Saturday, 19 October 2013

Winnie-the-Pooh from a psychologist's point of view

I had a thought earlier this week (dangerous, I know, and I don't know how original): "What if a modern educational psychologist was let loose on the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne? They would all be diagnosed with various disorders." Think about it:
Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: Likes honey - perhaps a bit too much.
Disorder: Obesity.

Tigger
Tigger illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: Bounces around a lot.
Disorder: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Owl
Owl illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: Can't spell properly.
Disorder: Dyslexia.

Eeyore
Eeyore illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: He's sad and gloomy much of the time.
Disorder: Clinical depression.

Roo
Piglet, Rabbit, Winnie-the-Pooh, Kanga and Roo illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: He's a bit thick.
Disorder: Learning disability / emotional problems.

Kanga
Kanga and Roo illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: She's a fussy and worried mother.
Disorder: Obsessive-compulsive disorder / over-protective single mother.

Piglet
Piglet illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: She gets a bit worried and panicked sometimes.
Disorder: Social anxiety disorder / panic attacks.

Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Symptoms: He talks to his stuffed toys.
Disorder: Schizophrenia.

Other characters I haven't figured out yet:

Rabbit
Rabbit and Winnie-the-Pooh illustrated by E. H. Shepard
Rabbit's friends and relations
Rabbit's friends and relations illustrated by E. H. Shepard

1 comment:

  1. Not surprisingly, this wasn't an original thought: the Canadian Medical Association has already diagnosed "The Mental Disorders of Winnie-the-Pooh Characters".

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