What About Bob Essay, Research Paper

In the movie, What About Bob , the main character Bob Wiley is one of Dr. Leo Marvin s newest patients. Dr Marvin is an uptight, egotistical psychiatrist who can t wait to get on Good Morning America to introduce his new book about emotional disorders. When Leo goes to New Hampshire to prepare for his TV appearance and vacation with his family, Bob decides to tag along, tricking the doctor’s answering service into revealing his location. Before long, Bob turns Leo’s vacation into a nightmare, winning over Leo’s wife and kids even as he drives his psychiatrist to the brink of psychosis. Bob Wiley had quite a few disorders which, Dr. Marvin was unable to control. Bob s phobia s and disorders are all serious and immediate medical attention is needed.

One of Bob Wiley s biggest neurotic disorders was social phobia, or an irrational anxiety elicited by exposure to certain types of social or performance situations, also leading to avoidance behavior. Bob told of his troubles of being in certain situation, and his symptoms of nausea, illness, pain, etc. that lead me to believe that he needs treatment of his social phobia, or he may even be agoraphobic, which is the abnormal fear of open or public places. Social phobia is a very prevalent and debilitating disorder, with public speaking anxiety being the most common fear among socially phobic individuals. Although there are a number of effective psychosocial treatments for social phobia (i.e., cognitive-behavioral treatments and exposure therapy) very little is known about the underlying mechanism of therapeutic change, and the variables that are predictive of treatment outcome.

Among his trouble in social situations, he also has a phobia of being dirty, Automysophobia, and hypochondria, the persistent neurotic conviction that one is or is likely to become ill, often involving experiences of real pain when illness is neither present nor likely. His tendencies of making sure to never touch anything that may have germs, or diseases on it, tells me that he most likely has a fear of becoming dirty, diseased, or ill.

Bob s attachment and dependency show me also that he has a fear of being alone or loneliness, which may either be, Isolophobia or Monophobia. His constant inability to leave Dr. Martin s side shows his vulnerability and a condition where he is afraid to be without someone. Bob tried to overcome this fear by also carrying a fish around with him, which kept him from becoming upset. Bob took the initial step by making a friend, his fish, and I applaud his attempt to stay away from solitude. A simple cure for his loneliness is a partner or friend, and maybe even some psychiatric help to overcome his fear.

Bob Wiley showed to be a very complex and abnormal being. His behavioral tendencies lead me to believe that he has quite a few neurotic disorders. As a professional psychiatrist, I recommend Bob to seek immediate attention from either myself, or any of my recommended colleagues. His phobias and disorders are quite serious, and many more may pertain to his condition. Professional help may be Bob s only hope.