Does Mikan Tsumiki have BPD? (+7 Signs of BPD)

This detailed blogpost will be discussing if Mikan Tsumiki has BPD. We will also be checking out the different signs and symptoms of BPD that Mikan Tsumiki depicts in Danganronpa 2. Finally, we will be looking closely at the causal factor which could have led to this.

Does Mikan Tsumiki have BPD?

Yes, Mikan Tsumiki has BPD. In Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Mikan Tsumiki shows many signs of struggling with Borderline Personality Disorder. However, this has never been confirmed in the game series, or by the creators of Danganronpa.

Mikan Tsumiki is one of the most popular characters in Danganronpa 2 and is not only known for her unique appearance, but even her very peculiar personality. Many fans and critics of the game series have tried their best to analyze Mikan’s mental status and diagnose her.

One of the theories is that Mikan Tsumiki has Borderline Personality Disorder. At the same time, a number of other theories regarding Mikan Tsumiki’s mental status have been discussed in discussion forums. Some of other mental health issues that Mikan has been diagnosed with are:

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Mikan Tsumiki in Danganronpa 2 is a character who has gone through a lot of bullying in the past. This is clearly visible even with her clothing and her appearance.

For example, her hair is unevenly cut and she is bandaged all over. She never even changes her appearance and sticks with this. She basically lives as a bullied person who has a traumatic past every single day, without trying to change.

  • Anxiety: Another possible diagnosis for Mikan Tsumiki is Anxiety Disorder. The character is truly anxious at all times and even acts anxious openly. At many times, Mikan Tsumiki can be seen clutching her hands in front of her chest.

She also constantly doubts herself and needs to ask a number of questions to do anything, showing her high levels of anxiety in almost any type of situation. She also frequently apologizes for her behaviors, especially after showing an outburst of her feelings.

While the diagnoses above also hold water, the most commonly assumed diagnosis when it comes to Mikan Tsumiki is Borderline Personality Disorder. The various signs and symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder that Mikan Tsumiki shows in Danganronpa 2 are listed below.

She experiences many mood swings

There is no doubt that Mikan Tsumiki is a very moody person and depicts a lot of moodiness in the game series. Most of her mood swings are triggered by the way other people treat her. She often cries at the smallest sign of ill-treatment by others.

She has a need to be liked by everyone

Mikan Tsumiki has a toxic need to be liked and loved by everyone. This not only includes Hajime Hinata, her favorite person. Mikan has this need mainly because of her experience with bullying in the past.

She is skilled in the workings of the human body since she is a nurse, and therefore she is able to easily understand the emotions of others. The problem is that she has the tendency to over-analyze them and make them something way bigger than they really are.

Her main source of anxiety is her need to be liked and loved by others. Whenever there is any pause in a conversation that she has with someone, she starts to panic and will apologize even if she has not done anything wrong.

The need to be liked by everyone often denotes a very poor self-esteem in the person. It is also very characteristically present in Borderline Personality Disorder as the person constantly seeks the attention and appreciation of others, especially in their favorite person.

She has a distorted sense of self

Mikan Tsumiki also has a distorted sense of self. She has very poor self-esteem and constantly doubts herself. However, when it comes to her forte in nursing, Mikan actually shows a lot of confidence as she is very knowledgeable of human anatomy and physiology.

A distorted sense of self is very much characteristic of Borderline Personality Disorder. In Mikan’s case, the reason for her distorted sense of self is her previous experiences with bullying and the trauma that stayed with her.

She is very attached to Hajime

For Mikan Tsumiki, Hajime Hinata turns out to be her everything. She shows a toxic attachment to Hajime and even makes many sexual suggestions in a subtle manner. For instance, when she first becomes friends with Hajime, Mikan asks if he wants to hit her or hurt her on purpose.

Mikan feels that pain inflicted on herself is the only language of love, which is very toxic in itself. She has also confessed that she keeps staring at Hajime for a long time and may have even stalked him.

Those who have Borderline Personality Disorder often have a favorite person, and even this may change frequently. For Mikan, her favorite person turns out to be mostly Hajime and her ‘beloved’ who apparently takes advantage of her poor self-esteem.

She demonstrates anger outbursts

While Mikan Tsumiki may actually seem morbid and anxious a lot of the time, she allows her anger to fully reveal itself a number of times. These types of anger outbursts are quite common and characteristic of Borderline Personality Disorder.

After getting angry and showing it to others, Mikan immediately apologizes for it. She feels guilty for expressing herself, which further shows her poor self-esteem. These anger outbursts in Mikan are frequently expressed at regular intervals.

She shows self-harming tendencies

In many cases, Mikan Tsumiki also shows a number of self-harming tendencies. Her self-harming traits are however, not very actively inflicted and not aimed at physical or emotional pain.

Her self-harming behavior is the fact that she allows everyone else to willingly walk all over her and even physically hurt her. In fact, she even offers Hajime in the beginning to hurt her, draw on her and basically treat her like a slave.

She has a history of dissociation  

In Danganronpa 2, Mikan also shows dissociation. This dissociation can be seen after Mikan is affected by the Despair Disease. The disease basically reveals and allows all of Mikan’s negative traits and behaviors to be manifested outside.

During this time, Mikan Tsumiki does not act like her true self and is almost unrecognizable. She becomes very cunning and even deceives others. After she is cured, she goes back to her original self of being meek and perpetually apologetic.

Cause of Mikan Tsumiki’s BPD

In Danganronpa 2, where Mikan Tsumiki appears as one of the characters, it is often theorized that she may have Borderline Personality Disorder. The main causal factor is her Borderline Personality Disorder and also her poor self-esteem is her experiences with bullying.

Mikan’s bullying from her earlier years still have very fresh wounds on her psyche, as depicted by her bandages and her uneven haircut. The bullying that Mikan experienced was so severe that she has normalized it.

This can be seen in the fact that she is so subservient to everyone and actually encourages others to dominate her and encourage her. This may have led to her Borderline Personality Disorder. Many research studies have confirmed that traumatic experiences can lead to BPD later on.

Conclusion

This detailed blogpost has discussed if Mikan Tsumiki has BPD. We have also checked out the different signs and symptoms of BPD that Mikan Tsumiki depicts in Danganronpa 2. Finally, we have looked closely at the causal factor which could have led to this.

If you like this blogpost, please leave your comments and questions in the space below.

Citations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danganronpa_2:_Goodbye_Despair
https://danganronpa.fandom.com/wiki/Mikan_Tsumiki#
https://gamerant.com/danganronpa-mikan-tsumiki-popularity-personality-tragic-backstory-twist-ending/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20370237
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9762-borderline-personality-disorder-bpd
https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Borderline-Personality-Disorder
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder/overview/
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-and-complex-ptsd/about-ptsd/

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