Diagnosing Bad: Ghirahim

Where Falcon509 assigns character alignments, I wonder at mental health issues. This will be a little ongoing mini-series that will go on as long as I have villains to “diagnose,” or until you all shout at me to stop and write about something else. Each month I’ll be taking one villain and applying the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, 5th Volume (DSM5) to them.

Of course, these posts are meant for entertainment purposes only, and should not be taken seriously, or be used in lieu of seeing a professional psychologist. Each post will focus on one villain, and discuss which, if any, mental health diagnosis criteria they meet. I’ll then follow this with a more accurate description of the diagnosis and any final comments. So without further ado, here’s our first Diagnosing Bad post!

Special thanks to The Shameful Narcissist for supporting this idea over on Patreon! I didn’t notice the irony of this post until after I started researching for Ghirahim, I swear!

Today’s Villain: Ghirahim

Background: Villain from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Ghirahim is a perpetual thorn in Link’s side, chasing him through time to ensure the rise of his master, Demise, proceeds as planned. He is an accomplished fighter, and a pretty snappy dresser.

Diagnosis: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (301.81)

Explanation: Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is characterized by a long-term pattern of needing admiration, lacking empathy, and grandiosity. In addition to these traits, at least five of nine possible diagnostic criteria must be met, and Ghirahim exhibits the following:

1. He has an inflated sense of self-importance and expects to be treated as superior, without offering any concrete reasons or achievements to support his beliefs about himself. He expects Link to be impressed by him, even though on occasion his behavior is more disturbing than awe-inspiring.
2. He is preoccupied with thoughts of having unlimited power (via Demise’s rise), as well as his own beauty and brilliance.
3. He demonstrates a complete lack of empathy, and is unwilling to entertain any viewpoints outside of his own. Link’s existence is often seen as offensive, since he would prefer the knight be dead.
4. He believes that other people should be (or are) envious of him and his powers
5. He often acts haughtily or arrogant behaviors

Ghirahim demonstrates many of these characteristics, and some might classify him as a sociopath (or as having antisocial personality disorder, as it’s now called), citing his lack of empathy. But his arrogance and feelings toward himself place him squarely within the criteria of a man with narcissistic personality disorder.

Just the (Real) Facts):

Individuals with NPD often have grandiose opinions of themselves, but almost always have a very fragile sense of self. This may cause them to act defensively or aggressively when criticized, and they may also remember criticisms and feel their sting for longer than someone without this diagnosis.

Their need for admiration, lack of empathy, and their obvious feelings of entitlement strain interpersonal relationships, although their need for praise may propel them to succeed in their careers, especially if they believe that others are not as capable at completing a task as they are.

However, a fear of failure or an over-sensitivity to critique could also impair their work flow. Feelings of humiliation may be worsened by accompanying self-criticism, which can lead to other issues, such as major depressive disorder or substance abuse.

Important to Note

Many people – especially very successful people – can at time display behaviors that are similar to NPD. As with any mental health issue, a diagnosis is only appropriate if the symptoms cause significant impairment to life skills (e.g., taking care of yourself, holding down a job, relating to others, etc.).

There you have it! Our first Diagnosing Bad. What do you think? Is Ghirahim in need of a therapist, or is he just a bad guy through and through? Who should we look at next? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena

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