The narrator in Fight Club exhibits symptoms of both schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder. He develops the split personality of Tyler Durden as a response to stress, displaying dissociative identity disorder. He also experiences hallucinations of Tyler and delusional thoughts, indicative of paranoid schizophrenia. His memory gaps and inability to control Tyler's violent actions further reflect dissociative identity disorder. The film provides an exaggerated portrayal of how severe stress can trigger the development of alternate identities and psychosis.

2. SCHIZOPHRENIA AND
DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY
DISORDER

3. SCHIZOPHRENIA
SYMPTOM DEFINITIONS:
HALLUCINATIONS- FALSE SENSORY PERCEPTIONS.
DELUSIONS- FALSE BELIEFS.
DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR- MASSIVE FALSE BELIEFS.

4. SCHIZOPHRENIA
FIVE SUBTYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
• PARANOID- DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR AND PERSECUTION. OFTEN
ACCOMPANIED BY HALLUCINATIONS.
• CATATONIC- NON-REACTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT, EXTREME NEGATIVISM OR
WILD AGITATION.
• DISORGANIZED- DISORGANIZED SPEECH, FLATTENED OR INAPPROPRIATE
EMOTION.
• UNDIFFERENTIATED- VARIED SYMPTOMS
• RESIDUAL- MILD SYMPTOMS AS THE DISORDER ENTERS INTO REMISSION.

5. SCHIZOPHRENIA: CAUSES AND TREATMENT
CAUSES
• GENETICS: PSYCHOLOGISTS ATTRIBUTE 2/3 OF CASES TO
GENETICS.
• BIOLOGICAL FACTORS: IT’S BEEN OBSERVED THAT SOME
SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS HAVE TOO MUCH DOPAMINE.
• THERE’S A CONTROVERSIAL THEORY CALLED THE
NEURODEVELOPMENTAL HYPOTHESES WHICH STATES THE
CAUSE IS DISRUPTION IN THE MATURATION PROCESS
BEFORE BIRTH.
TREATMENTS
• DOPAMINE REGULATING DRUGS ARE
SOMETIMES USED BUT THEY CAN HAVE
SEVERE SIDE EFFECTS.
• OTHER MEDICATIONS/THERAPIES
• MOST PATIENTS ARE NEVER
COMPLETELY CURED
Dopamine molecule

6. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
• FORMERLY KNOWN AS “MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER.”
• VERY RARE
• PEOPLE WITH THIS DISORDER EXPERIENCE MAJOR DISRUPTIONS IN MEMORY ALONG WITH TWO OR
MORE DISTINCT “PERSONALITIES.”
• NOT ALL PSYCHOLOGISTS RECOGNIZE THIS DISORDER, INSTEAD THEY GROUP INTO OTHER DISORDERS
SUCH AS BIPOLAR DISORDER, SCHIZOPHRENIA, AND BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER.

7. DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER
CAUSES
• STRESS IS THE BIGGEST CAUSE FOR THIS
DISORDER, AND OTHER DISSOCIATIVE
DISORDERS.
• INABILITY TO DEAL WITH THE STRESSES OF LIFE
CAN LEAD TO PEOPLE CREATING A PERSONALITY
THAT CAN DEAL WITH THE STRESS.

9. SPOILER ALERT!

10. MEDIA• A UNNAMED NARRATOR BECOMES DISILLUSIONED WITH HIS MATERIALISTIC LIFESTYLE.
• AFTER A UNEXPLAINED FIRE DESTROYS HIS APARTMENT AND ALL OF HIS BELONGINGS, HE DEVELOPS SEVERE INSOMNIA.
• THE NARRATOR BEFRIENDS A CHARISMATIC CHARACTER NAMED TYLER DURDEN, AND ENDS UP STAYING WITH HIM IN HIS OLD
DILAPIDATED MANSION/APARTMENT BUILDING. TYLER SEEMS TO KNOW A LOT ABOUT THE NARRATOR, DESPITE THE TWO HAVING
JUST MET.
• ONE NIGHT THE TWO DECIDE TO FIGHT FOR FUN. THEY START FIGHTING REGULARLY TO BLOW OFF STEAM AND OTHER MEN START
WANTING TO JOIN IN.
• THEY DECIDE TO FORM A “FIGHT CLUB” AND MEET IN A BASEMENT WITH AN EVER GROWING AMOUNT OF MEN JOINING IN.

11. MEDIA
• THE FIGHT CLUB EVOLVES INTO A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, FOCUSED ON BRINGING DOWN CORPORATE
BANKS AND CREDIT CARD COMPANIES.
• TYLER’S BEHAVIOR BECOMES INCREASINGLY ERRATIC, WHILE THE NARRATOR TRIES TO STOP THE
ORGANIZATION HE HELPED CREATE.
• TYLER DISAPPEARS AND THE NARRATOR FLIES ALL OVER THE U.S TRYING TO FIND HIM. ON THE WAY HE
EXPERIENCES DÉJÀ VU AND MEETS PEOPLE THAT SEEM TO KNOW HIM, EVEN THOUGH HE’S NEVER MET THEM.
• IT’S REVELED THAT TYLER DURDEN IS THE NARRATOR’S SPLIT PERSONALITY HE CREATED AS A RESPONSE TO
HIS DISSATISFACTION WITH HIS LIFE.

13. CONNECTION
• THE NARRATOR BEGINS SHOWING SYMPTOMS OF PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA WHEN HE MEETS TYLER.
TYLER WAS A VISUAL HALLUCINATION AND EVERYTHING THE TWO TALKED ABOUT WERE AUDITORY
HALLUCINATIONS.
The narrators
visual
hallucination of
Tyler Durden
beating up a guy.

14. CONNECTION-
SCHIZOPHRENIA
• HE THINKS SOMEONE IS AFTER HIM AND THAT HE’S THE
ONLY ONE TO STOP THE “FIGHT CLUB’S” ACTS OF TERROR.
• HE TRIES TO STOP TYLER FROM COMMITTING ACTS OF
TERROR EVEN THOUGH HE IS TYLER.
The narrator has delusional
thoughts, a symptom of
Schizophrenia

15. CONNECTION-DISASSOCIATIVE IDENDITY• THE NARRATOR SHOWS SIGNS OF DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER WHEN HE CREATES THE
PERSONALITY OF “TYLER DURDEN.’ HE WAS SO STRESSED OUT AND DEPRESSED ABOUT HIS SHALLOW LIFE
THAT HE CREATED A NEW IDENTITY, ONE THAT COULD ACT OUT ALL THE THINGS HE WANTED TO DO BUT
COULDN’T.
• THE TYLER DURDEN IDENTITY WAS COOL, CHARISMATIC, AND WASN’T MATERIALISTIC. ALL THE THINGS
THE NARRATOR WANTED TO BE.
Tyler Durden
Narrator

16. CONNECTION-DISSOCIATIVE IDENDITY
DISORDER
• THE NARRATOR HAS HUGE GAPS IN HIS MEMORY WHICH IS SYMPTOM OF DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY
DISORDER.
• HE DOESN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING WHEN HE ASSUMES THE ROLE OF TYLER, INCLUDING MEETING
PEOPLE AND COMMITTING VIOLENT ACTS.
• AS TYLER, HE CREATED “FIGHT CLUB” AND EVENTUALLY TURNED IT INTO A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.

17. MY TAKE
• I THINK THIS MOVIE DOES A GOOD JOB IN PORTRAYING DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY DISORDER AND
SCHIZOPHRENIA, EVEN THOUGH IT’S OVER THE TOP. THE NARRATOR WAS SO STRESSED OUT HE
EVENTUALLY SNAPPED AND CREATED A SPLIT PERSONALITY. THE NEW PERSONALITY, TYLER DURDEN, WAS
EVERYTHING THE NARRATOR WANTED TO BE. HE ALSO EXPERIENCED, DELUSIONS, AND SENSORY
HALLUCINATIONS WHICH IS INDICATIVE OF PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA.