hi again! On an earlier post, you listed Dependent personality disorder as one of your diagnoses for Matsuda and that you would write a post on it if anyone asked. I would love to see it since I agree with that headcanon (and most of your thoughts on him in general honestly). Have a nice day!
first off, i think it’d take a lot for matsuda to actually get diagnosed. he doesn’t match the “stereotypical” presentation of dpd because his standoffishness and tendency to hole himself up make him look more independent than he actually is.
dr0 is a good point in time to analyze him from because it’s a situation where he would be actively triggered pretty much 100% of the time due to being unable to rely on otonashi/enoshima
symptoms of dependent personality disorder include:
trouble making everyday decisions without support. matsuda has difficulty with basic hygiene, dressing himself, socializing, etc.
fear of not being able to take care of themselves. for matsuda, this presents as an extreme drive to protect the people who could take care of him, even if it means doing something he thinks is morally wrong. it started with his mother, obviously, and then it moved to enoshima.
doing uncomfortable tasks to get support or nurturance from others. literally everything he does in dr0 is in service of this. he doesn’t know how to live without enoshima, so he’ll throw his life away to make sure she never leaves him.
avoiding conflict in relationships due to fear of losing them. this symptom is often misunderstood — friends of mine with dpd have explained this as being an instinctive manipulation tactic. matsuda takes this to a fantastical extreme, literally erasing the conflict from otonashi’s mind and constantly lying to her to keep her in line. “you didn’t see a dead body. who do you trust? me or the notebook?”
feeling uncomfortable when alone. we rarely see matsuda on his own outside of very stressful situations, but i think it’s fair to assume this applies. he’s shy and introverted so he needs his alone time, but he’ll freak out if he doesn’t have the option to see enoshima/if he doesn’t know where she is.
fear of abandonment. i don’t think i need to explain this one
tendency to only interact with the people they depend on. this one also feels obvious to me LOL
behaving submissively. this is a criteria that he only half-fits. he can stand up for himself in situations where it’s necessary in order to prevent being abandoned (e.g. talking back to the steering committee on behalf of enoshima), but he has trouble asserting himself in a meaningful way otherwise. his bratty schoolyard bully behavior is permissible only because enoshima/otonashi is the kind of freak who likes that sort of thing
oversensitivity to criticism. this isn’t something we get to see much of over the course of dr0, but i do think it’s reasonable to assume given the fact that matsuda is implied to be a very sensitive person behind the aloof mask he puts on. it runs so deeply in him that otonashi can clearly see the loneliness in his eyes even when he’s trying to keep his cool…
pessimism and a lack of self-confidence. another thing that half-fits. matsuda is confident in his abilities… but only when it comes to his talent. he’s otherwise a pretty big raincloud of a guy. this is especially reflected in his view on the situation with the reserve course’s parade.
willingness to tolerate abuse and mistreatment from others. this one… also needs no explanation, LMAO
dependent personality disorder can be caused by childhood trauma and neglect, so matsuda’s history would make him prone to developing it. obviously there are other things i’m probably missing but this is the gist of why i think he has dpd <3
