Does Dr. Bekker from ‘Chicago Med’ have BPD? (+7 Signs of BPD)
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This blogpost will be answering if Dr. Bekker has BPD by listing out the various signs and symptoms of the disorder that she depicts in ‘Chicago Med.’ Additionally, we will be discussing the different other mental health disorders and issues that Dr. Bekker also suffered from.
Does Dr. Bekker from ‘Chicago Med’ have BPD?
Yes, Dr. Bekker has BPD. The physician who was a main female character in the drama series ‘Chicago Med’ was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder when she was nineteen years old. Apart from BPD, Dr. Bekker has a number of other mental health issues as well.
Throughout the series, Ava Bekker shows a lot of toxic traits and even unhinged behavior, especially in relation to her main romantic interest, Connor. In Season 5 of ‘Chicago Med’, Dr. Bekker kills herself after it was found that she indeed killed Connor’s father.
Some of the behaviors and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder that Dr. Bekker shows in the series ‘Chicago Med’ have been discussed in the following section.
She shows an unhealthy obsession with Connor
In the first season of her appearance in ‘Chicago Med’, Dr. Ava Bekker is seen to be a very assertive and brilliant surgeon, who immediately gains the attention of her mentor, along with another colleague, Connor.
This started off as a juvenile competitive relationship between the two surgeons, and eventually blossomed into a romantic partnership. The relationship is not exactly healthy and clearly one-sided, but Connor fails to understand this.
Most of Dr. Bekker’s BPD symptoms can be seen in her approach and her relationship with Connor. After they both get romantically entangled, she demonstrates an unhealthy obsession with him, unwilling to lose him or even think about losing him.
Connor fails to understand that Ava is unhealthily obsessed with him, and thinks that she is just being loving. But, Ava manipulates the relationship very well. This fear of abandonment in Borderline Personality Disorder can lead to unwanted clinginess, as shown by Ava in the series.
She uses sex to manipulate people
Ava will not stop at any length to get Connor completely under her spell, and does not want him to even distance himself from her for a bit. In one part of his story arc, Connor decides to create a hybrid cardiac operating room in the emergency ward of the hospital.
This project of Connor requires quite a bit of funding. When all hope seems to be lost, Connor’s funding comes through, at the hands of an anonymous donor. Unknowing to Connor, Ava’s manipulation is the reason for this donation.
Connor’s father, Cornelius, is a wealthy businessman and does not want his son to ever leave Chicago. Ava knows this well. She persuades Cornelius to fund Connor’s project so that he has more incentive to stay in Chicago.
To seal the deal, Ava sleeps with Cornelius in order to manipulate him. Connor eventually finds out about this and breaks up with Ava. This type of manipulation can be seen in those who have BPD, especially when they are frightened about someone abandoning them all of a sudden.
She has harmed herself on purpose
After Connor breaks up with her, Ava continues to persuade him to stay in the relationship. One of the tactics that she uses to gain attention and sympathy from Connor is by placing her hand in such a way so that it gets nicked when they both were operating on an HIV+ patient.
Just as her plan goes, Connor ends up feeling guilty for her and sympathizes with her. This type of brash and reckless self-harming behavior by Ava can also be seen as a symptom of her Borderline Personality Disorder.
Throughout her other appearances in the series, Ava does not exactly show many other self-harming behaviors but is fully capable of these. In the end, Ava kills herself by slitting her carotid artery, which further shows her impulsive tendencies.
She shows other manipulative behaviors
In addition to the traits described above, Dr. Ava Bekker even shows a number of other manipulative behaviors, mostly for the sake of getting Connor’s attention. When Connor finds out that Ava and his father slept together, she hides many details on purpose.
She does not tell him that she was the one who initiated it and Connor is under the understanding that his father was the sole reason for it. At a gala later, Ava tells Connor that his father is spreading rumors about her, which makes him punch Cornelius.
These types of manipulative behaviors, all for the sake of gaining sympathy and attention from Connor can also be seen when he is pursuing other romantic interests. Those who have BPD, often try their best to manipulate, especially if they feel that the person is abandoning them.
Her guilt-trips of Connor in the relationship
Dr. Bekker’s actions towards Connor are also for the purpose of guilt-tripping him. Connor falls for these actions over and over again. Ava cleverly makes Connor feel guilty in a number of situations, in his father’s case, and even in the case of him nicking her during surgery.
She becomes jealous of Connor and Robin
After Connor breaks up with Ava, he starts to develop romantic interests with other women, especially an ex-girlfriend, Robin. When Ava knows this, she not only gets jealous, but even starts manipulating their relationship to drive a wedge between the pair.
She is ready to kill for Connor
Ava Bekker is not only ready to manipulate and trick people for Connor, but is even ready to kill people for his sake. Connor’s father, Cornelius, who has already slept with Ava, is admitted to the hospital for an invasive procedure.
However, he dies on the surgery table due to some unknown reason. Later, Connor finds out that Ava kills him by fatally increasing his dose of insulin. Both Connor and Ava are investigated by the police later, and when Connor tries to stop Ava from escaping, she kills herself.
This goes to show that she is even ready to kill people who might get in the way of her and Connor, even if it is his own father. While these types of tendencies are not exactly common in Borderline Personality Disorder, it goes to show how intensely psychotic Ava was.
Dr. Bekker’s mental health issues
Dr. Ava Bekker in ‘Chicago Med’ depicted a number of signs and symptoms of mental health disorders in the series, apart from Borderline Personality Disorder. Other than BPD, the other mental health disorders that Ava Bekker struggled with are:
- Panic Disorder: Apart from Borderline Personality Disorder, Dr. Ava Bekker has been diagnosed with Panic Disorder. She clearly struggles with anxiety. However, she does not depict many symptoms of this disorder in her appearances.
- Major Depressive Disorder: Dr. Ava Bekker has also been diagnosed with major depressive disorder. She definitely does show a number of depressive traits, especially in her thought processes, throughout her appearances.
- Insomnia: Dr. Ava Bekker has also been diagnosed with Insomnia. Again, this is just speculated, but her struggles with insomnia are not clearly shown in her appearances in ‘Chicago Med.’
- Attention Deficit Disorder: It is also hinted that Ava was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder as a teenager. Some fans say that this may have developed into Borderline Personality Disorder when she became older.
Conclusion
This blogpost has answered if Dr. Bekker has BPD by listing out the various signs and symptoms of the disorder that she depicts in ‘Chicago Med.’ Additionally, we have discussed the different other mental health disorders and issues that Dr. Bekker also suffered from.
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