Does Bella from Twilight have BPD? (+3 Other diagnoses)
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This info-rich post will be answering if Bella from Twilight has BPD. We will also be checking out the various other mental health disorders that can be applied to Bella Swan from the Twilight series.
Does Bella from Twilight have BPD?
Yes, Bella from Twilight has BPD. Bella Swan from the Twilight series is often said to depict all the main diagnostic signs and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder. But, this has not been confirmed by the writer of the story and creator of the character, Stephanie Meyer.
Bella Swan instantly became a popular character, especially when coupled with her love interest, Edward Cullen who is a vampire. At the same time, she also invoked the interest of many arm-chair mental health experts due to her many odd and negative traits.
In the Twilight series, Bella Swan definitely portrays a number of signs of Borderline Personality Disorder. The different signs of Borderline Personality Disorder which Bella Swan can be seen showing in the Twilight books and movies have been discussed in detail below.
She goes through feelings of emptiness
In the New Moon movie and the book, Bella Swan can be seen going through chronic feelings of emptiness. This is especially after Edward breaks up with her since he thinks he is going to hurt her and is concerned for her safety.
After Edward leaves her, Bella Swan goes through a negative downturn spiral. She experiences a lot of emptiness and keeps to herself, which is actually a characteristic sign of Borderline Personality Disorder.
She experiences dissociation
In New Moon, Bella Swan even experiences dissociation. She is not herself after Edward leaves her, and acts in a strange and odd manner. Dissociation is another main symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder.
She clearly fears abandonment
Bella Swan is too attached to Edward Cullen and vice-versa. Despite them knowing each other for only a little while, and the fact that Edward Cullen is almost a hundred years older than Bella, both the characters instantly develop an intense romance.
While this in itself lifts many eyebrows, the painful part is when Edward breaks up with Bella in New Moon. Bella Swan pines away for Edward and shows an immense fear of abandonment. This is seen right from the beginning of their romance.
Fear of abandonment is one of the most highlighted diagnostic criteria of Borderline Personality Disorder. Bella Swan acts out all because she fears being abandoned and left by Edward Cullen, which leads her to become overly clingy and intense.
She shows a lot of recklessness
Bella Swan furthermore, shows plenty of recklessness in the relationship. This can actually be seen right from the first part of Twilight. Firstly, Bella Swan is ready to jump into a relationship with a much older man who is a vampire.
Even Edward is surprised at her lack of fear when it comes to being around a vampire who is essentially thirsty for her blood. While this may seem like immense courage on Bella’s part, it can actually point to recklessness and impulsivity.
After Edward breaks up with her in New Moon, Bella Swan realizes that she can ‘see’ Edward whenever her life is in danger. In order to see more of him, she rides a bike very dangerously and recklessly so that he appears in front of her.
This recklessness of Bella Swan can also point to her Borderline Personality Disorder. Those who have been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder often take part in activities which put their lives in danger, such as in the case of Bella Swan.
She experiences hallucinations
Bella Swan also experiences hallucinations. While hallucinations are mostly not a characteristic symptom of Borderline Personality Disorder, they can be experienced in certain cases, especially when the PD is severe.
Her hallucinations can mostly be seen in New Moon where Bella ‘sees’ Edward warning her whenever she is taking part in something reckless and dangerous. She even hears his voice regularly.
Some people have also assumed that Bella Swan may be suffering from schizophrenia, mainly as a result of her hallucinations. However, she does not experience many of the other psychotic symptoms that are associated with schizophrenia.
She has a distorted self-image
Throughout the Twilight series, Bella Swan can be seen to have a distorted image of herself. She is mostly seen to be dwelling with poor self-esteem, despite her conventional good looks and natural magnetism.
This image of herself becomes even more twisted after Edward leaves her in New Moon. She starts doing things which are not natural for her, all for the purpose of attracting Edward’s attention to her.
She shows many anger outbursts
Borderline Personality Disorder can also cause the person to experience many and random anger outbursts. Anger outbursts can be seen in Bella Swan, particularly after Edward leaves her in New Moon.
Bella Swan’s anger outbursts are different and not like the usual rage-filled episodes seen in other characters. She shows her anger through her silence and this slowly crops up to become more toxic behaviors.
In Breaking Dawn-2, Bella Swan gets angry in an inappropriate manner after finding out that Jacob imprinted on her daughter, Renesmee. While she clearly knew that Jacob did not do this on purpose, Bella Swan still exploded in anger at her long-time friend.
She has unstable relationships
Bella Swan goes through a number of unstable relationships in the Twilight series. Again, this becomes even more overt after Edward breaks up with her. The biggest unstable relationship that Bella Swan finds herself in the middle of is with Jacob, her long-time friend.
Jacob clearly does not see Bella just as a friend and truly loves her. Bella definitely knows this, but continues to lead him on even when she does not have the same feelings towards Jacob. This goes to show how unstable Bella can be, even when her heart is fully committed to Edward.
She doesn’t even have a healthy relationship with her own parents. When she arrives in Forks, Bella instantly attracts the attention of a number of people and easily forms a circle of friends who surely cares about her.
However, even among these friends, Bella Swan does not act stable and mature. She even ditches them completely after she finds that she has got the attention of Edward Cullen and his family members.
Bella from Twilight’s mental health disorders
Apart from Borderline Personality Disorder, Bella Swan has been ‘diagnosed’ with a number of other mental health disorders by fans who have studied the character and the story. Some of these alternate diagnoses for Bella Swan are:
- Depression: Some fans who have closely studied the character feel that Bella Swan actually shows many symptoms of depression. This can be mainly seen in New Moon where Bella isolates herself for months together.
Dependent Personality Disorder: Another alternate diagnosis for Bella Swan is Dependent Personality Disorder. She is overly dependent on Edward Cullen and needs him with her at all times.
She even shows an inability to take decisions by herself and wants the decision to be made for her. She does not hesitate to become a vampire, even though this would mean changing her entire life, all for the sake of being with Edward.
- Schizophrenia: Schizophrenia is another alternate diagnosis which has been brought up for Bella. This is mainly due to her seeing hallucinations of Edward. However, she does not exhibit any other psychotic symptoms in the movies.
Conclusion
This info-rich post has answered if Bella from Twilight has BPD. We have also checked out the various other mental health disorders and issues that can be applied to Bella Swan from the Twilight series.
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