The film Girl, Interrupted describes the clinical pictures of several female characters, and one of the most striking is the portrait of Lisa Rove, who was diagnosed with sociopathy. The film vividly describes the symptoms of her illness, such as aggression, lack of sleep, distorted perception of reality, and absence of compassion. One of the most memorable scenes was the situation when Lisa brought her friend, who also had a mental disorder to suicide, provoking her with the “truth.” Despite Lisa’s aggressive and provocative actions, she does not feel guilty and considers herself better than other patients; for example, she says, “You think you’re free? I’m free! You don’t know what freedom is! I’m free. I can breathe. And you will choke on your average, mediocre life!” (Mangold, 1999). The girl’s behavior in the presented scene only confirms her disease, which, unfortunately, does not have many treating methods.
A sociopath is an asocial person who has a clinical inability to adapt to society. The main symptoms and treatment of sociopathy are still being studied by scientists since sociopaths pose a real threat to society because of their deviant performance. A dissocial personality disorder is challenging to treat, but there are so many methods that can partially correct behavior. If sociopathy is accompanied by severe anxiety and depression, antidepressants are used in these cases. It is recommended to use mood stabilizers and some antipsychotics to stop impulsiveness and aggression. Nevertheless, it must be considered that individuals with associative disorder are prone to the formation of chemical addiction. Therefore, the appointment of medications should be carried out by taking into account the feature represented.
Sessions with a psychotherapist can help a sociopath learn to control his or her thoughts better, restrain herself, and be more tolerant of the closest environment. Cognitive-behavioral methods of therapy can teach the person to adapt to society. Still, in practice, interaction with the psychotherapist is not efficient because the sociopath does not want to change anything in one’s life. A serious obstacle to sociopathy treatment is that the patient with an associative disorder does not accept the problem. Therefore, sociopaths not only do not seek to correct their personality but also actively resist all attempts to influence their behavior.
References
Mangold J. (1999). Girl, Interrupted [Film]. Columbia Pictures.