'Diagnosing And Treating The Ophelia Syndrome'

Critical Response 4 The essay “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome” by Thomas G. Plummer was interesting to read. I recognized the name “Ophelia” from Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. The Ophelia Syndrome is a psychological disorder that is described as the inability to think for yourself. This syndrome is named after Ophelia from Hamlet because she was always told what to do by the men around her. Ophelia was never able to think for herself. This drove her to become insane and eventually kill herself. Even though it seems Ophelia wants to feel and think for herself, she believes that it is wrong because she has always abided by what her family tells her. Being dependent on others for one’s thoughts can extinguish the “individuation” of …show more content…
The first treatment is about finding and learning from great teachers. Teachers who refuse to do your thinking for you are the best ones to find. This teaches you to think for yourself and to use your own ideas to solve problems. Treatment 2 is to know yourself. You cannot know what to think if you do not know who you are. Treatment 3 is learning to live with uncertainty. You do not have to know everything to feel like yourself. There will always be outcomes that are unpredictable, so you must learn to go with the flow. Treatment 4 is about having an open mind and seeing different points of view. Being able to see from alternate sides helps you able to think clearly. This helps you figure out what is wrong and what is right. Treatment 5 is to foster idle thinking. This means solving a problem by thinking about something other than the actual issue. You must take a mental break and let your mind rest for a while. This helps clear your mind to come up with ideas that can help solve problems. Treatment 6 is getting out of your comfort zone. You may think some things are dangerous because you have been introduced to them. Taking risks and trying new things can let you have experiences that you might