Did Faith have a mental illness? Trigger Warning

[Monkey Pants]

I personally believe that Faith had some sort of mental illness(es), most likely bipolar, and also ptsd from her childhood. Has anyone else thought of this?

 

[Nix]

Er no I don't think in any way she was/is bipolar. Dissociative issues maybe.

 

[Lyri]

I don't have bipolar or PTSD, but I know a few people that do, and I have to say, Faith in no way shows any signs of bipolar disorder. There's a lot more to that disorder than just the occasional 'mood swing'.

I could maybe see an argument for PTSD. Faith went through a lot in her childhood and her Watcher being killed right in front of her and then having to run for her life, that would scar anyone. The fact that she's a Slayer doesn't mean that she's exempt from PTSD.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I'm reading a fanfic right now that treats Faith as having some sort of mental issues to explain her erratic behavior. But I don't like it. It's possible that she might have had some sort of PTSD but it was never explored or her past wasn't talked about much. I just think she had severe trust and anger issues that she never resolved. Which turned her to the dark side. Faith had a pretty complicated journey, which is why I love her so much. Once she got the help she needed she was much more stable, and I don't think any medications were involved. Or maybe she did receive medication in prison, but we'll never really know.

 

[Fuffy]

I always thought that Faith might have ADHD, she definitely displays some of it's traits...

Considering what Faith has gone through as a child, PTSD is also a likely possibility.

 

[brinkster130]

I never got the impression she had a mental illness.

I suppose she could have had some PTSD given her childhood and the things she saw but I don't know that we ever saw/were told enough to really diagnose that.

She certainly had big insecurities that showed in her attitude and behavior that ranged from parental issues, trust issues, body issues and more.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

Or maybe she did receive medication in prison, but we'll never really know.

Doubtful. It was never seen or mentioned about Faith taking medication for a mental illness (which would seem like a big part of the character to ignore) plus if she was on any medication for a mental illness, she'd be on it potentially for life, not just whilst in prison. Stopping medication like that would have negative effects unless it is carefully controlled. Even so, it would be a gradual withdrawal of medication not suddenly switching it off like a tap.

I always thought that Faith might have ADHD, she definitely displays some of it's traits...

Doesn't Eliza Dushku have ADHD in real life? That could've maybe come across in the performance which was unintentional but ultimately adds to the character?

I think Faith just has extremely poor self-esteem which manifests itself in self-destructive behaviour.

 

[Taake]

Definitely not bipolar in my opinion.
I've never considered it but maybe PTSD from seeing her Watcher killed in front of her. We really don't know enough of her childhood to say it would have scarred her for life. People can have difficult childhoods without it leading to mental illness. We know Wesley had dad-issues, does that mean he qualifies for mental illness as well? Does Gunn? Xander? It's a slipperly slope when one starts labeling people, and a little discomfiting.

 

[November]

The definitiins of mental disorders are constantly changing.

She was not mentally healthy, but nor did she show persistant disordered behaviour (think her own attempt at atonement) over the short course of the show.

Thats the scary thing about the dsm and its disorders. Selfies would have been narcissism not 20 yrs back, but they've twisted that to acceptable, whilst PMS is something unnatural to be drugged away.

Everyone could have symptoms of every mental disorder ever at some stage. They are not unwell. Just human.

 

[GwenRaiden]

I think Faith just has extremely poor self-esteem which manifests itself in self-destructive behaviour.

I agree with this. And would add that low self-esteem and being thrown into a position of power (becoming a Slayer) wasn't a good mix for Faith. Especially as she'd probably felt emotionally isolated from a young age.

 

[brinkster130]

It's also possible to have specific mental illness traits and not have that mental illness.

For example a sociopath displays seven key traits and someone wouldn't be diagnosed as such unless they tested positive at 80% in 80% of said traits. So it's possible for someone to have several key sociopath traits and not be a sociopath.

I guess a more common example would be OCD; I hear people all the time claim they have OCD because they have one little tick but in reality all they have is a small OCD trait not full blown OCD.

So maybe people are just noticing some traits in her that are associated with certain mental illnesses, and that's a fair assessment; but we really don't know enough about her to say if she really does have a mental illness.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

So maybe people are just noticing some traits in her that are associated with certain mental illnesses, and that's a fair assessment; but we really don't know enough about her to say if she really does have a mental illness.

I think if Faith did have a mental illness, the show would've made a point of saying so. They outright said that Angelus drove Drusilla mad before siring her so she would spend an eternity like that which gives Drusilla some sympathy points. I don't see why the show wouldn't also do that for Faith. It would make her more sympathetic if the Mayor was taking advantage of that plus add a degree of tragedy to Buffy having to take out Faith despite the fact that Faith's actions are a result of being manipulated rather than Faith just deciding to be "evil".

 

[Athena]

I'm always very cautious about labelling someone something when nothing has been proven on-screen (e.g. a medical diagnosis or Faith admitting to having an illness) or it's mentioned by someone in charge of the show as being canon to Faith's character.

Yes, Faith exhibits some behaviours which may be symptoms of a mental illness. To pinpoint exactly what, we'd need her to exist in the real world and for all of us to be trained medical professionals. 😵

 

[November]

"Trained medical professionals" LOL!

 

[sosa lola]

When it comes to mental illnesses, I think the closest character to have one is Anya. She kinda appears like she has mild autism. Her obsession with money and Xander, the way she speaks, her lack of social skills.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

When it comes to mental illnesses, I think the closest character to have one is Anya. She kinda appears like she has mild autism. Her obsession with money and Xander, the way she speaks, her lack of social skills.

Though that could be that she spent the past millennium as a vengeance demon with different morals and values to that of a human. She gets on very well with Spike, possibly because he's a vampire and thus a demon so his morals are more in line with hers.

 

[Samuel Reyes]

Borderline Personality Disorder?

Borderline personality disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The novel Go Ask Malice flat-out states that Faith has a mental disorder that includes blackouts, out-of-body experiences, disassociative identity, and bouts of uncontrolled anger. Although the novel is not considered canon, so this is just speculation.
 

Though that could be that she spent the past millennium as a vengeance demon with different morals and values to that of a human. She gets on very well with Spike, possibly because he's a vampire and thus a demon so his morals are more in line with hers.

But we saw in "Selfless" she behaved that way even before she became a vengeance demon. Maybe not the obsession with Xander thing, but pretty close.

 

[Last Watcher]

I'm reading a fanfic right now that treats Faith as having some sort of mental issues to explain her erratic behavior. But I don't like it. It's possible that she might have had some sort of PTSD but it was never explored or her past wasn't talked about much. I just think she had severe trust and anger issues that she never resolved. Which turned her to the dark side. Faith had a pretty complicated journey, which is why I love her so much. Once she got the help she needed she was much more stable, and I don't think any medications were involved. Or maybe she did receive medication in prison, but we'll never really know.

If that fanfic you are talking about is 'Swings' then Faiths violent mood swings, going catatonic, becoming almost childlike & seriously self destructive urges
were far worse in the fic than were ever even hinted at on BtVS/Ats. That story, while well written, takes angst to a whole new depth. Don't think I've ever
read a fic that has messed me up like that one did. Being a Faith fan it was really hard to read.🙁🙁🙁

 

[Fuffy Baith]

If that fanfic you are talking about is 'Swings' then Faiths violent mood swings, going catatonic, becoming almost childlike & seriously self destructive urges
were far worse in the fic than were ever even hinted at on BtVS/Ats. That story, while well written, takes angst to a whole new depth. Don't think I've ever
read a fic that has messed me up like that one did. Being a Faith fan it was really hard to read.🙁🙁🙁

Yea I liked it up. That was the fanfic I read. It was good but yeah it took Faith way too far. As a Faith fan it is a little hard to read. I don't think Faith has that many problems in the show. It was a sad fanfic to read at times.

 

[faithyyyyyyyy]

I definitely thought that she had some sort of mental illness, especially when she completely breaks down in Angel's arms. It could be depression or something like that though, I guess it's just hard to tell but we do know that she was suicidal so something was wrong in Faith's mind.
 
I agree that Faith probably wasn't as messed up as she was in that story however I've sadly always thought that she was sexually abused when she was younger, and that could have caused some serious trauma to her mind. I mean with the amount of strange boyfriends that were around her mom, I guess it's not a stretch to say that some awful things could have happened to Faith.