Daniel and Mental Health

“ So, because of my autism, my grandmother passed away of cancer. ” — Daniel, at a Roe v. Wade protest.

Obviously, Daniel isn’t very mentally sound

Daniel has a troubled relationship with mental healthcare and mental health professionals.

Daniel is very clearly mentally ill. His delusions are downright dangerous, from thinking he is in a romantic relationship with celebrity Grace VanderWaal, all the way to believing he is a world-famous musician that is above the law. He is not the sharpest tool in the shed, having a very low mental age in comparison with his physical age. This is most apparent in his Tennyson Center interview, where during the interview, Daniel acts more like a 7-year-old despite being 14 at the time of recording.

As a result of his long list of disorders, his very poor intellect, inability to perform self-care, and poor handling of certain situations, Daniel fails to function as an adult. The disorders he is confirmed to have as of July 2024 are autism, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenia. Due to Daniel's hostile relationship with psychotherapy, there are most likely other conditions he suffers from that will remain undiagnosed for the foreseeable future.

The Issue(s) with Daniel

Autism

Daniel is confirmed to be autistic by both his mother, and by Daniel himself. Autism, formally classified as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a loosely defined, but interconnected, range of neurological challenges with social interaction and communication.

His naïveté, poorly developed social skills, and meltdowns, are all common symptoms of ASD. Daniel has been speculated to have sensory issues, which is commonly seen among those with autism. This is evidenced by the fact that Daniel rarely, if ever, bathes. This has caused theories to form, speculating if Daniel may have hypersensitivity issues to bathing — meaning that he has an aversion to bathing due to the sensation and/or texture of it on his skin.

As seen in the news report on the Tennyson Center, Daniel can be viewed "stimming" and fidgeting repeatedly with his hands, which is defined as, “repetitive movements or noises. Stimming seems to help some autistic children and teenagers manage emotions and cope with overwhelming situations."

Another, much more dangerous, symptom of autism is self harm. Daniel can be seen in several meltdowns hitting himself, punching holes in walls, screaming, wailing, and slamming his head into his hands. This may be his version of saying that he does not like what is going on around him, as that is a common reason people with autism self-harm this way. Even though this is often a way for people with autism to signal things, it has also been speculated that Daniel does this to simply garner sympathy. Self harming is, oftentimes, a learned behavior, and Daniel may have self harmed this way when he was younger to get the attention he wants.

Contrary to popular beliefs, autism does not necessarily make someone automatically smart, nor does it increase someone's IQ (unlike the much more appropriate "Savant syndrome"). In fact, around 60-70% of all autistic person have <90 IQ and only 5% of autistic people have greater-than average IQ. It is possible that Daniel Larson is between the mid to low functioning autism. However, he most likely does not have high functioning autism, as many who are live typically normal adult lives without needing any help.

Interestingly, there is a strong link between mothers with lupus, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus, giving birth to children with autism. Daniels mother suffers from lupus, so much so that she would eventually be left wheelchair-bound due to it. While unknown, it is likely that Daniel may have inherited his autism from this.

Despite saying that he has an autism diagnosis, Daniel appears to be in denial of it. He has stated multiple times that his diagnosis is false, that "autism doesn't exist."^{[citation needed]}or that he has a different disorder that is not autism.

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder characterized by rapid and extreme mood swings, characterized by periods of depression, abnormal elation, and sometimes psychosis. While not mentioned by Daniel, his mother has confirmed that he is diagnosed with it.

Daniel is most likely diagnosed with Bipolar I, a more severe subtype of the disorder which presents with full-blown mania (in contrast to the milder hypomania in II) and often psychosis, a mental state which Daniel exhibits many classic symptoms of. Another major driving force behind Daniel's meltdowns is his bipolar, as in multiple of them, he is seen exhibiting psychotic behaviors. As an example, during the Likee Meltdown, Daniel repeatedly threatened to commit suicide, as well as self-harming, if he was not given information on the status of Grace VanderWaal and her family.

PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event.

In the Spiddlekick Interview, Daniel says that he is more of the belief that he has PTSD over autism. It is unknown why he thinks this, but a docket report from the Jail Arc substantiates this diagnosis. It is called into question what caused his PTSD, whether it be alleged claims of physical, mental and/or sexual abuse from his childhood, or a completely different event entirely.

Schizophrenia

"Delusional ideas"

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by episodes of psychosis, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and delusions. His mother has confirmed him having schizophrenia, just like many other of his mental disorders. In additional, to him taking Latuda, a schizophrenia medication, he often shows delusions, such as believing himself to be in a relationship with several celebrities, believing himself to be in contention with Jacob Sartorius, and most notably, believing himself to be a celebrity. Daniel has also had episodes of psychosis, believing himself to be watched or being shot at.

In reference to delusions, Daniel is known to have delusions of grandeur, as well as delusions of persecution. For example, Daniel, at one point, believed himself to be followed by several white vans to a point where he stowed away in a gas station out of fear of being hurt. During the UCLA Arc, Daniel was under the impression that the Chinese government was watching him, after a troll pretending to be a student mentioned having talked to the government. Furthermore, he thought himself to have been poisoned by staff after eating a Red Robin. After being released from the hospital, his discharge papers described him as having "delusional ideas".

Daniel's refusal to accept help

The one mental failing that debilitates Daniel most is his downright refusal to adapt to his environment and accept help when he needs it. This stubbornness, more than anything else, is what makes him so frustrating to watch. While Daniel has expressed several times that he desires help for his several problems, but whenever he is offered help, he always refuses it when it does not align with his delusions. During a conversation with his manager Ox, when he was informed that every time he spoke to "Grace" he was speaking to a troll, he seemed to only acknowledge it in order to get Ox to stop talking to him. Daniel complains multiple times about not receiving help, even though he has received multiple items such as changes of clothes and hygiene products (which he often throws away), as well as large amounts of money because of the hospitality of others.

Despite being told multiple times by multiple people to buy more affordable meals so he would not have to deal with the consequences of Dine and Dashes. Even so, Daniel continued to buy food wildly out of his price range, only to suffer legal consequences due to defrauding restaurants he went to.

It is very obvious that Daniel values his delusions over his own wellbeing, because if he actually chose to accept the help of others, and follow the rules of establishments and places he stays at, he would have been in housing a very long time ago, or even more, not homeless at all.

History of professional help

Tennyson Center

As noted, Daniel was regularly medicated during his time attending school at and living at the Tennyson Center. He claimed that once a month, students would meet with a doctor to prescribe and check on the effects of medication supplied to them. Given Daniel's documented violence, both then and now, it is likely that he was put on some type of antipsychotic by the center.

Sobesky Academy

It is not confirmed if Daniel was medicated during his high school's years. However, according to a classmate of Daniel's, they state that it was highly speculated and very likely that he was medicated, considering that Daniel was very reserved and was rarely violent to others, and only occasionally to himself.

Psychiatric Wards

While the quality of "help" can be debated, Daniel is no stranger to stays at psychiatric hospitals. During the conclusion of the Dog Arc, Daniel was put into a psych ward following him having a meltdown in a Walmart, as well as calling the police multiple times to "get his situation heard." While it is unknown if he was truly given medication, a voice note that surfaced during his stay depicts a very medicated sounding Daniel. It is most likely that he was given antipsychotics during his week-long stay.

After threatening people with fireworks, Daniel was put into a mental hospital which he has described as "A living hell", where he was given Latuda, a medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.\

After being found incompetent for trial on 19 July 2024 during the Second Jail Arc, he was sent too – and is still in – a psychiatric institution.

See Also

• Daniel and Health
• Daniel and Nutrition
• Psychiatric Hospital