Does Dazai from ‘Bungou Stray Dogs’ have BPD? (+3 Alternate diagnoses)
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This info-rich article will be explaining if Dazai has BPD by listing the various signs of Borderline Personality Disorder that he depicts. We will also be looking at the other mental health disorders and issues that Dazai could possibly have.
Does Dazai from ‘Bungou Stray Dogs’ have BPD?
Yes, Dazai has BPD. In the manga series, Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai surely depicts a number of characteristic signs of Borderline Personality Disorder. He is also one of the most interesting characters but seems to suffer from a number of mental health issues.
In Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai is a villain and for some time is a valuable member of the Port Mafia, bringing a lot of profits for the group. Dazai often portrays himself to be very stupid, but is in fact quite intelligent and even manipulative in nature.
Some of the signs of Borderline Personality Disorder which Dazai portrays in the manga series, Bungou Stray Dogs, have been discussed in detail in the following points.
He has attempted suicide many times
The main sign that Dazai is surely suffering from some mental health issue is that he constantly thinks about suicide and has even attempted to do so at many times. He is also very nihilistic in nature and even wants a partner who will commit double suicide with him.
In one such instance where Dazai tries to kill himself is when he takes a bunch of psychedelic mushrooms. In yet another episode, he drowns himself in a river. Some viewers of the series also think that the bandages on Dazai’s arms are for the purpose of covering up his self-harm bruises.
However, some people who have watched the series and are also familiar with Japanese culture have felt that Dazai’s suicidal ideations and attempts are not exactly a sign of a mental health issue.
They argue that in Japanese culture, talking about suicide, joking about it, and even attempting it is not something tabooed. As a result of this, Dazai’s frequent jokes about suicide and his various attempts cannot be classified as a criterion for the diagnosis of some mental health disorder.
At the same time, suicidal ideations and self-harming cannot be taken lightly in any one, even if they are just joking about it, as in the case of Dazai. Dazai’s constant obsession with death and killing oneself can definitely show the presence of some undiagnosed mental health issue.
He does not have many stable relationships
Throughout his appearances in the manga series Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai does not have many stable relationships. His only friend is Sakunosuke Oda who is deeply loyal to him and vice-versa.
Apart from this relationship, Dazai is a major loner and actually states this openly a number of times throughout the series. However, Dazai does not portray much of a fear of abandonment so clearly in his relationships.
He can be pretty impulsive at times
Furthermore, Dazai is also known to be quite impulsive and reckless. He clearly does not care about his own safety and even that of others. These high levels of impulsivity and recklessness are also quite characteristic of Borderline Personality Disorder.
Dazai’s impulsivity can also be blamed on his lack of fear of death and his obsession with suicide. As he truly does not care about his life and his health, he often embarks on a number of suicide missions pretty easily.
His self-image constantly changes
Dazai also seems to constantly change his self-image and the way he feels about himself. This distortion of self-image is another characteristic sign of Borderline Personality Disorder, and can lead a person to show high levels of confidence at one point and complete gloom at another.
In many instances, Dazai seems completely tired of his life and wants to die as soon as possible. In a few other situations, he tries his best to survive. He even changes sides and leaves the Port Mafia, despite being a very successful personality in that group.
He has chronic feelings of emptiness
Dazai can also be seen to really suffer from chronic feelings of emptiness throughout the series. These feelings are mostly depicted in a comedic or a jovial manner, and therefore, they are not easy to understand.
Constantly talking about death and loneliness easily point to feelings of emptiness and shows that the person is struggling with some deep mental health issues. It can also be seen in Borderline Personality Disorder which Dazai might be struggling from.
Dazai’s mental health disorders
In the manga series Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai is one of the main villains who depicts a very toxic and negative character, although he adds a lot of energy and color to the screen. Most people assume that Dazai might be struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder.
However, this diagnosis or anything else is never actually confirmed in the series. Apart from BPD, fans of the show have come up with a number of alternate diagnoses when it comes to Dazai. A few alternate mental health diagnoses for Dazai are described below.
- Antisocial Personality Disorder: Even in briefly looking at the personality and behaviors of Dazai, it can be understood that he suffers from a number of psychopathic traits. A lot of his traits are diagnostic criteria for ASPD.
Dazai is very arrogant towards others and most of the time does not care about the feelings of others. He basically does not show a lot of remorse for the majority of his story arc in the Bungou Stray Dogs series.
He further continuously lies throughout the series and easily manipulates others for his own gains and desires. In many instances, Dazai has been shown to give others work while doing very less himself, which further points to his sociopathy.
- Depression: Many fans of the series have felt that Dazai might actually be suffering from Depression. This is mainly because of the many dark themes that follow Dazai throughout the series.
Dazai is also obsessed with death and death-related things, hardly flinching at the sight of death and violence. He also constantly aims to kill himself, while attempting suicide a number of times in the series.
Another reason for pointing out the fact that Dazai might actually be suffering from Depression is that the real-life Osamu Dazai also suffered from depression and even tried to kill himself unsuccessfully a number of times.
However, apart from these dark themes and his obsession with suicide, Dazai does not show any other symptoms of depression. His tone of speech and his physical movements do not agree with the other diagnostic criteria of depression.
- Hysteria: One more alternate diagnosis for Dazai is Hysteria. Dazai shows a number of intense emotions and expressions, especially in his backstory. According to the series, Dazai tries to kill himself in one of these hysteria episodes.
Dazai’s first suicide attempt was at age 14. This was unsuccessful and led to Dazai’s rescue by Ougai Mori who was an underground doctor. He was then groomed to become the villain that he is best known as.
While hysteria is not exactly a diagnosable mental health disorder on its own, it can be still be a very important symptom of many other illnesses and issues. It can even depict an underlying personality disorder in Dazai.
Conclusion
This info-rich article has explained if Dazai has BPD by listing the various signs of Borderline Personality Disorder that he depicts. We have also looked at the other mental health disorders and issues that Dazai could possibly have.
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