Sanity
Donnie: [to his mother] How's it feel to have a wacko for a son?
Rose Darko: It feels wonderful.
Rose Darko: It feels wonderful.
Many people may go their entire lives without ever once questioning their own sanity, and for some it may be far more severe, particularly if they suffer from a psychological condition. Just as many will doubt his or her own at some point. Not necessarily extended periods of time, but periods of their life anywhere from hours to weeks. This can be caused by any number of things: strange dreams, believing you saw something which cannot be, experiencing something strange, or any number of other things. Coming of age requires one to either come back to grips with their sanity, or accept the impacts of their own mental instability.
Donnie experiences all of these things, they seem so real, but how could they possible be true? This internal struggle is one Donnie is constantly fighting throughout the film. His experiences which would otherwise seem delusional occur more and more. And his relationship with Frank, seems analogous to that of a schizophrenic, which is defined as:
"A severe psychopathology characterized by negative symptoms such as emotional withdrawal and impoverished thought, and by positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions." (Breedlove, Watson 492)
This sounds exactly like what Donnie is experiencing, and he seems to display those symptoms to a 'T.' This seems apparent even to Donnie to the point that he himself finds it easier to simply believe he is crazy. A fear he confides with his father:
Donnie experiences all of these things, they seem so real, but how could they possible be true? This internal struggle is one Donnie is constantly fighting throughout the film. His experiences which would otherwise seem delusional occur more and more. And his relationship with Frank, seems analogous to that of a schizophrenic, which is defined as:
"A severe psychopathology characterized by negative symptoms such as emotional withdrawal and impoverished thought, and by positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions." (Breedlove, Watson 492)
This sounds exactly like what Donnie is experiencing, and he seems to display those symptoms to a 'T.' This seems apparent even to Donnie to the point that he himself finds it easier to simply believe he is crazy. A fear he confides with his father:
Throughout the film, Donnie takes medication for his "emotional problems," after his sister reveals he hasn't been taking them. Donnie doesn't because the way that they make him feel, but reluctantly resumes taking them. They don't seem to be helping him, however, as the strange occurrences and meetings with Frank not only do not stop, but increase in frequency. He initially concludes that he must actually be crazy, but later believes that what he's seeing is real. His therapist seems to believe his problems to be Donnie acting out rather than a mental instability, and it is revealed at the end of the film that the pills he was taking are in fact placebos, and contain no medication. At this point, however, Donnie has decided that crazy or not he is going to take the advice of Frank. This is in large part because of the book by Roberta Sparrow, The Philosophy of Time Travel, explains everything that is happening to him.