did so, but his disorder was the underlying factor. I would say that evans disorder was not nurtured. Evan ahas a great family who showed him love and suppourt and who also raised him to know right from wrong and by telling him "no" when he did something wrong while he was young. Evan's family's values clearly do not line up with his parents valuse, therefore not allowing Evan to be nurtured into this disorder. If i were a parents to a child like evan, i would clearly get them help from a therapist of some sort but i would also get them involved in church oriented things. I felt like Evan's parents failed miserable at this. It is important for every kid to know the value of themselves because Jesus died for us. We are to profess with our mouth that there is a meaning for life!
In class yesterday we watched a documentary on a boy named evan who suffered from bipolar disorer. Evan suffered from this disorder as early as two years old. Evan would begin to have obsessive thoughts about death. These thoughts led him to participating in a school play that he wrote based on death. Not only did his obsessive thought lead him to actions but also led him to verbal attacks. Evan would proclaim that he wanted to kill his dad and thought nothing of it. These comulsive urges led evan to climbing ontop of his schools roof and wanting to commit suicide. Not only did he do this, but he also sang a song on his guitar about death. Unfortuantely Evan committed suicide at the age of fifteen. They don't know exactly what was the reason why he did so, but his disorder was the underlying factor. I would say that evans disorder was not nurtured. Evan ahas a great family who showed him love and suppourt and who also raised him to know right from wrong and by telling him "no" when he did something wrong while he was young. Evan's family's values clearly do not line up with his parents valuse, therefore not allowing Evan to be nurtured into this disorder. If i were a parents to a child like evan, i would clearly get them help from a therapist of some sort but i would also get them involved in church oriented things. I felt like Evan's parents failed miserable at this. It is important for every kid to know the value of themselves because Jesus died for us. We are to profess with our mouth that there is a meaning for life!
In our last class we watched a documentary/movie about a young boy named Evan with manic depression/bipolar disorder. Some symptoms of this disorder are tragic mood swings, emotional "highs" and "lows", and suicidle thoughts.
Evan had suicidle thought at the age of about kindergarten. For his age he was very sophisticated. He wrote songs that were structured very maturely, but were very gruesome and suicidle in langauge. It began to get worse as he got older, he would say things to his father such as " If i had a machette, i would shoot you", and didnt even think there was anything wrong with it. By the time he was fifteen he jumped out of a window and killed himself.
I think this case is both nurture and nature. Nature because something is psychologically wrong with a part of his brain to cause this, but also it couldve been made worse by his parents maybe not giving him enough love and care. They may have been to consumed in filming all their sons flaws and demonic looking "doings".
If this were my son, or if I had a child like this, i would do everything i could to make him happy and feel unconditionally loved. I would send him to get professional help, but i would not have him live there. I would most importantly get him engaged in scripture, because God can do miracles.
~Brooke Boatwright
....here i felt bad so i did it ALL over again for you(:
In class we watched A boy interrupted, which is a documentary about a boy who killed himself when he was very young. His name was Evan and even at the age of two, evan was obssessed with death and what people would do after a loved one died. He seemed to like the idea of people gathering together to honor the dead person. His parents began filming his odd obsession and behavior as proof for family, friends, and the psychologist Evan was seeing. Evan was a really cute looking kid when he was in his manic state. A manic state is the highest high a person can feel, they are just really happy. However, when he entered his depressed state, he looked "unreachable". A depressed state is just that, when you are just sad and lower then low emotionally and physically. Evan just turns into a zombie and acts like a teenager even though he is only like 10 years old. He is very sarcastic and acts like he cares about nothing. He was just gloomy, emotionless, and acted like he was tired even though he wasnt. I believe Evans condition was part nature and part nurture. He had two very loving and supporting parents, and he had a great homelife. He knew one piece of information that he probably wasnt meant toknow however. He some how learned that his uncle comitted suicide, which may have sparked his odd obsession with death, and killing himself. I think he also inherited a trait to make him susceptible to manic depressive disorder, because his case was so severe and bizzare because he had a very loving family. If i ever had a child like this, i would do the best i could to help him/her cope with the disease. There isnt much else you can do for a mental disease like this, especially when kids are so sensitive to drugs, in my opinion it's best to let nature play its course and pray for your child. Mental diseases are very serious and tricky because they dont just heal like a wound does. Having a child like this would be a very difficult experience, but God has a plan for everyone.
-Ben Small
In Boy Interupted, Evan displayed signs of being bi-polar by being very happy for a little bit, than depressed the next. He did things when he was five like talking about suicide when he was 5, and he would destroy his room with a lack of remorse of guilt. He would write songs about death or murder when he was 9, and was eventutally taken to a mental hospital. I feel like his bi-polar disorder is biological and not environmental. His family was very loving and kind. His uncle also committed suicide, which could be a sign of genetics playing a role but could also be a sign that his uncle influenced his feelings. His uncle's death could've showed him that people say nice things when you die, which was the point of the play in which he wrote. I don't know how I would parent a child like this. I would imagine that I would provide my child with all the counselling he needs. I would have a hard time giving this child medication, but if push came to shove, I would let him take it. Perscription drugs in adolescents seems dangerous and potentially harmful. I would give him all the love that he needed.
Megan Eastergard
In class we watched a film the focused on a young boy who was diagnosed as bipolar. He showed many sypmtoms growing up that may have led to his diagnosis. His symptoms were things such as curiosity with violence and death. In the film we saw photographs that his mother had taken where he had demonstrated ways to hang himself. Evan would also have drastic mood swings and he would take on the characteristic of a teenager at the age of only ten years old. Upon placing Evan in a mental hospital he became increasingly worse. He ran away from the mental home as well as breaking into another persons home in order to receive more attention from his parents. In my personal opinion I feel as though the cause of Evan's disorder was due to nurture. Evans parents did not have much a back bone when it came to him having fits and talking non-sense. Instead of getting on his case and quickly getting him in line like most parents would they began to worry and wanted to get him help. They treated even like a baby instead of being the kind of parents who would not tolerate that kind of behavior from their child. If I were the parent of a child with bipolar disorder I would pray of my child because it could be a demon. I would also become more strict with my child and not allowing them to watch certain movies or listen to certain music. This would make a big difference in my child behavior. God is a God who is able to do anything and I believe that he can heal a child with bipolar disoder. They do not have to live a life of sufferage.
In class we watched a film the focused on a young boy who was diagnosed as bipolar. He showed many sypmtoms growing up that may have led to his diagnosis. His symptoms were things such as curiosity with violence and death. In the film we saw photographs that his mother had taken where he had demonstrated ways to hang himself. Evan would also have drastic mood swings and he would take on the characteristic of a teenager at the age of only ten years old. Upon placing Evan in a mental hospital he became increasingly worse. He ran away from the mental home as well as breaking into another persons home in order to receive more attention from his parents. In my personal opinion I feel as though the cause of Evan's disorder was due to nurture. Evans parents did not have much a back bone when it came to him having fits and talking non-sense. Instead of getting on his case and quickly getting him in line like most parents would they began to worry and wanted to get him help. They treated even like a baby instead of being the kind of parents who would not tolerate that kind of behavior from their child. If I were the parent of a child with bipolar disorder I would pray of my child because it could be a demon. I would also become more strict with my child and not allowing them to watch certain movies or listen to certain music. This would make a big difference in my child behavior. God is a God who is able to do anything and I believe that he can heal a child with bipolar disoder. They do not have to live a life of sufferage.
Rachel Howard
In the video the Boy Interrupted Evan suffered from manic depression and Bi-polar disorder. When Evan was a toddler he had an obsession with death, and killing himself. During Kindergarten he would repeatedly tell his teacher he was going to jump out of the window and he was prepared for death. Most children did not understand that death was irreversible but Evan understood this well. He would go through phases of being a really happy child to being depressed and suicidal. When he was twelve he wrote songs and the lyrics were always about death and depression. I think this disorder is more nature based than nurture. Evan couldn’t help his disorder and his uncle suffered from it therefore it could be hereditary. However Evan constantly told people about his uncle’s suicide but he only understood what happen because his parents told him. If my child suffered from this disorder I would do what Evan’s parents did and take him to get treatment from a psychiatrist and doctors.
In class we watched a movie called "Boy Interupted"about a boy that had bipolar 2 disorder. He was video taped in a documentary made by his parents. His name was Evan. at a young age he developed unusual signs and symtoms. Some of these would be being a perfectionist in all things, having thoughts about death, murdering, and suicide, jumping out of windows, and lastly writing songs about death. He would go from a very high manic stage to a low depressed state in a matter of minutes. He had no control over his thouights or actions as well. Realting to the story of Evan I think the reason for his bipolar disorder would be all nature becasue obviously throughout the whole movie, even from the yougest age he had no control over his thoughts or actions. you could tell he had bad psychological problems that not even therapists or psychological houses could help him. He also had a pretty good life with his family as well. If i was his parent i would definetly do the same thing as his real parents becasue they did all they could do for the son they loved and didnt want to lose. I would let him know he should cherish life. i would make sure he knew i loved him and jesus loved him as well and he has a plan for his life, even through his issues.
Cambria Trunzo
I believe bi-polar disease is more nature than nurture. It’s a disease that causes major mood swings from a super happy mania stage to a stage of depression. If a person has more depression stages than mania stages, they can be very prone to suicide like Evan in the documentary. They will get so depressed that they feel like they can’t go on. Bi-polar people can also feel very paranoid or suspicious of other people. I think it’s nature because it’s an unbalance in hormones in the brain. It can be brought out more by environmental factors but it’s originally in the brain and biological.
If I had a child with bi-polar disease I would definitely try my best to remind them how much they are loved. I would probably put them on Lithium because it seems to be the safest way of controlling the disease. I wouldn’t want my child to harm themself and since the disease is incurable I want to keep them safe.
In class we watched "Boy Interrupted" a documentary about the life of a bi-polar boy named Evan. His parents were film makers who were able to capture a lot of their sons life in film and make it into a documentary showing what bi-polar disorder looks like. Bi-polar disorder is a disease in which the victim suffers from periods of mania and depression. Mania is a state of extreme high and happiness that cause the person to feel as if they can do anything. Then after a time of mania the person will go through a time of depression where they become extremely sad and suicidal. The boy in the documentary Evan also went through these two very different states. He often talked about death and suicide, until he finally took his life at the age of 15. Evan's father had a brother who also suffered from this disease and took his own life as well. His parents had told his the story of his uncle, and about his suicide. In my opinion that was a big mistake on their part and could have possibly in a large way contributed to his own suicide. I do believe this disorder is both nature and nurture. He may have had a natural inclination to bi-polarism but by his parents educating him on suicide could have "brought it out" in him. However the parents did, in my opinion almost all they could do they took him to therapy, had him on medication and sent him to special schools. However they never should have let him try and go off of his medication that was what ultimately led to his suicide. They did realise that going off the meds was becoming a problem but by then it was too late.
-Taylor Atwell
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