When it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, clinicians and psychologists
have myriad resources at their disposal. But of all the tools available, the DSM-5 is the
holy grail. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders is a big fat book
that codifies all the illnesses and their complexities. We thought it would be neat
to take a look at some Disney icons through a psychological lens. We’re not professionals,
but we did recently graduate from Internet University. So here are 10 Disney Characters
With Serious Mental Disorders. And if you like what you see, stay tuned to hear more
details about our YouTube channel.
Hades, Hercules: Intermittent Explosive Disorder The main antagonist in 1997’s Hercules is
literally animated to be a hot-head. And even though Hades is aware of his temper, he just
can’t seem to get a handle on it. Suffering embarrassment at the hands of infant Hercules,
the ruler of the Underworld seeks to have the boy killed. Which feels like more than
a slight overreaction. Those afflicted with Intermittent Explosive Disorder are prone
to outbursts and temper tantrums that come about with almost no warning. And, depending
on the person, sometimes ends with injury, property damage, or both. Hades’ outbursts
are more intense than the situation calls for, even his underlings are afraid of him.
Alice, Alice in Wonderland: Schizophrenia When thinking about the story of Alice in
Wonderland, three letters come to mind: WTF. And of the many incarnations dedicated to
the classic Lewis Carrol story, Disney is responsible for three. The surreal environments
and bizarre characters add to the story’s overwhelming peculiarity. And for as lost
as she looks, Alice seems to be the only one who has any grip on reality. But after learning
about schizophrenia, we began to wonder if maybe we had the whole thing backwards. Audio
and visual phantasms, disorganized thought and speech patterns, and fear of persecution
can all be symptoms of the illness. And Alice is 5 for 5.
Gaston, Beauty and the Beast: Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Here’s a guy who has an entire musical number devoted to his malady, Belle’s oh-so-charming
suitor, Gaston. And while we thought he was just a turbo-jerk, it turns out the overconfident
oaf has a textbook case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. For evidence, one need only look
at the lyrics of his song — it’s three straight minutes of bragging, a hallmark of
the disorder. Signs of NPD include an inflated sense of self and tendency to look down upon
others. Gaston can’t handle criticism or rejection but sees himself as the most important,
strongest, admired man who ever lived. Plus, no one can eat 4 dozen eggs in one sitting,
so I guess he’s also a liar.
Ariel, Little Mermaid: Hoarding If we learned anything from The Little Mermaid,
it’s that the ocean is full of trash. Sunken ships litter the ocean floor, their contents
spilled all over the place. But one water-dweller is single-handedly cleaning up the mess. Ariel
is constantly messing around were she’s not supposed to be, collecting discarded pieces
of other people’s lives. Her compulsion to collect whozits and whatzits galore puts
strain on her family relationships. And while she might see her activities as “collecting”,
it looks a lot more like Hoarding. This branch of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is characterized
by needless accumulation of worthless items. Old cutlery and bottles? Not exactly a priceless
compilation.
Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates: Alcohol Use Disorder (Alcoholism)
Pirates have a lot of iconography. But peg legs, parrots, and eye patches all pale in
comparison to one thing: booze. Sea-roving is a hard life, and drinking is a nice way
to pass the time — within reason, of course. But Captain Jack Sparrow didn’t get the
moderation memo, and his relationship with rum is borderline unhealthy. Professionals
use the term Alcohol Use Disorder (aka ‘Alcoholism’) to refer to people who can’t self-regulate
their drinking. Alcoholics will continue consuming even if it causes them personal problems or
puts them in harms way. Like, say, going on a bender and then stealing a ship. Or throwing
a tantrum when the booze runs out. Stuff like that.
Cruella DeVil, 101 Dalmatians: Psychopathy Every story needs a villain, and Cruella DeVil
is one of Disney’s most iconic. The would-be puppy murderer is a straight up psychopath,
and here’s how we know. Doctors use a diagnostic tool called the PCL-R when assessing wether
or not a person fits the medical definition of a psychopath. The 20-point checklist references
things like callousness, over-inflated sense of self-worth, and a lack of realistic long-term
goals as indicators. We’re not professionals, but engineering an entire scheme that hinges
on the wrangling of 101 puppies quietly and efficiently seems pretty unrealistic. Plus
there’s the whole, you know, coat thing.
Scar, The Lion King: Anti-social Personality Disorder
These days, George R. R. Martin gets all the credit for killing your favorite character.
But back in the day, Disney was the finest assassin in town. Famous for murdering an
important parental figure within the first five minutes of any given movie, The Lion
King is no exception. Since we’ve all spent decades trying to suppress the memory of Mufasa’s
death, we’re not even gonna go there. Instead, let’s chat about the cat responsible — Scar.
He takes no time to think about morality, strong-arms others to get what he wants, and
doesn’t learn from bad experiences. Some have hypothesized that Simba’s uncle suffers
from anti-social personality disorder, and we’re inclined to agree.
Elsa, Frozen: Agoraphobia We can think of a lot of good reasons to stay
home. Netflix, sweatpants, unlimited bathroom breaks… the list goes on. But for people
living with agoraphobia, staying home isn’t always a choice. The fear of being surrounded
by people, feeling trapped, or becoming overwhelmed by circumstances can make it impossible for
them to leave the house. With this in mind, take another look at the 2013 juggernaut Frozen,
and pay specific attention to Elsa. Fear of real and imagined scenarios? Check. Avoidance
of populated places? Check. Anxiety about feeling trapped or embarrassed? Check and
check. Granted, most people don’t run the risk of accidentally killing everyone they
love with ice when they feel overwhelmed, so it makes sense that Elsa prefers a low
profile.
Captain Hook, Peter Pan: Herpetophobia Anxiety disorders are as varied as they are
intense, and manifest themselves differently in every sufferer. Phobias are a type of anxiety
rooted to a specific thing, and is a fancy-pants way of saying something scares the sh*t out
of you. Take Captain Hook, for example. After mixing it up with a crocodile, Hook runs for
the hills the second they’re mentioned. Medically speaking, the Captains aversion
is called Herpetophobia — or fear of reptiles. It’s in our best interest to keep a little
space between us and the crocodile, but we aren’t constantly worried about being attacked
by one. Hook isn’t so lucky.
Rapunzel, Tangled: Stockholm Syndrome Imagine being trapped in a tower with a treacherous
custodian and no agency over your own life. If that sounds like a good time, you might
have Stockholm Syndrome. After the release of Tangled in 2010, people couldn’t help
but notice Rapunzel’s tendency to side with her malicious captor. And the conversation
is still happening today. A victims attempts to align with, sympathize, or otherwise defend
their jailor is clear indication of the syndrome. And makes absolutely no sense to anyone outside
of the captor/captive relationship. It’s clear to the audience that Mother Gothel is
an abusive guardian, but Rapunzel interprets her behavior as being rooted in love, not
power.
What do you think? Are there any other characters we missed? Give us your take in the comments,
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