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Little Miss Sunshine

In: Film and Music

Submitted By mhicks10811
Words 643
Pages 3
Uncle Frank from the movie Little Miss Sunshine suffers from extreme Major Depressive Disorder caused by extreme stress and personal issues. Uncle Frank, who happens to be gay, is the number one Proust Scholar in the world. He attempted suicide when he found out is boyfriend dumped him for the number two Proust Scholar in the world. This sent Frank over the edge. He was then hospitalized for attempting suicide and his sister, Sheryl (the mom in the movie) brings him to live with her and her family. The family consists of Sheryl, her husband Richard, Sheryl’s son Dwayne from a previous marriage, their daughter Olive and Richard’s dad Edwin. The criteria I used to make my determination was both visual and by listening to Frank’s story as the movie progressed. Visually, you could see that Frank had a bandage on each wrist which would indicate that he tried to commit suicide. The definition of depression is feeling sad and hopeless over a period of time. A person may feel unimportant and are often unable to live in a normal way. People often feel worthless and guilty and are very fatigued with loss of energy. Most people feel sad or low at some point in their life but to be diagnosed with clinical depression, you have to feel depressed most of the day with loss of interest and must be ongoing every day for two weeks. These are all characteristics that seemed to affect Uncle Frank in the movie. There are numerous treatment options for depression. The most common types of treatment are antidepressant medication and counseling. Both are very effective for most people. Do not get discouraged if this does not work for you. What might work for one person does not automatically mean it will work for you. If you are diagnosed with severe depression, you may be required for a hospital stay or you may need to participate in outpatient treatment until your symptoms are improved. The most common type of antidepressants that are prescribed are Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). These are often prescribed first because these medications are a lot safer and usually cause fewer side effects compared to other antidepressants. Some common SNRIs are Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa and Lexapro. Taking antidepressants requires you to be patient because some medications require several weeks, sometimes longer, to take full effect. You should never stop taking your medication without consulting with your doctor first. Quitting suddenly may cause a sudden worsening of depression. When we were handed this project I knew that I was going to do mine on Little Miss Sunshine because it is one of my favorite movies and it always made me laugh. I have seen the movie numerous times and knew about all the characters and what happened to Frank in the movie but I focused more on the humor of the movie, I never focused on just the sorrow of what Frank went through. I know firsthand how easily depression can fall upon a person and how at first if you are talking to someone and you tell them how you are feeling, one of the first things some people will say is that you are probably depressed. At first I thought, I’m not depressed, but the more and more I went through the last couple years, the more it all made sense. I guess that is why I can relate to his character, I have lost a lot over the last couple years and I know how it feels to have a normal feeling life and then it comes to a crashing halt, just like it seemed to with Frank in the movie. It made the movie less humorous this time around to watch it from the perspective that I was, focusing on the problems with the characters and not the humor.

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