Daniel and Mental Health
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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 and that he 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 like a 7-year-old despite being 14 at the time of recording.
Daniel, as a result of his long list of disorders, has a very poor intellect, and is unable to properly handle many things necessary to function as an adult. The disorders he is confirmed to have as of June 2024 are autism, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Though, due to Daniel's hostile relationship with psychotherapy, there are most likely other conditions he suffers from that will remain undiagnosed.
The Issue(s) with Daniel
Autism
Daniel is confirmed to be autistic by both his mother, and by Daniel himself, on multiple occasions.[1] 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 the many meltdowns Daniel has had are all common symptoms of ASD. In addition, Daniel has been speculated to have sensory issues. He rarely, if ever, bathes, which has some theories to form that Daniel may have hypersensitive issues to bathing— he may be hypersensitive to water running on his skin. In turn, Daniel regularly smells absolutely rancid and has had documented issues with foot fungus, trench foot, and scabies, which have spawned in more speculations that Daniel may be hypo-sensitive to those areas of his body, and perhaps to smell.
Another, much more dangerous, symptom is his 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.[2] Even though this is often a way for people with autism to signal things, it has also been speculated that Daniel does this to garner sympathy. Self harming is, oftentimes, a learned behavior, and Daniel may have self harmed this way when he was younger and gotten the attention he wanted and/or needed, so this is what he has learned; hitting, banging his head, screaming, and various things will get him the attention he wants.[2]
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, and that "autism doesn't exist."[citation needed]
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.[3] 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 bipolarism, 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.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia, or schizoaffective disorder, is a mental disorder characterized by episodes of psychosis, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and delusions.[4] His mother has confirmed him having schizophrenia, just like many other of his mental disorders. Additionally, him taking Latuda, a schizophrenia medication, and often showing 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
Daniel's biggest fault is his refusal to accept help or anything that is of meaning to him. While Daniel has expressed several times that he desires help for his several problems, whenever he is offered help, he always refuses it.