#naruto therapy

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Thank you @skykashi!!! It's perfect! You are amazing! If any anime character ever needed therapy, it's him.

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Naruto...A Lesson in Attachment

This is Naruto Uzumaki.

And so is this.

So, how did he go from doing this:

Desecrating and vandalizing the village

To doing this:

Leading it.

We'll explore that, but first want to start where it all began.

Attachment!

These are Naruto's parents: Minato Namikaze, his dad. All around great shinobi, a prodigy, super talented, became Hokage at a really young age. And Kushina Uzumaki, his mom, quite an impressive kunoichi (female shinobi) in her own right.

So, yes, from the start Naruto had an extra leg-up with two loving parents who loved him and cared for him.

At least for a couple of hours.

Yes, he lost both of his parents as a newborn. So, what happened to that child? Well, it's below, but first a lesson about attachment and why it's important.

First there are four types of attachment:

Secure - confident, non-reactive, comes back from adversity; kids feel safe, secure, and trusting

Adult Naruto and his own family.

2. Avoidant-Dismissive - Independent, show little emotional needs, unemotional, little physical contact, manage own distress

Hear me out here, I would say Little Sasuke (sahs-kay) and his relationship with his father. Sasuke was independent and parents focused their attention primarily on his older brother. He eventually grew to become self-reliant and used other people to get his needs met, forming very few attachments along the way.

3. Disorganized/ Avoidant-Fearful - Inconsistent emotional support, crave attention from but also fear caregivers; often stemming from trauma

Anybody with this man, Orochimaru. Orochimaru thrived on creating disorganized attachments in the children he experimented on, kidnapped, worked with.

Or anybody with Danzo. Both preyed on orphans and their lack of secure attachments.

4. Anxious - Inconsistent parenting, so seeks reassurance to elicit caring response. May become really attached, dependent on others in a relationship to fulfill emotional needs, may become preoccupied with others. Place high hopes on others and get attached to potential. Sounds a little like our hero.

Inconsistent parenting

Granted, it wasn't the village leader's job to raise him, but he did step up and take responsibility for him. Just was inconsistent.

Becomes easily attached and preoccupied with others and their potential.

He literally chased Sasuke around for years (!) to force a friendship. He became obsessed not with the person Sasuke was, but the person he could be.

No matter how many times Sasuke tried to kill him or refused to come home.

Anxious attachment.

Poor attachment also can lead to behavioral struggles.

And poor academic performance

Naruto finished last in his academy class and failed three times.

So, what changed?

Healthy Relationships!

Iruka sensei, his first teacher, and ramen!

Team 7! Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi-sensei!

And friends!

*As always, this post is for entertainment-educational purposes only. If you do need mental health assistance, please reach out to a local (!) mental health provider. If in crisis, please in the US, call 988.

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Do you think Kakashi has OCD? The whole handwasching thing looks like a compulsion to me.

Ooh, good question!

*First, as a caveat and disclaimer, it’s hard to diagnose a fictional character and I am not making light of any IRL diagnoses, as OCD can be debilitating. So any and all answers are for entertainment-educational purposes only. If anyone suspects they may need additional services or therapy, please seek local professional help or if in immediate crisis, in the US, call 988*

As for your question.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is considered an anxiety disorder or part of the anxiety family. Kakashi does have numerous symptoms of anxiety: he has anxiety attacks; displays symptoms of social anxiety; uses a security object in Icha Icha; has self-derogatory behaviors,  etc….So with that said, there is such a thing as trauma-induced OCD, in which a person can develop OCD or OC symptoms following a trauma, and Kakashi has a ton of trauma. Couple that trauma with someone who already has a genetic predisposition to anxiety and depression (his dad displayed severe anxiety and depression) and you will have someone who is at increased risk of developing trauma-induced OCD.  

For OCD, you have the obsessive and/or compulsive components. For example with the handwashing there’s usually an obsession that yields distress or discomfort, (e.g., being dirty, feeling contaminated, or something to that effect) and the compulsion, or action to relieve the distress of the obsession (e.g., the handwashing to remove the contamination). So, for Kakashi, what was his obsession? He had intrusive thoughts of seeing Rin’s blood to where those intrusive thoughts became an obsession. Would his washing Rin’s blood off be seen as a compulsion? Yes. It relieved his distress associated with intrusive thoughts of seeing Rin’s blood on his hands. What was his reasoning for the handwashing? To relieve distress.

When treating OCD, one of the first things assessed is if there is a history of trauma because untreated intrusive thougts can become obsessive thoughts.  So,for Kakashi, did he have intrusive thoughts – Yes, definitely. Did the intrusive thoughts become obsessive – Yes.  Now, here’s the tricky part, to be diagnosed with OCD, the person needs to have the presence of obsessional thoughts and/or compulsions, which Kakashi did have. However, the obsessions and compulsions must: 1) be time-consuming, last more than an hour a day, and 2) cause significant distress, and 3) impair work or social functioning. Does Kakashi meet this criteria? Yes, he had obsessions and compulsions. Do we know how much of his day they occupied – later we do, but more about that in a minute. Or how much his work and/social life was impaired? More about that later, as well.

If left untreated, OCD symptoms potentially last YEARS or even a lifetime. And we know how great nonexistent a mental healthcare system the shinobi world had, so Kakashi's would have been untreated. So, theoretically, if Kakashi has OCD, his symptoms would have lasted for years, into OG Naruto and into Shipudden, right? So, did his compulsions last for years? Or was it a one-time thing? More on that later. I know, so much left for later discussion, huh?

Obsessions and compulsions are often (spontaneously) replaced with new ones – it’s typically not just one and true OCD usually does not just go away on its own, just the obsessions and compulsions tend to cycle, with new ones appearing to replace the old ones, so, to outsiders, it looks like the disorder disappears.  So, his handwashing may not have lasted years - that we know of. However, and a big HOWEVER, one can argue that he replaced his handwashing with visiting the graves of his loved ones for HOURS. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY and that DID, in fact, last for years and DID affect his work and social life functioning – he was HOURS late to everything because he was arguably compulsing at the gravesites/memorial stone.

Along the same line, the reasons he was at the graves - he has obsessive thoughts about being considered a "bad person," as demonstrated in the war arc when he keeps repeating that he's trash and scum and tells Obito he's right. Odds are those thoughts are always present, or preoccupy a lot of headspace and time, but he doesn't verbalize them publicly (usually only at the graves/memorial stone). That would be considered obsessive behavior.

One can potentially argue that wearing his mask in public could constitute OC behavior - as it appeared to cause marked distress to him if he was faced with removing the mask - even at an early age. Note it's not uncommon for adults with OC behavior to display OC behavior as children, but that's another answer... And yes, he doesn't wear a mask as Sukea, but he wears makeup and gets to "hide," so in essence, it's another mask.

So, all of that just to say in this very long answer, that, yes, in all likelihood, Kakashi has symptoms congruent with trauma-induced OCD with potential OC symptoms/behaviors beginning in early childhood. Or you could say that he already had OC behaviors as a kid, but trauma made it worse.

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Kakashi - No signs of trauma

TW: Sucide mentioned.

So back to this picture. A little context. The masked guy is an Anbu agent (think elite covert ops). The yellow-haired guy is Minato, Kakashi's teacher/sensei, and Hokage (leader of the village) who had put 13-year-old Kakashi in Anbu.

As for not seeing any evidence of trauma, by 13, Kakashi...

Was a child prodigy. The prodigies of prodigies. He graduated the ninja academy at 5, yes 5. Which even by anime standards is RIDICULOUS. And became a chunin, or intermediate level shinobi, that is considered an adult at 6. So, yes, in their world, he was considered a full-fledged adult who could take care of himself and lead others, including adults on missions, at 6. And at 9 or 12, became jonin, or elite.

Prodigious children, in general (so not all, but it's not uncommon), can struggle to relate to peers and it can be a very isolating experience. It's not uncommon for prodigies to experience increased levels of anxiety and depression due to pressure and isolation.

Parentified/Adultified children may experience a social disconnect from peers due to adult responsibilities, again, causing increased feelings of anxiety, social anxiety, and isolation.

2. Had lived with a parent with mental illness. Sakumo, Kakashi's father was an elite ninja, who had a mission go wrong. He was ostracized by Konoha, the village where they lived, and died by suicide. Kakashi found his body and was 5-8 years old/under 10.

Children with parents who have mental illness are more susceptible to mental illness themselves due to genetic and environmental influences.

3. Was a child soldier. This was the norm for their world, but as such, he witnessed immense violence and partook in it to the point of normalization and desensitization. It was the ninja world. He was doing this since he was 5-6. All because it was the norm does not mean it wasn't traumatic. See #4, 5, and 6.

4. Lost his eye in battle. He lost his eye during the 3rd Shinobi War when attacked at unawares. He was 9 or 12.

Losing a sense (sight) and an organ is traumatic. In addition, he received a transplant on the battlefield. Medical trauma. It's not often talked about, but it's still trauma.

5. Witnessed his best friend die in battle. His friend, Obito (the kid in orange and blue), was crushed by a rock, saving him. Right after he lost his eye. In fact, he got his transplanted eye from Obito.

Thinking the traumatization is self-explanatory.

6. Other squad mate and friend used him to die from suicide.

Don't really think I have to explain how this is traumatic.

Survivor's guilt. At this time, both of his squadmates were dead. It's not uncommon for people who experience traumatic events in which they have survived and those around them, especially loved ones or close ones, have died to experience survivor's guilt or the immense guilt that accompanies the fact that you survived and everyone else died.

So, this is when he was placed in Anbu. His teacher/sensei thought it would be helpful to place him in a covert assassination squad to help him cope. Does his trauma stop? Coping skills is another post. But for now, the trauma.

The guy in the middle. That's Minato his sensei. By now, the boy on the left, Obito, and the girl in the front, Rin are dead. Kakashi is 14 and in Anbu. And guess what?

7. Minato dies.

Depression, anxiety, PTSD - Kakashi does develop all of these, but guess what, the Anbu saw no signs of trauma in him. We'll talk about adult him in a few posts, but wanted to cover kid him first. We'll also talk about resiliency, a BIG factor for Kakashi.

*This post for entertainment educational purposes only, if you are feeling suicidal ideation, please contact your local suicide prevention hotline. If you're in the US, call 988.

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Kakashi - Coping Skills

So, Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, had multiple coping skills throughout his lifetime. Some positive. Some negative.

Negative coping skills and positive coping skills serve the same purpose - to help you cope. However, negative skills help us avoid - the problem is still there when we're done. Positive help us move on and process and prepare for future challeges.

So, first let's look at some of Kakashi's negative coping skills.

Escapism and Avoidance - Marry the job, Detach from the people

One can argue that Kakashi's entire 10-year-stint in the Anbu Black Ops consisted of "avoidant escapism to the point of dissociation." In other words, he buried himself in the dirty work of his village to escape his real-world problems and became detached from his friends in the process. There's a reason his nickname was "Cold-blooded Kakashi." He was a system-made killing machine who was so detached and dissociated that he didn't care about life, anymore to the point where he was hoping to die and didn't care. The ultimate negative coping mechanism.

2. Reading.

Reading can be a positive or a negative coping skill, but it really does depend on what you read.

Negative coping - one of Kakashi's favorite books as a teen. Don't really need to say much.

Negative coping - Icha Icha Series. Let's just say it's "adult material," and the book/series was ever-present for Kakashi. For Kakashi, it provided a form of escapism and avoidance and in many ways was a physical boundary between him and those around him.

However, for Kakashi, this was also a positive coping skill - for people with anxiety, it's not uncommon to repeatedly read or watch something they enjoy due to it's predictability providing comfort in an otherwise chaotic world. So, for Kakashi, repeatedly reading his books is a security blanket. Just the subject matter...

3. Drinking

Negative coping skill - Okay, this was probably the only time Kakashi was shown inebriated/ getting drunk, although he does drink socially in Boruto. However, many fans see him as someone who did not engage in vices to cope, aside from his book, but that was not the case. In this scene where he is drinking with Jiraiya, (white-haired guy in red) he does actually get drunk to the point of passing out. So, he was theoretically a social drinker and it did seem like, at least here, it was his mentor/friend, Jiraiya, who also wrote the Icha Icha series, trying to get him to lighten up and engage in vices to cope. He meant well, and many of us do have friends like that or are that friend. See someone who is depressed, "hey you need to get out, go to a club, lighten up, get smashed." White-haired guy had his own struggles, but that's another post...

*Note, I am not discouraging alcohol consumption, just everything in moderation and for it not to be used as a coping skill.

Positive Coping

Taking breaks to hang out with his best friend and rival

2. Relaxing.

Kakashi loved himself some hot springs as a means of decompressing.

3. Vacationing/Go on Holiday

4. Teaching

Finding a more positive, meaningful profession.

5. Creating his own family out of friends

Kakashi had lost his entire biological family at an early age and it took a while, but he created a family bond with his students as they grew from students to teammates. Their kids even call him "uncle Kakashi," implying he's family to them, as well. Sometimes, when biological family isn't available, whether literally or figuratively, it is okay to create your own, and that's what he did.

6. Acknowledged that he needed help

Okay, so no pictures for this, but in the Sakura Hiden book, Sakura (pink haired girl in the pics - becomes a doctor) wants to build a mental health hospital for the children of war. Kakashi, being leader of the village at the time, the Hokage ( ho-kah-gay), agrees to take money from the Anbu to fund the hospital. However, in the book, he acknowledges that the system did a job on him mentally as a kid, so he's more than happy to let her build the hospital. Of note, just some more cool points for Kakashi-sensei, in the book there's also the discussion of psychotropic meds (e.g, antidepressants, anti-anxiety meds, etc...) and he agrees that it's a personal choice.

If anyone can think of any others, do share.

*As always, post is for entertainment-educational purposes only. Please do not ask me for any mental health advice. If you do need help, please contact a local mental health professional or call 988, in the US if you need immediate assistance for a mental health emergency.

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Kakashi's ACES and Resiliency

In working with my kiddos with trauma, one of the first things we do is go over Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES). A little techno jargon, but basically, it's a list of 10 childhood experiences that can lead to negative or adverse adult outcomes Basically, if you have 4 or more, you're more likely to have negative adult outcomes.

And well, in doing Kakashi's ACES, guess what? Remember all that trauma from the previous post? Even with all that trauma, he only scored a 2!! And I think (and so do a lot of my kiddos) that explains his resiliency and why he didn't "turn evil," which I will also explore - as the bad guys aren't always so bad, but that's another post.

Anyway, for those who are curious, Kakashi only scored points for: 1) living with a parent who is mentally ill and 2) parents being separated/divorced or being raised in a single-parent household.

Hot take, but so many fans often reference this guy:

Might Gai/Maito Gai, Kakashi's best friend as the reason he didn't "go bad."

But you know what, in looking at his childhood, again, it's a hot take (maybe) but I think it was:

This guy!

Dad!

I know, I did say hot take, right? But hear me out.

If this:

never happened (look at those smiles!), you wouldn't have

this:

And that's what ACES are about. Even though Sakumo, his dad, did die when Kakashi was really young, if Kakashi didn't have early nurturing and bonding in those formative early years (yes things did get rocky for a little while in Anbu, but that's another post) then this:

Kakashi + Akatsuki (a-kaht-skee - rogue group/gang) would have been more likely to happen.

*As always, post is for entertainment-educational purposes only. Please do not ask me for mental health advice. I am more than happy to discuss anime mental health, but if you need help on "real life" mental health issues, please contact a local mental health provider.

*For anyone who is interested, ACES isn't a restricted assessment. It is available to the general public. You can search for it on google. It's a trauma screening tool used to promote awareness about the impact of childhood trauma on adulthood.

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It's important to find what makes you smile. That go-to "place" when you're stressed, anxious, sad, worried, angry, or on the inverse because life is not all about negative emotions - that place to enjoy when you're happy. It's not always about what helps you recover when you're down, but also, what keeps you elevated when you're in that joy. 😊

[sunwukxng]

That Naruto post is fucking me all the way up. :(