top of page
Search

Living the Criteria of the DSM Through Stephen King's Life

Updated: Jun 4, 2023

For this assignment, this learner reviewed the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Within this manual, this learner selected to review the life of best-selling author Stephen King to determine and analyze the disorders which occur throughout his lifetime. This learner will first state the source in which information regarding Mr. King’s life and symptoms have been gathered from is Daily Mail by David Leafe (2009). This is an important fact for reliability purposes. Leafe further clarifies that his article is adapted from the novel Haunted Heart: The Biography of Stephen King by Lisa Rogak which was later officially published as Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King (2009).


Diagnosis(s)


Based on the information gained about Mr. King’s life, this learner could conclusively state that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder, which the combination of the two later morphed into Substance/Medication-Induced Psychotic Disorder and once Mr. King was sober again, he was left with Major Depressive Disorder. That is quite a lot to process, so we will begin at the beginning to sort all of this out.


When Stephen King’s father abandoned him and his brother at a young age, he was plagued by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. Without knowing the exact symptoms that Mr. King experienced it is difficult to state exactly which criterion Mr. King meets. However, based on Leafe’s (2009) article we can conclusively state that Mr. King was consistently worried about his mother leaving him and his brother also. This could fall into the Criterion B of “recurrent, involuntary and intrusive distressing memories of the traumatic event(s),” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), which also causes distressing dreams that are related, and flashbacks or the feeling as though this situation may be re-occur. Without knowing conclusively that Mr. King did in fact not experience any other symptoms, more conclusive information would need to be brought forward before making that determination. However, based the information that we do know, this learner can make the conclusion that Mr. King suffered from PTSD as a child.


As a child, Leafe (2009) writes that Mr. King was plagued by nightmares “in which his mother was laid out in a coffin and he saw himself hanging from a gallows, with crows pecking out his eyes, his anxieties included everything from a terror of falling down the toilet, to paranoid about death, deformity, and even clowns.” It is fairly common that an individual with such an extreme fear of death, or death like obsessions would suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.


In fact, “Thanatophobia is the fear of death or the process of dying. If you have thanatophobia, you might experience high anxiety and distress when thinking about death or dying,” (Moore, 2021). According to the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD meets Criterion A when there are a presence of obsessions, compulsions or both and the obsessions are defined as:


“(1) Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress; and (2) The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion).”


These obsessions are also stated to be, (1) time consuming, (2) cause distress, (3) impairment in areas of functions, (4) not attributable to psychological effects of substances, and (5) not better explained as another disorder.


Leafe (2009) states that Mr. King eventually learned that in order to cope with his distressing obsessions and images that he experienced regularly, was to write about them. Mr. King used his writing as a compulsion created by his obsessions. Mr. King’s long periods of writing were even described as, “He could only deal with these bogeymen by writing stories about them, rattling away so furiously,” (Leafe, 2009).


Mr. King then began experimenting with drugs and alcohol once in college where he was even arrested after a night of heavy drinking for stealing traffic cones (Leafe, 2009). At this time Mr. King was experimenting with Marijuana, Speed and LSD, as well as alcohol. Mr. King later expanded his drug use to include use of cocaine. As a high-school teacher, once Mr. King married and had children, Mr. King turned to drinking again. When drinking Mr. King admitted to wanting to “grab them and hit them,” (Leafe, 2009). Even though Mr. King never laid a hand on his children or his wife, he thought about doing so multiple times. Which is when he turned to writing again, and which sprung another best-selling novel—The Shining.


Leafe (2009) states that while Mr. King’s compulsion to write, “believing that if he wrote about something bad, then it would never happen,” helped to control his hostility toward his family, but did nothing to control Mr. King’s drinking. This learner believes that with a combination of Mr. King’s OCD and alcohol and drug impairments this led him to Substance/Medication-Induced Psychotic Disorder.


The DSM-5 (American Psychological Association, 2013) states that Criterion A for Substance/Medication-Induced Psychotic Disorder is best described as having (1) delusions, and/or (2) hallucinations. Criterion B states that there is evidence from the history that these delusions or hallucinations developed during or soon after exposure to the substance, and that the substance is capable of producing these symptoms. The Manual further explains that if criterion for another psychotic disorder is found, then the substance/medication induced disorder would no longer be appropriate. It however also states that the disturbances seen in Criterion A are not “exclusively during the course of a delirium”, and that these disturbances significantly impact various areas of functioning.


It is then later claimed in Leafe’s (2009) article that upon Mr. King becoming sober he loses all motivation to write. His compulsions and obsessions are gone, and he is left with overwhelming depression. This is best classified as Major Depressive Disorder being that (1) Mr. King feels this way for longer than a 2-week time period, (2) his symptoms are not attributable to another medical condition, (3) he indicates a depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, and (4) experiences a loss of interest in previously successful or enjoyed activities. Without having more conclusive knowledge firsthand it would be difficult to say that Mr. King did in fact experience weight loss or weight gain, insomnia, hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation or retardation, fatigue, other feelings of worthlessness, or thoughts of suicide. These symptoms did significantly impact Mr. King’s social, and occupational areas of functioning and are not attributable to the effects of a substance or other medical condition (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).


Quality of Life


In viewing Mr. King’s overall life, and his quality of life living with these disorders this learner believes that because Mr. King suffered significantly, it did in fact enhance his success. This learner, and many others, lead Mr. King’s mental health concerns to his great success as a multiple best time selling author. With many of Mr. King’s books having been critically acclaimed and made into movies, his success and fortune is vast. This learner would be interested in reviewing the relationships between Mr. King and his children now that he is sober.


It would be interesting to see how Mr. King has grown into parenthood and accepted his role as father to his children, and whether or not he is still suffering from a mental health disorder. When not suffering from psychosis due to alcohol or PSTD or severe OCD, it would be interesting to see what that relationship is like now. This learner would additionally be interested in gaining further insight as to what Mr. King’s psychological rehabilitation was. As Mr. Leafe (2009) states, it took many years for Mr. King to find a way to deal with his depression after experiencing such dark and intrusive thoughts and feelings throughout his lifetime, he eventually was able to start writing again and that was when he wrote novels such as Green Mile, a novel that pulls on your heart strings.


Analysis Discussion


In Hughes (n.d.) article titled Inside the Mind of Stephen King it is discussed that no doubt Mr. King has an addictive personality, but he is also very well known for “harm avoidance” which is noted in this article as something that is a recurring theme in Mr. King’s life and in his writings. Which, harm avoidance, is a compulsion that is brought on by an obsession—Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Mr. King himself stated in Leafe’s (2009) article that he chose to write because that was the compulsion, he was compelled to in order to not commit the thoughts and obsessions he was plagued by.


Mr. King additionally commented in a 2014 Rolling Stone article by Andy Greene when asked, “Is writing an addiction for you?” Mr. King responds by stating that, “Yeah. Sure. I love it. And it’s one of the few things where I do it less now and get as much out of it. Usually with dope or booze, and you do it more and get less out of it as time goes by. It’s still really good, but it’s addictive, obsessive-compulsive disorder.” With this comment that leads us back to the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) that requires us to specify if there is insight from the individual regarding their belief of OCD. This would lead this learner to believe that there is poor insight, “The individual thinks obsessive-compulsive disorder beliefs are probably true.” This learner believes that Mr. King may realize this is a tactic and symptom of OCD, but without knowing conclusively, he may not self-identify with OCD.


Treatments


It appears through Mr. King’s lifetime based on Leafe’s (2009) article that Mr. King may have already been treated by this point. Thus, the curiosity about the course of treatment and mental rehabilitation which plagued him for the majority of his life appears. However, it appears as though the method this learner would suggest eliminating such obsessions that Mr. King has been plagued with, is through Exposure and Response Prevention or ERP (Hezel & Simpson, 2019). Through the use of this treatment, one that is plagued with certain obsessions would be essentially forced to live out the obsession in an effort to eliminate it. Thus, Mr. King does that through his writing. He lives his fears and obsessions by means of writing the details and gruesome events in which he is afraid of.


Conclusion


As a professional in the field of psychology, this learner would use the information learned herein to be able to formulate a case study to better analyze individuals motivations. Whether that is in an act of a crime, or success in their livelihood or other method of performing a compulsion to live out an obsession. Additionally, if I was the individual that treated Mr. King, I would document his case for posterity purposes as it appears that he suffers from many different types of disorders and all at different periods in his lifetime. It is interesting to see the way that disorder will appear over time and will manifest itself into something else. This learner would be better equipped to ask the harder questions of individuals if there was documentation of Mr. King’s psychological history documented for psychological examination purposes only. But that would be a matter of HIPPA and is unlikely with an individual’s name attached to it.



Resources


Comments

Subscribe Form

Thanks for submitting!

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • 1486164227-goodreadssquarelight1_79648
  • Pinterest
  • Amazon
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

© 2020 - 2024 by Karmin Ann or Karmin Walker Books

bottom of page