Clearly, I am Darth Vader
There’s a Wired article called Anakin Skywalker: Borderline Personality, Bipolar or Narcissist? that I found via stir-crazy, they found via Mind Hacks, and they found via Omni Brain. I’d especially recommend reading both the Wired story and the Mind Hacks post.
I only have a few comments to make:
- Hee.
- Hey, I’ve been told I have bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder, just like they’re saying about Anakin Skywalker. This can mean one thing, and one thing only: I AM DARTH VADER!
- The article reminded me right away of a humorous article I’d read years ago in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, “Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne”, so I was extremely happy to see that the Wired story linked to it.
Admittedly, though, I don’t actually think I’m borderline, and I know I’m not histrionic or narcissistic.
According to the authors, who reported their findings at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in San Diego, Skywalker meets the criteria for the condition: He has difficulty controlling anger, stress-related breaks with reality (after women in his life die or leave), impulsivity (dangerous pod racing), obsession with abandonment (those women again) and a “pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of ideation and devaluation” (hello, Obi-Wan).
In another sign that he’s borderline, the authors argue that Skywalker suffers from an “identity disturbance.” After all, he did become Darth Vader after being “very unsure of who he was and what he wanted.”
I don’t have difficulty controlling anger, obsession with abandonment, an identity disturbance, or a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of ideation and devaluation. I am impulsive and have had stress-related breaks with reality. Well, I can live in hope that those two things are enough to MAKE ME DARTH VADER, can’t I?
What is the best treatment for one who has been drawn to the Dark Side of the Force? The opinions of professionals are mixed:
Study co-author Bui said psychotherapy — “long term,” he added with a laugh — would be the best treatment for Skywalker, although he might prescribe a drug to help him sleep.
Bui had mixed feelings about prescribing an antidepressant like Prozac and said he’d avoid tranquilizers like Xanax that could leave Skywalker addicted or send him into “disassociation” (a rupture with reality).
But would Skywalker even go into therapy? “Because of his narcissistic tendencies he would perceive himself as ‘above’ that,” said Sultanoff, who thinks Skywalker also suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, at least in Star Wars Episode II.
I’m going to assume that by “disassociation,” Randy Dotinga means “dissociation.”
Not that there’s much point in trying to help Anakin at this point. He’s dead, yo. Remember?
June 1st, 2007 at 1:17 am
“You’re not Darth Vader, you’re just a very naughty girl!”
June 1st, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Well, that’s why I’m Darth Goalie!
In fact, my goalie mask is at the artist’s house now to be painted to look like Vader’s helmet. I’d love to play on a team called the 501st, where the skaters wear white helmets and jerseys resembling stormtrooper armor, while I wear a black jersey with switches and lights printed on it, and a cape. I’ve already started taping up my stick blade with red tape! 
Maybe I should tape the shaft with silver electrical tape! Does that make me obsessive? Heeheehee.
Seriously, though, I can’t believe these psychologists actually wrote and published these articles! OK, I don’t have the patience to read them, but you did mention the APA in one of your quotes. Why didn’t these people take the Force into account when writing these things? Clearly, the Old Republic, Imperial, and New Republic psychologists would have different — and probably more credible — diagnoses. Polly, I can’t stop laughing!
I’ll tell you what, though — since my uterine fibroid was diagnosed, or shortly before, I’d started reverting back to some borderline behavior.
June 1st, 2007 at 11:49 pm
That is the most awesome idea for a goalie mask. It almost makes me wish I was a goalie. Then I remember that I am terrible at being in goal and I hate it. Back when I used to play hockey, I played right wing, but I quit hockey when I got to high school because I didn’t have time for it anymore, what with all my other activities.
June 2nd, 2007 at 12:08 am
I started at RW! It isn’t too late to get back to it. In fact, I’m still looking for a few skaters for the Puck Cancer Cup in August. Of course, it’s here in Illinois, but if you’re interested, e-mail me & I’ll give you the details. Don’t worry — we’re in the beginners division. And if not this year, there’s certainly next year!
It’s for a good cause — my dad’s a cancer survivor, although the people who formed the organization are more focused on lymphoma, of which the female player is now considered cured.
I’d love to organize something similar to benefit a mental health organization, but I don’t know how that would go over.