Psy101 Final Project

1. Harm
and It’s Kind
of a Funny
Story

2. Psychological Basis

3. Depression
• Depression is defined as a mental condition characterized
by feelings of severe despondence and dejection, typically
also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often
accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of
appetite and sleep.
Self-
Harm• Self-harm is defined as the act of deliberately harming
your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself.
It’s typically not meant as a suicide attempt. Rather,
self-harm is an unhealthy way to cope with emotional
pain, intense anger and frustration.

4. Depressi
on
• Major Depressive Disorder: when a
person suffers from severe
depression for more than 2 weeks
• Dysthymia: chronic, less severe
depression that lasts more than years
• Seasonal Affective Disorder:
depression that takes place during
certain times of the year
• Bipolar Disorder: alternating episodes
of depression and mania

5. Self-
Harm
Types:
• Cutting
• Burning
• Scratching
• Hair Pulling
• Eating Disorders
Triggers:
• Stress
• Trauma
• Anger
• Guilt
• Bad Relationships
• Anxiety
• Feeling Disconnected from
the World

6. Media

7. It’s Kind of a Funny
Story
• It’s Kind of a
Funny Story is a
beautiful book
written by Ned
Vizzini in 2006
and turned into a
feature film in
2010.
• It focuses on a
depressed 16-
year-old boy,
Craig, who checks
himself into a
psychiatric
hospital after
considering
suicide.
• While in the
hospital, Craig
makes friends with
some of the other

8. It’s Kind of a Funny
Story
• While in the
hospital, Craig
befriends a girl
named Noelle,
who struggles
with depression
and self-harm.
• She states to
Craig that she
used self-harm
to cope with the
trauma of being
sexually abused
throughout her
life.
• She cut her face
so that no one
would think that
she was
beautiful and
want to abuse
her. It’s almost
like her defense
mechanism.

9. Connection

10. Connection-Craig:
• Craig suffers from Major Depressive
Disorder. He has been depressed for many
years and struggles with an eating disorder.
• Craig states that feels guilty about his
problems and that his family shouldn’t have
to put up with him.
• Craig has been in therapy for as long as he
can remember. He has also been on a wide
range of medications for a very long time.
• When Craig stopped taking his medication is
when he began to feel suicidal.
• Major Depressive
Disorder is described
as lasting for more
than two weeks.
• Symptoms include
feelings of
worthlessness and
guilt, feelings of
sadness, tearfulness,
emptiness and
hopelessness.
• A person suffering
from MDD may also
experience thoughts
of death, suicidal
thoughts and/or
attempts.
• When Craig feels like
there is no escape for
what he is feeling, he
considers climbing to
the top of the

11. Connection-Noelle:
• Noelle struggles
with PTSD,
depression, and
self-harm.
• Noelle opens up to
Craig and explains
that she was
sexually abused in
her childhood and
that cutting her
face made people
stay away from her.
• She states that she
was admitted to
the hospital
because of her
self-harm
tendencies.
• PTSD is caused
by a traumatic
event in
someone’s life.
• Self-harm can be
the result of
stress, trauma or
guilt, or feeling
disconnected
from the world.
• Self-harm is
described as a
negative coping
skill.
• Noelle turns to
self-harm to help
her cope with the
trauma and
depression that

12. Connection/Validity
• Craig is stated to have major depressive disorder. He says
that he feels out of control with his life. He says that all
the stress and anxiety in his life keeps building up and
he’s not sure how much more he can take. Craig also
clearly states that he wants to kill himself.
• The Mayo Clinic describes MDD as experiencing feelings
of hopelessness. Other symptoms include thoughts and
actions of suicide.

13. Connection/Validity
• Noelle is stated to deal with PTSD and uses self-harm as
her negative coping skill. She also struggles with
depression, lasting more than two years of her life. Noelle
states that her self-harm is a form of suicidal tendencies.
• The Mayo Clinic describes the triggers for self-harm to be
stress, anxiety, and trauma, along with a long list of
more. Symptoms of depression include feelings of
worthlessness, hopelessness and thoughts of suicide.

14. My Take
• The author of this book, Ned Vizzini, pulled from his
personal experiences and was able to create characters
who truly embody what having a mental illness looks like.
• Vizzini began writing this book while he was in a
psychiatric hospital for his struggle with depression.
• Overall, this is a wonderful description of what depression
and self-harm look like in a teenage world.

15. Resources:
• http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-
conditions/depression/basics/definition/con-20032977
• http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/self-
injury/basics/definition/con-20025897
• It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini