A Case Analysis Of Ernest Hemingway s Bipolar Disorder

The following paper is a case analysis of Ernest Hemingway’s bipolar disorder. The goal of the paper is to conceptualize bipolar disorder using a psychodynamic model. The case study uses the concepts of abnormal psychology to trace the etiology of a mood disorder beyond just the vestiges of uncommon behavior. The paper argues that he suffered from a mood disorder. The etiology of his mood disorder is the unresolved issues he had with his father’s suicide. Excessive use of alcohol exacerbated his problems. He exhibited bipolar mood swings that contributed to his suicide. He engaged in risk-taking behavior. He was most likely motivated to rescue himself from an overprotective mother and a cold and disciplinarian father. Case Conceptualization The purpose of the paper is to conceptualize the principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy in the field of abnormal psychology. The psychodynamic model derives from psychoanalytic theory. The psychoanalytic approach to psychology relies on a psychodynamic model for treatment. Psychoanalysis is the science of interpretation. Psychoanalysis began with the work of Sigmund Freud, and its principle suggestion is that unconscious motivations govern the desires of human beings (Barlow, p. 17). Freud wrote that unconscious desires lie at the heart of the psyche. Consciousness is what human beings are made aware of in waking life. Freud observed that the life of the mind is more than just conscious awareness. At a deeper unconscious level,