A biological view of Steven's case

¶ … Steven V.

Biological View: The Case of Steven V.

When Steven V. came to see me for psychological treatment, he informed me that he had been suffering from depression, which seemed to be instigated by the ending of a relationship with a woman. With the help of a therapist, he was able to conquer the depression; however, those sad feelings were replaced by angry and hostile feelings for Linda. By looking back at Steven's childhood, his relationship with his parents, and the behavior of both his mother and his father, I can see that there are some similarities in the way that Steven and his parents behave.

Steven didn't have much contact with his father through his childhood and adolescence. His father wasn't around a lot and he depended on his mother for affection. While his mother also had her own activities in life, when she did make time for Steven, she was quite warm and affectionate. The number one element that stands out for me is the fact that Steven's mother allowed Steven to sleep in her bed when her husband -- Steven's father -- was out of town. It is noted that she often didn't wear much to bed with him and she was very affectionate -- a lot of stroking, kissing, etc. Thus Steven became to depend upon her -- a woman -- for all of his good and secure feelings. He more than likely resented his father when he came home because he took Steven's place away from him.

In Steven's relationship with Linda, Steven is completely immersed though she does not reciprocate. He says that she acts like he isn't around when she is with friends, though she insists that this was not the case. Steven, because of the special affection he got from his mother, which would then go away again, seems to be allowing himself to be in that same kind of situation. "Allowing" might not be the right word, but basically, Steven is feeling the same way for Linda as he did with his mother. He is putting all of his feelings into the relationship and when Linda pulls away, he gets mad. When Steven's mother told him -- at 12 -- he could no longer sleep in the bed, Steven felt confused. He had masturbated in the bed next to his mother and thus his mother reacted very negatively. When Steven and Linda are going to have sex, Steven cannot keep the erection and he becomes abusive. It is my personal opinion that Steven has created a situation with Linda that is similar to the relationship that he had with his mother; however, in the relationship with Linda, Steven is now a grown up who can take care of himself. He is older and bigger and thus more intimidating; which is why Linda agrees to have sex with him finally.

The fact that both of Steven's parents were not completely there for him when he needed, as well as the fact that Steven's mom was overly affectionate at times and not affectionate at other times, leads me to believe that Steven is a bit all-or-nothing as well -- something that he has inherited from his mother. Steven became obsessed with Linda and his relationship with her, even though they were just dating. He became jealous about the time she spent with friends and in extra-curricular activities as opposed to spending time with just him. Steven seems to be the other end of the spectrum when compared with his father. Because Steven's mother was on-again-off-again with her affection, Steven may be "wired" to take whatever he can get while it is there.

When considering the fact that Steven has been in and out of therapy since childhood, there is some logic to assume that there have been some forms of mental illness in the family. Steven has been diagnosed with a plethora of different mental ailments since kindergarten age. Steven has shown interest all through his life -- really -- in violence and sex. It seems, from the notes, that Steven was not really interested in pornography and disturbing sexual scenes involving women until after the masturbating accident, which seems to illustrate that there was a very high level of shame occurring in Steven's mind. These shameful thoughts could have, perhaps, led to an outward manifestation, which Steven was able to quell by watching violent sexual pornography as well as films containing death and murder. He particularly liked watching films where women were the objects of violence and violent sex.

Steven and his feelings of hostility for Linda seem to have come about after the depression because he has not dealt with past issues that are still haunting him and making him feel shameful. It can be reasoned that Linda was like his mother who gave her love and then took it away. While Steven felt hurt and confused by his mother's actions, and though he had that immediate reaction after Linda broke up with him, his feelings turned to anger and hostility, which are perhaps directed toward his mother and father as well as toward Linda since they were all people whom Steven felt he could not rely upon.

Steven became verbally and physically abusive with Linda after he could not keep his erection. Because he has already shown that he has the capability to hurt Linda, his threat has got to be taken very seriously. Violence is a crime and it needs to be treated as such. On that same note, men who are capable of violence need to be treated with respect and understanding. Many men hurt women because they are incredibly dependent on that woman and that is what I see here with Linda. Steven has associated happiness and security with Linda. When Linda ignores him or does her own activities, Steven becomes confused. For him, love is obsession and dependency and when he does not have that, he does not feel good about himself. Steven had no one to depend upon for affection when he was a child (his mother gave it to him in an overly-affectionate way and then took it away, which is perhaps maybe worse than never getting affection at all because one starts to believe that they are sometimes worthy of love and sometimes they are not) and, because of this, he clings for dear life to whatever affection he can find. Steven has relied on his mother and Linda to create his sense of self-worth. He feels that he needs her to survive and thus I believe that him saying that Linda doesn't deserve to live is a projection of his own feelings. I believe that he feels that he himself does not deserve to live. He feels like his like is worth nothing without her. He does not have an identity if he cannot see it in someone else.