Does Cassie from Skins have BPD? (+7 Signs of BPD)
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This info-rich article will be answering if Cassie from Skins has BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder by looking at the various signs and symptoms that she portrays. We will also be discussing the other mental health disorders and issues that Cassie suffers from.
Does Cassie from Skins have BPD?
Yes, Cassie from Skins has BPD. In the comedy-drama series Skins, Cassie shows a number of signs which are characteristic of Borderline Personality Disorder. However, this has never been officially confirmed by the creators of the show.
The assumption that Cassie actually has Borderline Personality Disorder comes from the fans that have closely followed the character throughout her story arc in the series, Skins. The various signs of Borderline Personality Disorder which Cassie portrays in Skins are described below.
She shows self-harming behavior
In her very first appearance, Cassie can be seen coming back home from the hospital after she was admitted due to a suicide attempt. In fact, this is not the first suicide attempt that Cassie takes part in.
She tries to take her life in many other instances in the series, and also exhibits a lot of self-harming behaviors, especially when things are not going her way. Self-harming is definitely one of the main characteristic signs of Borderline Personality Disorder.
She can be seen hallucinating
Hallucinations are not so common in Borderline Personality Disorder, but can be experienced in severe cases. In regards to Cassie from Skins, she keeps seeing notes with the word ‘Eat’ on them all over the place.
She feels that these notes are from Sid, whom she clearly has a crush on. Furthermore, she even gets text messages. When she confronts Sid about it, he denies doing any such thing. All of these were hallucinations for Cassie.
She does not have healthy relationships
Another sign of Borderline Personality Disorder which Cassie shows in Skins is her lack of healthy relationships. During her appearances in Skins, Cassie does not have any healthy and positive friendships.
Most of her friendships tend to for the purpose of something selfish or are entirely superficial in nature. Even in her romantic relationships, Cassie does not show much stability. Her main love interest throughout the series is Sid.
Upon taking a closer look of her interactions with Sid, it can be seen that Cassie has actually misread the signs and becomes overbearingly pushy in getting him to date her. At the same time, the responses from Sid are not that enthusiastic and are kept plain and simple.
This is a characteristic sign of Borderline Personality Disorder where the person makes a much bigger deal out of a romantic interest than it actually is. Luckily for Cassie, she and Sid actually hit it off successfully in Skins.
She finds it hard to read people
As mentioned in the previous point, it can be seen that Cassie mostly misreads the actions and behaviors of Sid and believes that he actually likes her, more than she in fact likes him. Similarly, she finds it hard to read the actions and behaviors of other people as well.
She takes part in unsafe sex
The series Skins also portrays Cassie having unsafe sex and being very sexually promiscuous at one point. Taking part in unsafe sex and other similar impulsive and reckless activities are also hallmarks of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Cassie’s phase of promiscuity is actually triggered when her beau, Sid starts a relationship with Michelle. Cassie finds Sid and Michelle kissing in his room and does not exactly show a major reaction at first.
However, this event actually leads to a domino-effect in Cassie’s mentality and this can be seen over the next episodes of the series. Cassie starts acting way too promiscuous and has relations with both men and women.
She acts emotionally unstable
Just as how witnessing Sid and Michelle kissing each other lead Cassie to take part in dangerous sexual activities, the same event also leads her to start showing a number of emotionally unstable activities.
These activities of Cassie not just affect her, but even affect those around her. For example, due to Cassie’s meltdown, her roommate loses his job. Only after Cassie gets Sid back in her life does she stop this emotionally unstable behavior.
She has a fear of abandonment
Another sign of Borderline Personality Disorder which Cassie demonstrates in her appearances is her fear of abandonment. She is definitely terrified of Sid abandoning her and leaving her. However, this fear is not overtly shown but can be understood by a number of subtle signs.
Cassie’s other mental health disorders
Cassie’s actual mental health diagnosis is never actually revealed in Skins, but with her hospitalization and her suicidal behavior, it is definite that she has some mental health disorder or the other.
It is mostly assumed that Cassie has Borderline Personality Disorder based on her actions and behaviors throughout the series. Apart from BPD, Cassie is speculated to have several other mental health disorders and issues, such as,
- Anorexia nervosa: In Skins, Cassie definitely struggles from an eating disorder. When she is hospitalized for a suicide attempt, Cassie is also treated for her Anorexia Nervosa. She stays away from food and clearly does not want to put on weight.
The hospital has a policy that Cassie needs to healthily gain weight before leaving. But she decides to trick them by putting weights in her underwear. She still has a very unhealthy relationship with food even after coming home.
After she meets Sid, she constantly hallucinates seeing Post-It notes with the word ‘Eat’ on them all over the place. She even hallucinates getting a text from him with the same word in it. All these signs further point to Cassie’s struggles with Anorexia Nervosa.
- Substance abuse disorders: Cassie also clearly suffers from a Substance Abuse Disorder. This can be mainly seen after she finds Sid and Michelle kissing in his room. This leads her to a destructive spiral where she engages in substance abuse.
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is yet another mental health disorder that Cassie might be suffering from. In particular, Cassie seems to be struggling with Complex-PTSD.
It is seen that Cassie does not exactly come from a healthy family structure. In fact, her parents are too busy involved in their own lives and having sex instead of picking her up from the hospital after she is admitted for a suicide attempt.
Yet another traumatic incident which clearly affects Cassie is when she sees Chris, her roommate, suffering from brain hemorrhages. While the first one was in itself very traumatizing to witness, the second one proves fatal and Chris dies.
This leaves a traumatic impression on Cassie and she basically sips town and goes to New York. Luckily, she meets a good friend in Adam who supports her. These traumatic incidents simply worsened Cassie’s pre-existing mental health issues and caused even more harm for her.
- Poor self-esteem: While this is not exactly a diagnosable mental health condition for Cassie, it certainly needs to be counted since it is one of the main factors which drive her toxic behavior. Cassie surely has poor self-esteem and self-confidence.
As a result of her poor self-esteem, she is constantly driven to find acceptance through others, even if they are not so keen about her. This can be mainly seen in her relationship with Sid. Her constant neediness for someone to rescue her is yet another sign of her poor self-esteem.
Conclusion
This info-rich article has answered if Cassie from Skins has BPD or Borderline Personality Disorder by looking at the various signs and symptoms that she portrays. We have also discussed the other mental health disorders and issues that Cassie suffers from.
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