The Perks Of Being A Wallflower By Stephen Chbosky

The movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, depicts the main character, Charlie, as having one of the main mental disorders known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. The film itself was released in October of 2012 and was directed by Stephen Chbosky. I chose this movie to complete my report on because, as I watched the film and observed how Charlie was bullied by his peers and was unappreciated by his family because he was different, it tremendously pulled at my heartstrings. As a young boy, Charlie, whose last name was never provided, was sexually abused several times by his favorite Aunt Helen, who he looked up to and loved with all his heart. Charlie never wanted to accept or acknowledge that his Aunt, whom he adored so dearly, would …show more content…
As I stated above, Charlie was depicted as having PTSD, and although this diagnosis was never fully stated in the movie, there were several ways that it was implied. For example, during the end of the movie Charlie finally has an emotional breakdown. After falling in love with his new friend Sam at the beginning of the movie, things do not work out so well for them relationship wise and the stress of losing Sam emotionally tears him up inside, and he accelerates to the point to where he can’t handle it. Yes, I was able to notice that Charlie is aware of his mental illness because he realizes that he is different than everyone else at his school. For example, Charlie keeps a journal that was given to him by a teacher that acts as his mentor and friend that he writes down his thoughts to, in the sense that is actually talking about his feelings to someone. He always titles his entries, “Dear Friend” and signs them, “Your Friend, Charlie.” The symptoms that Charlie displays that are related to his illness consist of himself having severe anxiety, flashbacks, nightmares, and …show more content…
It is accurate that Charlie has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because all of the symptoms that are listed online relate to Charlie’s behavior in the movie. For example, Charlie is not able to sleep most nights and he also begins to have horrible flashbacks of his Aunt Helen and the nights that she molested him. As his flashbacks continue to become worse and worse Charlie begins getting physically ill and fatigued due to his increasing anxiety and lack of sleep. Others reacted to Charlie’s illness in different ways. His siblings were hateful and abusive towards him by calling him names such as “Freak” and “Creep.” His parents were cautious and supportive of him by always asking how he was and by never getting too upset with him over small things. His friends Sam and Patrick always took care of him and were there to calm him down when he needed it the most. In the movie there is a scene that I described earlier where Charlie finally becomes so overwhelmed with all that is occurring in his life that he breaks down mentally and emotionally and has to be put in the