Does Cassie (from Euphoria) have bipolar? (+3 Causal factors)
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The current article will be answering if Cassie has bipolar. We will also be looking at the various symptoms of mental health issues that Cassie portrays in Euphoria. Furthermore, we will be describing a few causal factors which may have led to her mental health struggles.
Does Cassie have bipolar?
No, Cassie does not have bipolar. Cassie from the series, ‘Euphoria’ does not meet many of the diagnostic criteria of Bipolar Disorder. Most mental health experts and loyal viewers of the series state that Cassie suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder.
As a result of this, Cassie can be seen to demonstrate a wide range of intense emotions throughout the show. However, this fact is not clearly confirmed by the show, but is only assumed or speculated by the viewers of ‘Euphoria’.
While it is mostly a public consensus that Cassie does indeed suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, many viewers dispute that she might be actually suffering from some other type of mental illness, such as,
- Bipolar Disorder: Due to her wide range of demonstrating emotions and feelings, Cassie is often thought to have bipolar disorder. She can be pretty moody and her mood swings are frequently shown in the series, ‘Euphoria’.
At the same time, the reason why Cassie is not confirmed to have bipolar disorder in the series is because she does not depict manic episodes and depressive episodes alternately. On the other hand, Rue from Euphoria definitely has bipolar disorder.
- Poor self-esteem: While this is not exactly a clinical diagnosis, poor self-esteem is definitely another mental health problem that Cassie suffers from. Many viewers speculate that her poor self-esteem drives Cassie to seek attention from the opposite sex.
- Addiction: Euphoria definitely depicts teenagers and their struggles with mental health and addictions. However, Cassie does not show an addiction to a substance, but is addicted to the attention and love from others.
This addictive behavior of Cassie is responsible for many of her negative and dangerous behaviors throughout the Euphoria series. Her addiction to love is both physical as well as emotional in nature.
Signs of Cassie’s mental health issues
Cassie certainly demonstrates many mental health issues throughout the series, particularly Borderline Personality Disorder. A few signs and symptoms of the mental health issues that Cassie suffers from have been described in the following section.
Cassie suffers from very poor self-esteem
Throughout the ‘Euphoria’ series, it can be visibly seen that Cassie indeed suffers from very poor self-esteem. It is this very low self-esteem and self-confidence levels that drive her to run after people who are not interested in her or are not good for her.
Poor self-esteem is not just a simple personality trait, but in the long run can pinpoint to the presence of some underlying mental health issue. Poor self-esteem is also one of the signs and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Her relationships are toxic
Cassie is also overtly known to lack any positive and healthy relationships and even friendships throughout the series. Most of the relationships that Cassie indulges in are for a brief period of time, and are mainly to boost her ego.
She also does not show healthy friendships. In fact, she starts a relationship with her ‘best-friend’ Maddy’s on-again off-again boyfriend, Nate. She can also be seen to be taking on boyfriends and sleeping with strangers impulsively and recklessly.
She finds it hard to say no
Cassie is a classic people-pleaser and does not show any assertiveness at all. She finds it hard to stand up for her rights and her principles. She also seems to easily sway to the music of others, especially when it comes from the opposite sex.
This can be seen particularly when she dates Nate. She allows Nate to determine her wardrobe, her social connections and even what she will eat. She also realizes very late that Nate was indeed trying to make her seem and look like Maddy.
She cannot control her emotions
Another tell-tale sign that Cassie might be indeed suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder is that the character finds it hard to control her emotions. She can be frequently seen getting openly frustrated and putting on crying episodes.
While normally, it might be difficult to control emotions in times of stress or anxiety, in Borderline Personality Disorder, the threshold level for this is very low. As a result, someone who has BPD is bound to show a wide range of emotions in a short span of time.
She can be seen to dissociate
Cassie also shows dissociation, which is another symptom of an underlying mental illness, something which may be psychotic in nature. The dissociating comes along especially when Cassie is experiencing too much stress and cannot cope with it.
In one particular episode, where Maddy, Nate and Cassie are celebrating Maddy’s birthday in a Jacuzzi, Cassie can be seen dissociating and crying her eyes out. This act came as a result of her feeling guilty as a result of being stuck in limbo between Nate and Maddy, her best-friend.
She shows self-harming behaviors
Borderline Personality Disorder and even bipolar disorder can lead to self-harming behaviors in a person. Cassie also demonstrates self-harming, but not too frequently. In one instance, Cassie’s mother instructs her sister to hide every sharp object in the bushes outside their home.
However, this turns out to be futile since the next scene shows Cassie digging into her wrist with a sharp corkscrew. Cassie also takes part in excessive drinking, knowing well that this is harmful for her in the end.
She is desperate for attention
From the beginning of the series, it is pretty evident for viewers that Cassie is desperate for attention, especially from men. Her entire life and personality revolves around getting the male-gaze to turn towards her.
She in fact, changes her appearance just to get Nate to notice her more, failing to see that she is slowly imbibing Maddy’s style and persona. She also has a very wild sex-life, that she takes part in not for herself, but in order to please others.
She feels empty constantly
Cassie also constantly feels empty and very lonely. This is clearly shown in the series by not just her words and actions, but even her constant color palette of shades of blue which go on to depict her loneliness and depression. She continually tries to fill this emptiness with men and alcohol.
She keeps changing her principles
Viewers of ‘Euphoria’ can also see that Cassie seems to be continuously changing her principles and morals, especially when a man is involved. For example, she one-time swears off sex but can be seen ready to sleep with someone she barely knows, just because he gave her some attention.
Causes of Cassie’s mental health issues
Cassie’s mental health issues, although they are undiagnosed in the series, can be a result of many causal factors at play. A few causes of Cassie’s mental health issues have been described in the points below.
- Her father abandons her: This is the main root-cause of Cassie falling for any and every guy who gives her a little attention. Cassie shares a deep relationship with her father who abandons the family all of a sudden without any explanation.
- Her poor self-esteem: Another important reason for the mental health issues and negative personality traits that Cassie depicts is her poor self-esteem. Her poor self-esteem causes her to crave belongingness and love, even if it is with toxic people.
- Her sex-tapes being leaked: After she started sleeping with many guys as a way of filling the void in her life, Cassie’s nudes and sex tapes were leaked online. This also leads to a panic attack and causes her to become even more depressed and anxious.
Conclusion
The current article has answered if Cassie has bipolar. We have also looked at the various symptoms of mental health issues that Cassie portrays in Euphoria. Furthermore, we have described a few causal factors which may have led to her mental health struggles.
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Citations
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