French psychiatrist Eric Bui at Toulouse University Hospital has diagnosed Anakin Skywalker and his evil alter-ego, Darth Vader, with borderline personality disorder. In an upcoming issue of Psychiatry Research, Bui and his colleagues argue that Star Wars' ominous heavy breather meets six of the condition's nine clinical criteria, including patterns of instability and impulsivity. Bui meant this as a teaching exercise, but some experts are taking it seriously. Who's the crazy one? (Watch some Star Wars fans act out Darth Vader's therapy session)
This explains a lot: Abandonment issues, violent dissociative episodes, and wild fluctuations between "idealizing and devaluing" Jedi mentors? Yup, says Tom Goldman in The Escapist, sounds like Bui has Anakin/Vader's number. But "even the researchers admit that the Emperor's influence" may have "inflamed" the patient's symptoms. If only Bui could have offer a "little psychotherapy" at that juncture.
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