A Case of Virtual Projection

After my last analysis, it seems I have earned the disdain of a reader. This Woman Under the Influence left a rather abrupt and foul comment. Of course, as a scientist, I was not offended. I was, however, intrigued with this woman's venom towards a simple psychological analysis. To be truthful, with an internet moniker such as A Woman Under the Influence, I half expected her blog to be the of the college variety, filled with accounts of drunkenness, parties, and pictures of friends in raucous positions. Instead, I was surprised to find a reflective, if not misguided, middle-aged woman.

A Woman Under the Influence: I'm An Extraordinary Machine

This unfortunate creature appears to have a whole host of psychological woes, the least of which is a sort of self-perpetuating egomania. Naturally, without having ever met with A Woman Under the Influence, I am unable to access her prior mental health history. However, after careful consideration of her few posts, I have been able to come to the following conclusions:

1. A Woman Under the Influence has almost certainly had a history of mental illness, almost certainly with a history of psychotropic prescriptions and possibly with a history of institutionalization.

2. A Woman Under theInfluence is incapable of maintaining lasting and meaningful relationships. I was able to discern this from a variety of factors that are evident in her writing. Initially, I examined her self-report (see A Woman Under the Influence: My Sorrows Swim). She seems openly critical and suspicious of the people around her. However, her posts suggest an almost desperation to bond with people (see A Woman Under the Influence: Plausible Deniability). This apparent contradition is only comprehensible if A Woman Under the Influence a) wants friends, b) is unable to initiate normal social interactions, and c) perceives herself to have a history fraught with betrayals that make her hesitant to engage others socially.

3. A Woman Under the Influence was almost certainly traumatized, and possible abused, as a child. Her post A Woman Under the Influence: If I Had to Have Sex With an Alien, It Would Be Marcia Cross is quite telling in this respect. That all her dreams are highlighted through the setting of her grandmother's house nearly lept out at me from my screen. She seems to be uninformed as to the meaning of this recurring backdrop, as I would expect most laypeople to be; she likely has no conscious recollection of the maltreatment of her youth. But the import of her grandmother's house into all the "significant" aspects of her dreams indicates a psychological dependence on that location as an indicator of tranquility and safety. This house was, in life, a safe haven for A Woman Under the Influence. Though I suspect she would outwardly scoff at the suggestion, I would recommend strongly that she revisit her grandmother's house (if it still stands) in order to reconnect to the pains of her youth. Only then will she be able to begin tackling this psychological milestone.

4. A Woman Under the Influence appears to have a weak grasp on reality. There is an overwhelming proponderance of film and musical references throughout her blog. This, in and of itself, are not indicators of maladjustment. Indeed, it is quite healthy and useful to make reference to common cultural icons in communication. These icons serve as linguistic symbols for the nuances that we seek to infuse into our sentences. If I want you to relate to my love of the polonaise, I need but reference Chopin, and so on. These references are a linguistic shorthand that should not be abandoned. However, A Woman Under the Influence utilizes these icons in a different way. She integrates these references without justification or notification that they are, indeed, references. For instance, the post A Woman Under the Influence: My Sorrows Swim clearly suggests that she feels deceived by a film character. This sort of transferrence indicates a loose graps on the boundaries between truth and fiction. I would not be surprised to learn that A Woman Under the Influence is unable to prevent these fantasy relationships from integrating themselves with her day-to-day experience.

Overall, I find this poor woman to be in dire need of professional attention. That her comments to me were so hateful only suggests that I indirectly hit a raw psychological nerve when I stumbled upon Harold Loves Maude. However, I recognize her anger as a misdirected attempt to rectify her own insecurities and psychological instabilities. I will continue to monitor this poor soul, and I implore my readers to do the same.

A Troubling New Case

In my scavenges through cyberspace today, I happened upon this poor soul.

Harold Loves Maude: The Worst Thing I've Ever Done

This young man practically cries out for years of intensive psychotherapy, if not a brief stint in an institutionalized facility of some sort. For one thing, this young man likely has Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's patients are high functioning austics who are capable of mediated independent functioning in the world, though they do have some difficulties socializing. Like severe autistics, Asperger's patients tend to be introspective to the point of solipsism. The shyness this young man expresses in his blog suggest to me this sort of inability to connect meaningfully with other human beings. Of course, the mere fact that Harold has created a blog suggests that he is on the higher end of social functioning for an Asperger's patient. However, I find it telling that he only began his blog as an exercise prompted by a mental health professional.

The great tragedy with Asperger's patients is that they are functioning enough to recognize the social connections and interactions available to others, but just impaired enough to struggle terribly in making and maintaining such connections themselves. As a result, many Asperger's patients commit suicide before they reach their thirites. I do not want to see such a fate befall this young man.

Although I would love to befriend him myself, my role as a mental health guide would be severely hindered by such a personal connection. Therefore, I implore my readers to seek out this young man and take him under your virtual wing. His profile speaks plainly enough: Harold would like a friend. He says he needs only one, but this is little more than his inexperience with friendship. I am confidant that once Harold has developed a friend, he will want more. Friendship is a social narcotic, and one that I hope Harold develops a lifelong addiction to.

Until then, Dr Doctor will remain ever-vigilant in helping to guide this young man into a stable and happy adulthood.