Julia’s comment > Likes and Comments

What you're saying is that you think that Charlie has no sort of disorder or that his depression was caused by his aunt's abuse. And that's not a wrong opinion; I would just like to say that that's probably wrong. A few years ago we read this book in my honors English class and discussed it; we had to split into groups and pick one out of a list of disorders that Charlie may or may not have. My group did Borderline Personality Disorder, and I can tell you that the chance of that being a disorder that Charlie has is very high. One symptom: inappropriate anger. There are a few times in the book (and you may have missed them; they're very off-hand comments) where Charlie expresses a sudden extreme rage. I can cite one occasion of this: at a party (and I don't remember which) Mary Elizabeth says that she's happy to be with Craig because he actually talks and expresses himself, unlike Charlie. Charlie says that he got extremely angry when she said this, like really angry, which was an unnecessary emotional reaction. He was able to reign it in, however, so his condition might not be that bad. His mood swings also might be a sign.
You probably are right about his attachment to Sam and Patrick, I agree with you there. However, Charlie most definitely does have depression, if his breakdowns are any sign. I don't think that his depression was caused by his aunt's abuse; it was more likely caused by her death, as weird as that is, or he might have always had it. His awkwardness and introversion are probably because of his disorder, not because he was sheltered. If that was the case, don't you think his siblings would be a bit like that as well?
And on the topic of being a genius: Yes. Yes he is. I mean, he got straight A's his first year of high school, and quite honestly, he had a pretty rough time. And he was also able to do all of that work that Bill gave him. That's amazing.
His aunt Helen's abuse probably did deeply affect him. He probably had some sort of PTSD from it. When you say "People like Charlie don't normally let you in on who you are," you're assuming that Charlie knows who he is. He doesn't. In fact, one of the first lines in the book is when he says, "I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be." Charlie doesn't understand his life; he blocked out a huge part of it. Saying a "person like Charlie" (and what does that mean anyway?) don't usually let you in on who they are doesn't make sense, since Charlie doesn't really know who he is. Also, it's not just "people like Charlie" who don't let you in. It's most of humanity. Charlie actually let Patrick and Sam in pretty far. That's pretty impressive as well.

Regarding your bit about borderline disorder: this is the reason mental illness is so damn hard to diagnose. Every symptom you describe can be attributed to multiple disorders. And they can also be attributed to non-disordered conditions like good old fashioned jealousy. I frequently get headaches... also a common symptom of PTSD. Does that mean I have PTSD? No, because there are too many other causes of headaches.

I didn't say his awkwardness and introversion were because he was sheltered. I said he was sheltered because of his awkwardness and introversion. Those traits separated him from other people. Back in those days, teenagers got their information about sex and drugs from their siblings and friends. He didn't talk much to his siblings; he didn't have any friends. His siblings did have friends; that's why they weren't sheltered.

"I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be." describes a feeling, not a lack of identity. And you don't have to know who you are to let other people get to know you. It's quite common for our friends to understand what we're experiencing better than we do.

When I said "people like Charlie don't normally let you in on who they really are" I was providing this as a possible explanation for why people have such a hard time understanding him. They see him as odd, and seek to find a disorder to explain it. People who are introverted, shy, socially awkward, or genius (just to name a few) are notoriously misunderstood by the general population. Somebody who is outgoing will talk to people and set the record straight on any misunderstandings. The introverted, shy, and socially awkward rarely have such an opportunity. For an example: Have you ever known somebody that doesn't talk to people and assumed that they're stuck up? I've been shy my whole life, I've heard that accusation many times. It takes much longer to get to know some people than others.

Both of you are right in your own sense yes many people want to label behaviour and diagnose it but what he had was definitely PTSD. Your point about getting headaches being a symptom is correct but unless you have a suffered a traumatic experience in your life that symptom is clearly not going to be related. With 100% certainty he suffered from PTSD and depression. His introvert behaviour though can be common in normal people so i agree that there isn't a great tie to any mental illness regarding is interactions with other people and finding himself. The only link is depression which is a result of loneliness and not knowing how to interact. When you said that the line "I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be" wasn't about identity you are correct but it was related to identity and part of finding your identity. Look both of you have good points but it is clear that is suffering from PTSD and depression. And you could actually say the reason that he finds interacting with people and being more confident is because when experienced this wrong doing as a child his trust and faith of the people around him went.

Very astute observations!