Black, White, or Grey All Over?

Throughout Grey’s Anatomy we witness, both conscious and unconscious, defense mechanisms from Meredith Grey. The mind is powerful, so powerful that when it senses trouble it becomes its own problem solver. The issue is, is that the unconscious mind often lacks a responsible response. Sigmund Freud, and many other psychoanalytics believed the unconscious mind was the driving force in peoples’ actions. When the brain cannot pin point the exact problem or solution, we create defense mechanisms. This becomes the body’s way of coping and maintaining separation from threatening materials and our conscious.

In episode five of season 1, Meredith makes one of the worst mistakes a surgeon can make. In the surgical room, she nicks a heart with her fingernail, jeopardizing the patient’s life. Concurrently that same day, her mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s, signs away the deed to her house. This is a major reminder of this deadly disease’s truth. Meredith has to learn to let go.

Meredith Grey has reached a level of overload. Between her mother and the mishap in the operating room, Meredith enters a frenzy of madness. Her unconscious mind begins screaming and yelling at the notary, nurses, and workers. Her mind is using a mechanism called displacement. She beings to put all of her anxiety, anger, and fears onto safer targets, hence the yelling.

“Did you ever feel like disappearing”? Meredith states this in Episode fifteen of season three. In this episode Meredith’s unconscious minds begins to battle one of her deepest, most repressed memories.

She sat there, motionless and numb, willingly drowning in her own bathtub. Face below the water, she waited for the water to seep into her lungs, and take her life. Derek lifted her from the water, and saved his wife’s life.

Later that same episode there was a ferryboat accident and the doctors were rushed to the scene. On the edge, close to river, Meredith was accidently pushed into the water by a frantic patient. Sink or swim, fight or flight?  Meredith had to make a decision; should she fight to live or let the water take her? As the frigid water nearly takes her life, Derek lifts Meredith out of the river. After a long hard battle to live(and a glimpse of her mother in the after-life), Meredith starts attending therapy where she uncovers her repressed childhood memory of her mother trying to attempt suicide. Slowly everything starts to make sense and she begins to acknowledge, confront, and heal. 

"I don't talk about Iraq." (5x18, Stand By Me)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a disorder that occurs after a life-changing, terrifying event.  It was previously referred to as shell shock, and was discovered initally in war veterans (as depicted by Owen Hunt).  However, it can occur in anyone who has suffered from a traumatic event in their life (as depicted by Chirstina Yang).  Common symptoms of PTSD are sleep deprivation, depression, feelings of numbness or detachment, loss of interest, restlessness, irritability, and violence.  During a traumatic event, the brain can do multiple things - one of which is a kind of chemical requiring of the brain to get it through the event.  PTSD is what occurs when the brain stays in this chemically rewired survival mode.  It is a very complex condition and involves many different parts of the brain (including the hippocampus, medial front cortex, thalamus, and hypothalamus) and chemicals found in the brain (such as noradreneline, dopamine, serotonin, insulin, and cortisol).

Before coming to Seattle Grace, Dr. Owen Hunt was a solider in Iraq.  He was working as an army trauma surgeon, and was honorably discharged after his entire platoon was killed.  Dr. Hunt begins to build a relationship with Christina Yang, but this development is made entirely more difficult by the onset of his Post-Traumatic Stress disorder.  He displays excessive aggression and violence, refuses to confront the issue, and it is also revealed that he has trouble sleeping.  The storyline of Hunt's PTSD reaches its climax when he is lying in bed one night with Christina and suddenly begins strangling her, not realizing that he is at home and not in Iraq.  He snaps out of it when Callie Torres enters the room asking if everything is okay.  Hunt finally realizes that he has to do something because he is so horrified by what he did to Christina.  Hunt occasionally refers to his time in Iraq, but no longer suffers from the symptoms of PTSD that he showed before.

Hunt choking Christina while thinking he is still in Iraq, 5x19, "Elevator Love Letter"

In the season 6 finale, a familiar face comes to Seattle Grace to shake things up and seek revenge.  Gary Clark was the husband of a patient that dies on the table while Dr. Webber, Lexie Grey, and Dr. Derek Shepherd were operating on him.  He fails to find Webber and Lexie, but finds and shoots Derek Shepherd, along with many other doctors, nurses, attending, patients, and patients' family members.  While Yang is operating on Derek, attempting to save his life, the shooter comes into the OR and demands she stop operating and let him die.  In a quite complicated series of events Meredith Grey steps in telling him to shoot her and saying she will be his "eye for an eye," Owen takes the bullet for Grey, Christina convinces Clark (and in turn, Meredith) that Derek is dead, Clark leaves, Yang reveals that Derek is alive, Meredith rushes to saves Hunt, and Yang saves Derek.  In the next season, we find out that Yang is suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  The shooting haunts her constantly, and she even quits for a short amount of time before returning to her Seattle Grace family.  Yang is usually considered the toughest, strongest person on the show, so this storyline only goes to show how PTSD is a condition that can occur in anyone.

Christina finally talks and tells Hunt about the crash while he helps her bathe, 9x02, "Remember the Time"

In the season 8 finale, Meredith Grey, Christina Yang, Arizona Robbins, Mark Sloan, and Derek Shepherd all get trapped in the woods after their plane was brought down in pieces.  When season 9 opens we find Arizona missing a leg, Derek suffering from serious nerve damage in his hand, Mark and Lexie dead, Christina physically healthy but not verbally responsive, and Meredith trying to hold everyone together.  Christina is not displaying typical signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder but the fact that she is physically healthy makes it seem as if that should be her diagnosis.  It is revealed that she is aware of what is going on when she throws a vase filled with flowers at a window behind which residents were gossiping about Yang.  In episode two of season nine we also find out that she does have other symptoms of PTSD when she finally speaks.  Hunt is bathing her and telling her how he's going to take off work to help her, and when he asks if she's ready to get out she says "I can't.  I can't get out."  She then proceeds to list off the haunting details of the crash and the days following, and says that it haunts her every single day.

"I can't.  I can't get out.  I stayed awake for four days.  I remember every minute of those four days... I couldn't get out.  I can't get out.  Don't you see?  I'll never get out."
- Christina Yang
  9x02, Remember the Time

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Tuck Let Go of My Hand!

Miranda Bailey was one of the first to become a mother on Grey’s Anatomy. In the early episode’s we experienced the birth of her child, and as the series continued we saw first hand the love and devotion she put into her son, Tuck. Miranda, who works an unimaginable amount of hours, is still able to consistently provide for her child.

Tuck, who often had to go daycare as a baby became a very independent child. He exhibits many qualities of a secure baby. When his first day of kindergarten approached Miranda was expecting tears, terrors, and tantrums. However Tuck was quite the opposite. He was happy and explorative in his new classroom. He instantly let go of his mother’s hand and was off to find toys. As a mother, Miranda had been quick, sensitive, and responsively consistent to the needs of her son. Now as he embarks on new phase of his life, Miranda should not be sad, but rather happy for the emotionally evolving and independent child she has raised!

Like many mom’s Miranda is suffering by concept of her “little baby” growing up. Tuck is developing, well and no longer needs to always be holding his mommy’s hand. Dr.Weber senses Bailey’s struggle to let go, and tells her “You know what happens when someone lets go of your hand? You get it back. It’s a good thing. You know, interns let go, and… Tuck let go and even Ben let go. And they’re all still there. They all still love you. But it means you get your hand back. It means you have time… not to wash the dishes… To do something with, to get out there, to find diseases to cure, to take it to the next level. Hell, uh, it means invent the Bailey method. But you gotta get out there, do something. And don’t look back”.

Research Psychology

During class we have often talked about various subfields of psychology. There are two main branches of psychology which include basic research and applied research.  Basic research is experimental and seeks after knowledge. On the other hand is, applied research, which is interventional.  Applied research is looking to be applied to real life.

Research requires curiosity, eagerness, skepticism, humility and an open mind, all of which are exemplified in Grey’s Anatomy. A study needs to based in theory. It should be able to explain, organize, and predict.

A major component of Grey’s Anatomy has been its research experiments. Though they may not have been psychological experiments, they were medical, and composed of similar premises.

As you may know, Meredith’s mother was diagnosed and eventually died of Alzheimer’s. Though we have come a long way in research, even to this day there is much that remains unknown about this fatal disease. Therefore on a past episode, Meredith and Derek decide to conduct a research experiment on the rapidly progressive Alzheimer's disease.

Like any good psychological research Meredith and Derek have created strict guidelines for the clinical trial. All candidates go through an intense screening process and psychological testing. In their study the independent variable is the drugs given, and their dependent variable its affect on the memory. Throughout the trial patients are randomly selected. Some will receive the drug, whereas other may only receive the placebo. Neither patients, nor the doctors have any idea of which group they are in. Until the envelope with the syringe comes into the operating room, everything is left secret, in order to create a psychologically sound experiment.  

In this episode I learned come with strict rules and regulations. When those are broken the legitimacy and credibility of the study are also broken. In the show, despite being warned not to, Meredith sneaks the Alzheimer drug in hopes of saving a friend. In the end she was caught, and the experiment was terminated.

"I’m trying to save a baby here, get out of my face." (6x08, Invest in Love)

One part of the storyline in Episode 8 of Season 6 centers around a baby born two months premature.  Karev is assigned to the case and because of the awful point his life is in at the moment his mind is almost set on the fact that this child is going to die.  He holds her one last time whispering to her that she is not alone.  When Bailey comes and finds him holding the baby she recalls something that we learned about when going over the senses and nerves.  The touch system is crucial to a developing child.  When in the womb, babies are able to hear their mother's heart beat and voice.  And when babies are born premature they are left to develop in an intensive care unit in a hospital wing.  Karev removes his shirt so he can hold the baby close to him and she can feel the skin on skin contact and the heat of his body.  This helps babies develop better and, in this episode, is also what gets the baby's heart kick-started and allows her to survive.

"Are you really so messed up that you can't let one person be nice to you, ever?"
"I can't go.  I can't go home, I can't get Izzie to call me back.  She's gone - could be dead for all I know!  She left me with a $200,000 medical bill, and I- I can't do anything about it, about any of it.  But I can sit here and I can hold this baby.  That I can do."
- Reed Adamson & Alex Karev
  6x08, Invest in Love

"We have to learn our own lessons." (1x06, If Tomorrow Never Comes)

There are four major problem solving approaches: Algorithmic, Heuristic, Insight, and Intuition.  The algorithmic approach involves methodical, logical step taking and is the longest process but results in the least amount of mistakes.  Heuristic problem solvers tend to make quick judgements and go off of past experiences.  They are not the best exam takers and tend to make mistakes much more often.  Insight is usually guided by a sudden novel solution that just comes to you.  This also includes learning from the mistakes of both oneself and others.  Intuitive problem solvers figure everything out with sudden feelings or thoughts.  They don't need practice, they just know exactly what to do.

Christina Yang is a cardiothoracic surgical fellow at Seattle Grace hospital.  Yang graduate from Berkeley and Stanford University and, just like all the others at Seattle Grace, has worked exceptionally hard to get to where she is. Yang is an algorithmic problem solver.  She thinks things through before acting, practices before big surgeries and other activities, and plans out steps to get to where she needs to be.  She knows that no matter how long it takes to finish her job, it will be worth it because she knows that she will be doing her absolute best.

Alex Karev is a resident pediatric surgeon who commonly uses heuristic approaches.  He is known for his egocentric attitude and tends to let his bad attitude get the best of him.  He makes many judgements and knee-jerk reactions without thinking things through all the way.

Mark Sloan was an insightful surgeon and had been referred to as the "go-to-guy" for plastic surgery by Karev (while he was being mentored in plastics by Sloan).  He never really thought things through all the way, and the best ideas would just come to him.  Although he wasn't always successful in his attempts and actions, he still had a consistantly high number number of good outcomes.

Miranda Bailey is an attending specialized in general surgery.  She was referred to as The Nazi because of her intimidating personality, but was always the person who everyone went to for answers.  Bailey always knew just what to do in any given situation, even in the case of the two teenagers who super glued themselves together so they'd never have to part.

(If you're wondering, warm soapy water mixed with acetone - that super glue won't stand a chance.)

Fight or Flight

“You have a decision to make. You can stay here and help me with this or you can go. What’s it gonna be George”? Fight? Or Flight? When ones body is thrown into a stressful or threatening situation the body has to make a decision.  The brain begins to send chemical signals throughout the body. Adrenaline or noradrenaline, which controls alertness and arousal, is rushed into the bloodstream. Our body starts to experience a series of dramatic changes.  One’s pupils begin to dilate. The respiratory rate increases, blood is rushed to the limbs, and awareness becomes keener. The body can see more sharply, hear more clearly, and react more accurately impulsive. In this episode George is hijacked into a threatening life or death situation.  Inevitability George’s body will react, as is clearly seen with Lizzie’s hysteria, and he will have to make a swift decision. When opportunities arise, you can’t predict. You can’t explain. You can simply act, in an attempt to save your heart; the one thing you cannot live without.