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Mental Health and Parkinson’s Disease- An Analysis of Maggie’s Character in Love and Other Drugs

 Rabani Bhatti

Love and Other Drugs is a 2010 Hollywood movie that revolves around the lives of Jamie Randall and Maggie Murdock. A little dramatised, and understandably so, the movie is an honest attempt at the portrayal of Parkinson’s disease as it takes us through the life of Maggie and the challenges she faces with early onset Parkinson’s disease. Jamie meets Maggie as a free-spirited, independent and emotionally unavailable artist who runs away from any semblance of a meaningful relationship. The film gives us a glimpse into their whirlwind romance as it takes us through the highs and lows of Maggie and Jamie’s relationship. 

While the main focus of the film is the love story between Maggie and Jamie, another subtle message that comes out of the film is that Parkinson’s disease and its effects are not only limited to impairments in motor skills, cognition, etc. but also have an impact on one’s mental health and the way patients view themselves.

Parkinson’s disease is an incurable brain disorder that gets worse over time. The nerve cells in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra die, which causes those with Parkinson’s to shake or show other abnormal movements. The exact cause of Parkinson’s is unknown but is believed to be a mix of things like genes and exposure to certain toxins. Therefore, it almost seems like Parkinson’s disease happens randomly. As it can happen to anyone without any fault of their own, it is important to inspect the impact a neurocognitive disease like Parkinson’s can have on one’s mental health.

Psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, hallucination, delusion, apathy and anhedonia, impulsive and compulsive behaviours, and cognitive dysfunction, are common in most Parkinson’s disease patients (Han et al., 2018). While it was not explicitly disclosed if Maggie’s character was depressed in the movie, we do see the manifestation of some symptoms of depression in her daily life. Feelings of worthlessness and emptiness are common in depression. We see this in the movie when Maggie’s character tends to run away from any semblance of a meaningful relationship. She engages in meaningless sex and assumes from the onset of any sexual relationship that the other person would not want to stay with her. In one scene in the movie, Maggie says, “For you, it’s not the sex, but an hour or two to relieve the pain of being you…that’s all I want too.” This shows that more than the disease itself, it is also the toll it takes on one’s mental health. We see Maggie’s weak sense of self-worth when she engages in casual sex on a daily basis as it is often used as a coping mechanism to counter feelings of worthlessness by feeling wanted by someone else. While Maggie is only at the onset of the disease, it is safe to say that her character was depressed as depression can manifest anytime in PD (Parkinson’s Disease), from the premotor stage to the late stages of the disease (Han et al., 2018). Depression in PD patients generally involves neurovegetative symptoms, such as fatigue, concentration difficulty, insomnia, etc. We see Maggie’s character struggle with her career as a photographer when her tremoring along with a loss of concentration inhibits her from taking photographs.

With anxiety comes a fear of attachment which again becomes evident in Maggie’s character when we see her trying to run away from building anything meaningful with Jamie. Anxiety symptoms are commonly accompanied by depression; they can be also presented as generalized anxiety with somatic symptoms, anxiety attacks, agoraphobia, and social avoidance (Hans et al., 2018). While Maggie’s character has no problem disclosing her condition, she does tend to shy away from any social gatherings that might lead to people seeing her in an unfavourable manner as she goes through the regular symptoms of PD such as tremors, etc. We also see one of Maggie’s anxiety attacks when she breaks a glass followed by screaming and crying.

Impulsive Control Disorder (ICD) is also common in patients with PD. The reported prevalence of impulse control disorder (ICD) varied from 35.9% to 60%. Symptoms of ICD include compulsive gambling, buying, sexual behaviour, creativity, and eating. The manifestation of Maggie’s ICD becomes apparent in the movie when we see her engage in commitment-free sex. Further, she is also portrayed as highly creative in the movie when we see her working as an artist. One of the risk factors of ICD in PD includes young age. This further shows us how Maggie possibly could have had ICD as she had to deal with a major degenerative disorder at 26.

The movie sheds light on not only the most widely known symptoms of Parkinson’s but also paints a rather colourful picture of Maggie’s character for the viewers to understand– an imperfect and complex character, with subtle aspects of her personality that tell us how the impact of neurocognitive disorders is multifaceted and more than what meets the eye. Through the movie, we learn that a disorder like PD is much more than the tremoring of hands or the loss of coordination, it is also the daily struggles involved in day to day living such as being able to have a romantic relationship or pursuing a career that gives levels to a complex disease like PD. 








References 

DerSarkissian, C. (2022, January 17). Parkinson's disease: Causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment. WebMD. Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/parkinsons-disease/ss/slideshow-parkinsons-overview 

Han, J. W., Ahn, Y. D., Kim, W.-S., Shin, C. M., Jeong, S. J., Song, Y. S., Bae, Y. J., & Kim, J.-M. (2018, November 1). Psychiatric manifestation in patients with parkinson's disease. Journal of Korean medical science. Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6236081/ 

Zwick, E. (Director). (2010). Love & Other Drugs [Film]. 20th Century Fox Studios


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