Mental Health - Twilight Sparkle

[Ganondox 899]

Definitely Asperger's which is actually very common in geniuses. She tends to look at the world "differently." She sees its function on a different level. Note also that Asperger's is something you can learn yourself out of kind of -- you still see the world differently but you can be specifically trained to make friends etc. Like she did.

 

Well it can't be "trained out of", but life skills can be learned like how to make friends. There is still other things that remain, but you might just be keeping that under "still sees the world differently".

[silvadel 1,393]

Well the point is while a normal person just knows certain cues -- a person with aspergers can be taught to look for certain cues -- one is never as good as a normal person at it and it is more like a checklist or a game that has to be actively played.

 

Sees the world differently is the biggest part of aspergers. In generally one with aspergers sees the world at a lower level than most people do. This enables some things and disables others.

[Ganondox 899]

Well the point is while a normal person just knows certain cues -- a person with aspergers can be taught to look for certain cues -- one is never as good as a normal person at it and it is more like a checklist or a game that has to be actively played.

 

Sees the world differently is the biggest part of aspergers. In generally one with aspergers sees the world at a lower level than most people do. This enables some things and disables others.

 

"Lower level"? By that do you mean "deeper level" or "more simplistically" or what? I don't think I've ever seen the phrase lower level used in this context.

[rainbow_hearts 148]

Guys, Why would they randomly give the main pony a disorder? I think you guys a misunderstanding all of this, I tend to get that way sometimes and I don't have OCD

[Ganondox 899]

Guys, Why would they randomly give the main pony a disorder? I think you guys a misunderstanding all of this, I tend to get that way sometimes and I don't have OCD

 

Um, no, you are the one who is misunderstanding all of this. This isn't about what the show writer's were thinking, it's about what the character's developed into being. Writers are only, when characters are written as having a mental disorder they are usually presented very poorly, being define not as a character but instead just a textbook entry. Twilight doesn't just "act that way sometimes", she doesn't act like a normal person would. Discussion threads about the world are almost never about what the author intended.

[rainbow_hearts 148]

Um, no, you are the one who is misunderstanding all of this. This isn't about what the show writer's were thinking, it's about what the character's developed into being. Writers are only, when characters are written as having a mental disorder they are usually presented very poorly, being define not as a character but instead just a textbook entry. Twilight doesn't just "act that way sometimes", she doesn't act like a normal person would. Discussion threads about the world are almost never about what the author intended.

 

I probably misunderstood every word you said cause I really don't care. But our opinions are not canon until it ha been announced.

[Ganondox 899]

I probably misunderstood every word you said cause I really don't care. But our opinions are not canon until it ha been announced.

 

Well if you don't really care don't post here. Anyway, the point isn't about the official canon. The topic of discussion is something that the probably isn't covered by canon, thus it's left to the fanon to discuss.

[Zygen 6,065]

I've actually thought the same about twilight on some of those. I've even thought about the others having mental disorders and the such.

I kinda think that twilight not understanding what "Are we getting warmer?" Meaning correctly is meant to show how she is still adjusting to be social, not necessarily that she has a disorder. However it is a quite interesting theory. I enjoyed reading it and nice to know that some people have thought about this type of thing before.

 

I definitely always considered twilight really OCD. Thats definitely the most likely. I'm not sure about the others but I'd be pretty set on OCD being the most likely one.

[Comet Tail 808]

I've actually thought the same about twilight on some of those. I've even thought about the others having mental disorders and the such. I kinda think that twilight not understanding what "Are we getting warmer?" Meaning correctly is meant to show how she is still adjusting to be social, not necessarily that she has a disorder. However it is a quite interesting theory. I enjoyed reading it and nice to know that some people have thought about this type of thing before. I definitely always considered twilight really OCD. Thats definitely the most likely. I'm not sure about the others but I'd be pretty set on OCD being the most likely one.

OCPD, as I've recently learned from multiple sources (here and abroad), is a much better fit to Twilight than straight-up OCD.

 

As for being social, yeah, that's Aspergers, you call it "learning to be social", but the only reason she wouldn't pick it up easily and naturally is because of it.

 

Well if you don't really care don't post here. Anyway, the point isn't about the official canon. The topic of discussion is something that the probably isn't covered by canon, thus it's left to the fanon to discuss.

I probably misunderstood every word you said cause I really don't care. But our opinions are not canon until it ha been announced.

If an apple falls, then there's gravity. It's never specifically stated anywhere, that there's "gravity" in equestria. Yet we see it's effects, we see it, so we know it's there.

 

Likewise with any mentality of the characters. It's never explicitly stated, and it may not even be intended (though I have a very strong feeling that when they designed the characters, and drew off of people they'd known in real life, that the people that inspired Twilight's character probably had it, and thus they inadvertantly added it to Twilight's character, or they did it on purpose. Don't underestimate them, they've referenced lots of stuff, Twilight's Cutie Mark has 42 points, she had #42 in the race, and I've seen correctly done calculus in the show. Don't understimate them at all, it's very possible they meant for Twi to have it), but if it's effects are there, then it is there, also.

 

By analogy, let's say "2 + 2" is stated as canon. Although "= 4" isn't, we can make that deduction ourselves, and it's as good as canon. So Twilight's actions, thoughts, reactions, etc. are "2 + 2", and anything we draw form that is "= 4".

 

ADDED:

Btw, I'll add this in. I've said it before, but can't find it, so I guess I'll re-write it:

 

Don't be thrown off by this. Most people react very negatively when other fans make statements like this, it's like: "Oh, no! I've seen aspies before, and this character I love is not like them!"

But it's distinctly wrong because it's drawing from stereotypes, and assuming that "aspies" is some kind of breed of human that don't have unique personalities just as much as neurotypical humans, and that's just right-out wrong.

 

No need to associate Twilight with anything negative because of this. It would mean she has some struggles (which she may not even know are unusual struggles), but IMO that only builds my respect and adds depth to her character.

 

No need to think of some negative stereotype whenever you hear "aspergers", it's just as valid to think of Twilight, though she'd be an example of one who's overcome, and as others here have said; "play the game" (and may not even realize it).

Edited September 13, 2012 by Mattlight

[TailsIsNotAlone 3,694]

I don't want to label Twilight as anything in particular, but I'll list some things I've noticed about her...

 

--She is very businesslike and needs to be right all the time.

--She's afraid of being criticized or rejected by others.

--She doesn't like showing off her abilities.

--She wants to do everything "by the book" and gets upset or uncomfortable when things don't go exactly as she plans.

 

I'm a lot like Twilight. Maybe that's why I love her so much.

[Princess Cheese Dorito 7]

OCD makes perfect sense to me. She is always making lists and obsesses over everything; everything must be absolutely perfect or else she has a freakout. I am not a doctor or anything, but I know that anxiety is also a factor due to her intense freakouts.