Dr. Vivian Bearing from "Wit" and Narcissism

Abstract

This case study examines the mental health of Dr. Vivian Bearing as she is treated for stage IV ovarian cancer. Following her through the treatment, along with the use of the DSM-IV and multiples sources from published encyclopedias, a proper diagnosis will be given of Dr. Bearing’s mental health. With proper diagnosis, recommended treatment will be given. The ultimate goal of this treatment will be to give Dr. Bearing peace of mind along with closure before meeting her inevitable death from cancer.

Wit Case Study

This study will show how events in Dr. Bearing’s life have lead to the progression of her mood disorders. Dr. Bearing personality gives off a subtle hint of a mood disorder known as narcissism. There are certain events that have taken place in Dr. Bearing’s life that can be playing a role in her state of depression. Dr. Bearing seems to have a lack of people in her life to socially communicate with and both of her parents are deceased. This could result in a sense of loneliness. Along with her sudden diagnosis of stage IV ovarian cancer this could be very traumatic to a human's psychology. The treatment for her cancer is what finally causes her depressive state. During Mr. Bearing’s cancer treatment is the best and most realistic intervention point for her mood disorders and provides opportunity for treatment.

Method

Participant

Dr. Vivian Bearing is a 50 year old female professor of seventeenth-century literature at a University. She has never been pregnant and is unmarried, has no siblings, both of her parents are deceased, and has no mention of immediate or long distant family. Her father died suddenly when she was age 20 and her mother died of breast cancer when Dr. Bearing was age 41 (Edson, 1999 pgs. 22-24). Dr. Bearing holds one of the most difficult classes in the University and generally does not have a positive outlook with the students who have attended her courses. She is well know to be a critical professor in terms of assignments and personality. She was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer at age 50 and was put into intense treatment. Showing the lack of personal connection, and the appearing lack of empathy for her students, Dr. Bearing shows signs of personality disorders. Depression is the main outlook, but a small sense of narcissism can be detected.

Measures

A printed version of the play Wit (otherwise know as Wit) by Margaret Edson was acquired for the character analysis of Dr. Vivian Bearing. For diagnosis guidance, the Diagnosis and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). For gathering general and extensive information on the disorders, multiple encyclopedias found using the research database Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL). These instruments were chosen based on their legitimacy and ability to provide relative information on the subjects in this paper. They are professional with providing information and are authentic.

Procedure

The first stage of Dr. Vivian Bearing’s depression started with her diagnosis of cancer. She was treated very impersonally, like an object, by almost everyone during her treatments (Edson, pgs. 16-20). The only people that show Dr. Bearing any sort of emotional care are Dr. Posner and nurse Monahan. Further into her treatment, Dr. Bearing has not had a single visitor. She has a distinct lack of people she care for, or on the other hand, people who care for her. She lies in her hospital room alone with nothing but her thoughts. Whenever she is asked how she is feeling she always replies with “fine”. She gives a lack of emotion during her treatments until later when she pinches her IV tube to alert nurse Monahan into the room because she wanted to talk. During the conversation, Dr. Bearing has an episode and states that she no longer feels sure of herself. (Edson, pgs. 64-65). As the treatments progress further, Dr. Bearing figures out that the treatments are not curing her cancer. She then decides that she wants to be “DNR” (Do Not Resuscitate) in case her heart stops so she can die.

Results

Tentative Diagnosis

Depression can be triggered by major negative life events. As stated in the Encyclopedia of Public Health “The psychological component [of depression] is similarly suggested by the correlation of onset of major depression with negative life events” (Powers & Eisendrath, 2002). Dr. Bearing being diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer is a traumatic and negative event to occur in her life. With no known cure for this disease, Dr. Bearing is virtually being told she is going to die. Her depression is only worsened by the fact that Dr. Bearing has no one but the doctors to communicate with during her illness. This gives her the sense of loneliness that eventually causes her episodic breakdown. To give a proper and full diagnosis of Dr. Vivian Bearings depressive state, I would diagnose that she has a moderate case of Single episode, Major Depressive Disorder. According to the DSM-IV “for an individual to be diagnosed with this Depressive Disorder they must have experienced at least one Major Depressive Episode” (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). As we saw in the procedure and with other evidence of Dr. Bearing’s mood disorder, this is a proper diagnosis.

Another diagnosis that can be looked at would be a subtle case of narcissism. In the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, it states that “narcissism is associated with interpersonal relationships that lack warmth and emotional intimacy” (Darity, 2008). With what we see in the method, Dr. Bearing has a lack of emotion for others. She doesn’t have sympathy for her students and generally does not show much emotion towards others until after she is diagnosed with cancer. This also could be why she has never married, because of her lack of emotion for others. In order to make a proper diagnosis “individuals . . . have an extensive sense of how important they are . . . and are limited in their capacity to appreciate others perspectives” (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). With these diagnoses requirements, Dr. Bearing is not entirely narcissistic, but show some of the symptoms of narcissism.

Discussion

In the end of the play W;t, Dr. Vivian Bearing eventually dies in a peaceful, yet depressive state. If her depression was realized and was treated for during her cancer treatment, she could have died peacefully and with the people who care about her. I would have recommended Cognitive-behavioral therapy. This therapy teaches the patient to modify their negative thought patterns and develop problem solving and coping skills. According to the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences “in a 1999 mega-analysis of data from several treatments studies, Robert DeRubeis and colleagues found that cognitive therapy was as effective as medications in the treatment of more severely depressed adult patients” (Darity, 2008). Along with this treatment, I would have found people closest to Dr. Bearing and would try to get them to show their support for Dr. Bearing. Her loneliness would have been avoided, potentially resulting in her happiness. This treatment could have helped Dr. Bearing overcome her depression and live peacefully until her death. In a hypothetical sense, if Dr. Bearing managed to survive her cancer through a form of miracle and had not received therapy, she could have likely been left in a state of deep depression.

In conclusion, this treatment was in no way going to cure Dr. Vivian Bearing of her stage IV ovarian cancer. It was simply a means of preserving her own humanity before death. With the treatment suggested in this paper, Dr. Bearing would have lived the rest of her life in happiness.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

(4th ed., text rev.). doi: 10.1176/appi.books.9780890423349

Depression, Psychological. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the

social sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 306-308). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.

Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.tacomacc.idm.oclc.org/

Edson, M. Wit. (1999) New York: Faber, Inc.

Narcissism. (2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social sciences

(2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 369-370). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from

http://go.galegroup.com.tacomacc.idm.oclc.org/

Powers, J., & Eisendrath, S. J. (2002). Depression. In L. Breslow (Ed.), Encyclopedia of public

health (Vol. 2, pp. 323-324). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Retrieved from