Bipolar I Disorder in Journal from Paper Puppets Take 2
After taking a look at Journal for a few days, I'm diagnosing him with bipolar I. For fun
Specifically: Bipolar I Disorder, current episode manic, moderate severity, with mood-congruent psychotic features and moderate-severe anxious distress.
Here's my full diagnosis with pictures and examples :)
For this, I used the DSM-5-TR and the YMRS (Young Mania Rating Scale).
A. Yes, Journal has distinctly gone from the average tolerant person to irritable and rude. His activity has increased (overworking himself) and he doesn’t sleep much, yet still has energy for his work. I can’t tell the amount of time PPT2 episodes span for, but I assume it’s been at least a week since he started showing symptoms. His abnormal behavior is present most of the day, every day.
The first picture here is from episode 4 (The Paper Pelican), and the second is from episode 11 (Rainy Day). In the first image, he's working with his team (important, as Journal isolates himself later on) on a strategy for the challenge. He's cheerful about it and happy to execute it. In the second image, he's being irritable and mean for no particular reason. I liked this specific line because it's shallow cruelty, it isn't normal behavior. The whole scene is very interesting though.
B. He has at least 4 symptoms of a manic episode.
Inflated self-esteem or grandiosity. Journal thinks he’s particularly valuable to the team, even though he skips and leaves challenges.
I do recognize that his pages might've gotten in the way (as he mentioned), but he also leaves during the photography challenge in episode 9 (Picture Perfect), which he was perfectly capable of doing. The point to adding this image is that he acted as if his team was incompetent and that it was BECAUSE he wasn't there to carry them. "I'm gone for one challenge, and you guys blow it."
He becomes more arrogant and entitled as time goes on.
He acts like Post-It Note is being selfish and lazy for wanting to relax in this scene, claiming that the world is at stake. He's entitling himself to Post-It Note's time and energy and becoming aggressive (verbally, but also physically, as he grabs him by the shoulders and yells in his face a few seconds later) when he won't comply with his demands.
He keeps this up with Treasure Chest, calling him a traitor, bullying him, and telling him he doesn't deserve to be here. Journal values self-sacrifice, and sees Treasure Chest using the Immunity Token as wrong and selfish. He thinks that his own self-sacrifice is necessary to protect people, and that he is the only one who cares enough. He is self-centred and obsessed with being a savior to others.
In episode 10 (Hole-Hearted), Treasure Chest asks Journal not to be cruel to the rest of the team, as he just lashed out at Bubble Wrap for failing her throw and losing their advantage. And in episode 12 (Dungeons & Dimwits), Slipper mentions the animosity he has for Treasure Chest, telling Ukulele it'll drive her crazy if she joins their team. My point here is that Journal's arrogant, self-centred behavior is so noticeable, even people outside of his team, who barely interact with him at all (Slipper), are able to point it out.
Decreased need for sleep. At first, Journal seems to experience daytime sleepiness and insomnia, such as when he falls asleep standing up in episode 7 (All Fun and Games).
Over time, though his load of work doesn’t decrease (actually getting worse, with Post-It Note calling it an obsession), he loses this sleepiness. Which means that his sleep is still mediocre or little, but he isn’t as tired as he used to be (in the prodromal phase), making this symptom valid (for the manic episode).
More talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking. Nope! Journal becomes very isolated and secretive, in fact.
Episode 8 (Rowdy Runaway). He's usually alone and quiet around later episodes, other than to complain. He never becomes particularly talkative, though he does make snarky comments he wouldn't have made in the past (like the scene with Bubble Wrap).
Flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing. No, he’s very goal-focused, even when the subject isn’t about Mr. Hand.
During episode 10 (Hole-Hearted) he’s pretty concentrated on his game, and doesn’t have many racing thoughts or changes in ideas. He sets a goal and achieves it, using the strategies needed. He is restless and irritable though, thrown off by Treasure Chest distracting him at some point.
Distractibility. Somewhat? I half-counted it because his attention is technically easily drawn to things that are irrelevant to the show or challenge. He leaves randomly in the middle of challenges or at the beginning of them, wanting to focus on Mr. Hand.
Episode 6 (Don't Press It!) where Journal distracts Platinum to get past him and leave the contestant area. Episode 9 (Picture Perfect) where Journal tells Treasure Chest to do the challenge on his own, and then leaves to go do whatever it is he does when he's working against Mr. Hand (is it just me or is it really unclear? but I digress).
He also starts thinking about Mr. Hand while playing for the challenge in episode 12 (Dungeons & Dimwits), which makes him freak out and run off. This shows that his thoughts are drifting to irrelevant matters at the moment. It’s not the average flighty distractibility though, and it’s not always caused by external stimuli like the DSM-5 specifies, so it’s a half-point.
Increase in goal-directed activity. Yeah, that’s his whole thing. He’s obsessed with saving people by preventing Mr. Hand from coming back, and spends a significant amount of his time dedicated to this cause. It's kind of hard to find a specific scene to "prove" this because this is scattered throughout like, nearly all of his scenes. Also refer to my earlier section disproving flight of ideas, for evidence that he's goal-directed even when it doesn't relate to Mr. Hand specifically.
Excessive involvement in activities that have a high potential for painful consequences. Yes, his behavior is risky and has already caused him problems, but he continues with it over and over. He sleeps less and overworks himself, which is excessive involvement. He puts himself into situations where he is terrified and in danger.
Episode 11 (Rainy Day) where he's nearly found in the cave by whatever that Mr. Hand minion creature is called, and episode 14 (Platinum Puppets) where he returns to the (dangerous!) cave to destroy the portal.
He pushes friends away in favour of his goal and isolates himself repeatedly, refusing help and getting angry when people disagree with him. He pushes self-sacrifice a lot.
Episode 9 (Picture Perfect) shows the beginning of his grudge against Treasure Chest. He calls him selfish a few seconds later in this scene. The point is that Journal is obsessed with the idea of selflessness to the point of hurting himself and others, excessively involving himself in dangerous activities and expecting the same dedication from friends (and then demonstrating painful social consequences as he refuses to loosen up).
It’s not as obvious as “typical” risky behavior (e.g. gambling), but it fits the criteria.
C. He has isolated himself from everyone and often skips out on challenges in PPT2. He experiences hallucinations (and I’d argue delusions, but I’ll explain that in a moment).
D. I’ve checked differential diagnoses and haven’t found anything as fitting as Bipolar I. And Journal isn’t taking any substances (as far as I know lol).
Let's specify!! Note, I checked through all of these, I just only highlighted the ones that apply.
Feeling keyed up or tense. Yes. He’s always on edge, angry, and worrying about things.
Feeling unusually restless. Yes. He’s often trying to leave the show to do work, getting upset if he can’t. I count this as restlessness even if he isn’t experiencing motor agitation (fidgeting, pacing, etc.), because he struggles to engage in normal activities without getting distracted or upset.
Difficulty concentrating because of worry. Yes. He won’t and sometimes can't concentrate on challenges, the worst being in episode 12 (Dungeons & Dimwits), where he worries so much that he freaks out when he’s meant to be focusing on a simple game.
Fear that something awful may happen. Yes. This is kind of his whole thing. He’s afraid Mr. Hand will come back and do something awful to him and others.
Feeling that the individual might lose control of themself. No, actually, I didn’t count this. Journal seems to not have much insight on his condition. He doesn’t think he’s losing control just yet, he thinks others aren’t caring enough. He recognizes that he’s acting different (e.g. in episode 11 (Rainy Day) when he says he’ll "relax when this whole thing is resolved"), but he doesn’t think he’s losing it, and is offended by the idea.
With four symptoms and no motor agitation, we’re at moderate-severe anxious distress.
Mood-congruent psychotic features
Journal has vivid visual and auditory hallucinations with themes of paranoia, always about Mr. Hand somehow appearing with implied malicious intent. Earlier, I said that he might experience delusions. By this, I mean that even if it’s not explicitly canon, he’s at least on the edge. His grandiose tendencies are savior-related enough to make me think that he’s ripe for a grandiose delusion about being some sort of “chosen savior”, and the way he puts himself into danger (and thinks that he is the only one who cares enough to handle this threat) looks like he feels a bit invulnerable as well. Even though he’s scared, he charges back every time, as if he must be some sort of hero. His unnatural suspicion of others is also bordering on psychotic, especially now that he hasn’t talked to anyone in the cast for a while (considering his latest appearance in episode 14 (Platinum Puppets), I don’t think his mental health state has improved, much the opposite), and I could very much see him having paranoid delusions as well. I am getting into headcanon territory, but it's also a prediction of sorts. I'd love to see a delusional Journal in later episodes, if we get the chance.
Severity rating of manic episode
Elevated mood. NONE. He’s miserable.
Increased Motor Activity-Energy. I don’t think it’s significant, he isn’t fidgety or energetic, but I did want to consider his restlessness (as mentioned earlier in my anxious distress section).
Sexual Interest. N/A, I guess? Either way, still a valid 0.
Sleep. Based on him recognizing he isn’t relaxed, and that he’ll relax “later”, I think he knows he isn’t sleeping as much as normal and that he’s still in need of it. However, he genuinely doesn’t feel tired, as I explained in my manic episode section.
Irritability. He’s definitely irritable, but he still experiences other emotions (positive as well) and is still able to articulate himself normally. He just switches up very fast if something goes wrong or unexpectedly.
Episode 10 (Hole-Hearted), you can see he's excited for cornhole with the rest of them (on the left). I made it a gif for clarity.
Speech (Rate and Amount). He’s pretty quiet, mostly. Stares off at nothing a lot, which amuses me, but it's not relevant for me to add an image. He does start talking to himself in episode 11 (Rainy Day) though, which is unusual, but fueled by irritability anyway. It’s also a one-time thing. Either way, he never becomes particularly talkative, only more easily annoyed (which comes with unnecessary comments).
Language-Thought Disorder. He starts uncontrollably yelling words that are incomprehensible to anyone else in episode 12 (Dungeons & Dimwits) when he's having hallucinations. This is the only time it happens. Otherwise, since this part also counts distractibility, it's the same level I talked about earlier, which had been counted as a half-point.
Content. He is psychotic. Nearly all of the rest of the examples apply to him though, like paranoid ideas and special projects. But I can only highlight one, and these are just examples for different levels of severity.
Disruptive-Aggressive Behavior. He is particularly guarded and secretive. He is also rude and sometimes aggressive. He doesn't make threats though.
Episode 10 (Hole-Hearted) and episode 11 (Rainy Day).
Appearance. His cover is muddy, his pages are disheveled, and at times, he has bags under his eyes. He gets moderately disheveled, because he’s still physically intact and active. If his cover was ripped, for example, I’d put him higher.
Episode 12 (Dungeons & Dimwits). The worst Journal has looked!
Insight. He denies that he’s obsessed and insists his behavior is necessary. He seems aware that he’s gotten intense, but he believes he has to be. I think he’d be even more offended if someone told him he was mentally ill, as it feels like what he cares about is being diminished.
This puts his score at 24 points, indicating moderate mania.
Journal from Paper Puppets Take 2 has bipolar I. Yay! And I'm not going through differential diagnoses because it would make this already pretty long post even longer. I did check though, but mania makes the most sense for him. He just has a more irritable, unusual presentation of it. Congratulations Journal 💚
