The Black Swan is a psychological thriller that documents a prima ballerina's descent into madness. Nina Sayers is a dancer in a New York ballet company. Her mother is a very controlling ex-ballerina whose career ended when she became pregnant with Nina. After forcing his current principal dancer to retire, Thomas Leroy, the company's director, is looking for a person worthy enough to play the Swan Queen in his next production. Despite his doubts about his ability to successfully dance the role of the Black Swan, he entrusts the role to Nina. However, Nina fears that Lily will try to steal the role of Swan Queen from her, especially when Leroy becomes Lily's understudy Nina. As they progress through production, Nina's quest for perfection with the roles of White and Black Swan causes her mental state to slowly deteriorate. Using various expressionist techniques, director Darren Aronofsky uncovers Nina's worsening psychosis. (Huggo) Obsessive compulsive disorder is an “anxiety disorder characterized by uncontrollable, unwanted thoughts and repetitive, ritualized behaviors that you feel compelled to perform” (Segal and Smith, “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, behavior and treatment). . This disorder occurs when the brain becomes obsessed with a specific action or thought. Uncontrollable, recurring thoughts and images, known as obsessions, can distract from more important matters. Compulsions consist of actions and rituals that one is forced to perform multiple times. (Segal and Smith, “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Behavior, and Treatment”) Nina's obsession is perfection. She states several times that she "just wants to be perfect" (Aronofsky). Its constraint is practice. No matter ho...... middle of paper ...... psychiatrists-diagnose-natalie-portmans-portrayal-psychosis/story?id=12436873&page=1>.Schoenstadt, Arthur. “Bulimia”. Bulimia. September 23, 2008. Web. May 22, 2012. .Segal, Jeanne and Melinda Smith. “Anorexia nervosa: signs, symptoms, causes, effects and treatment. » Helpguide.org. May 2012. the web. May 15, 2012. Segal, Jeanne and Melinda Smith. “Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): symptoms, behavior and treatment. » Helpguide.org: Understand, prevent and solve life's challenges. April 2012. Web. May 10, 2012. Segal, Jeanne and Melinda Smith. “Understanding schizophrenia.” Helpguide.org. January 2012. Web. May 10 2012. .