Blogpost 1: Winnie The Pooh: Pathology of it's characters

Of course we all know Pooh, from the TV show Winnie The Pooh- a cartoon character who we 90's kids grew up with. Personally, when i was little, i really loved Winnie The Pooh. Who wouldn't love that fluffy and cute bear? But there are apparent and rational depictions to this show that we never thought of when we were at that young age. As young children, we are on the surface of innocence and are all spellbound by Tigger's bouncy tail. But on a closer contemplation, each and every character demonstrates different kinds of mental disorders and illnesses.

According to the article Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne, written by Sarah E. Shea and Kevin Gordon in the website Canadian Medical Association Journal, as they quote, "Somewhere at the top of the Hundred Acre Wood a little boy and his bear play. On the surface it is an innocent world, but on closer examination by our group of experts we find a forest where neurodevelopmental and psychosocial problems go unrecognized and untreated." As a group of neurodevelopmentalists, they were able to come up with an assessment about every character in the show possessing a specific mental disorder and that these are in fact stories of Seriously Troubled Individuals.

Christopher Robin, the young boy who owns the toy characters in the show which apparently came to life and joins him in his everyday journey as his bestfriends. This certain behavior can be distinguished as of having a malfunction in the perception of reality, which is certainly evident in Christopher having hallucinations where he imagines his stuffed toys are alive. This certain disorder is characterized as Schizophrenia.

His stuffed toy best friend Winnie The Pooh demonstrates a certain characteristic,  though you may not think of this as a mental disorder, the cause of it is Pooh’s low self esteem which is psychological resulting in his excessive need for honey, therefore is suffering from Binge Eating Disorder (BED)

The tiny little pink piglet in the show famously known as Piglet signifies a certain behavior in where you fear everything. Piglet gets overly-nervous several times and this is apparent in the way his ears subtly twitch. This disorder is scientifically characterized as Panophobia or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. 

The tiger character in the show know as Tigger exhibits a certain condition of the brain which results in hyperactivity and trouble paying attention. This type of behavior can be specified as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),  We all know he is always hyperactive as he bounces with his tail and jumbles around everywhere. Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are one of the symptoms portrayed by Tigger and qualifies as ADHD.

There is this small kangaroo name Roo in the show, athough It is not his impassivity or hyperactivity The environment itself in which he is developing. Roo is growing up in a single-parent household, which puts him at high risk for Poorer Outcome. You can picture him someday a delinquent, jaded, adolescent Roo. We think that this will be Roo's reality, in part because of a second issue. Roo's closest friend is Tigger, who is not a good role model. Peer influences strongly affect outcome.

Rabbit is friendly, but irritable. He fancies himself the smartest animal in the Hundred Acre Wood. He insists on doing things his way and is obsessed with rules, planning and order.This expresses a distinct anxiety disorder in which the person suffers from obsessive thoughts and compulsive tendencies. These can be seen in Rabbit having uncontrollable actions such as cleaning and, basically, being a “neat freak” (but to an extreme level) This type of disorder is called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Owl is the stuffy and talkative eldest main character who acts as a mentor and teacher to the others. Being excessively preoccupied with himself and believes that he is the most clever animal in the wood, boasting how he has brains whilst “the others have fluff". This personality can be distinguished as Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Owl and most of his friends believe that he is the most intelligent animal in the wood, but he is really quite scatterbrained. He often rambles on into long-winded speeches and uses words that his friends do not understand. Obviously bright, but dyslexic. His poignant attempts to cover up for his phonological deficits are similar to what we see day in and day out in others so afflicted.

Eeyore is the donkey character who talks slow and is always projected as sad, alone, and lifeless, from his color to his facial expressions and mannerisms. This certain personality depicts a certain psychological problem called Depression - A mental state characterized by a dejected and gloomy feeling surrounding them and a lack of activity.

According to the second article i read about my topic which is the Mental Disorders Demonstrated By Winnie The Pooh Characters, written by an anonymous author labeled as "The Perfectionist" on the webiste Wassup, Doc? as he/she quotes "Of course, the author did not base the characters around these disorders on purpose and someone who likes their colored pens to be in a specific order doesn't mean they've got OCD; they’re just traits that people have observed over time and made a big deal out of because they feel, being a children’s story, it shouldn't contain “darker” meanings like these." - And indeed, this was really not intentionally predetermined, these are all mere observations made and clamored by the viewers.

In every show, there is a back story. And in every back story, there will always be a purpose for it. Some shows purposely bury a certain meaning for it's exterior surface which most viewers can't see. And some shows aren't predetermined to have some shocking discoveries and relevance to a certain point of view. For the show Winnie The Pooh's case, it was never really intentionally made to portray these different kinds of disorders. But as the people's ability to recognize and rationalize even the most single detail in our current TV shows and even movies. These mental disorders demonstrated by the characters can be considered as a tool, for us to visualize the different symptoms of these disorders. Inform us and let ourselves be aware from it. Thinking about what I have read about in the articles, I start to wonder about how much society has changed over time. These certain realizations deviate our childhood memories and turn them to nightmares. But I personally think it's a great way to actually give in for these arguments to take place and let it speak for itself. We can learn so much if we manage to think outside the box.