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[martinuzz]

I just ran across what is possibly the most severe case of borderline personality I have ever seen on a dwarf.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I Imagine she does not stop biting at the dead part of her nails. All the way to the bone, man, all the way to the bone.

If you run across any seriously mentally disturbed dwarves, please send them here.

[katwithk]

She seems an all around d wreck. Round Vodidith shed be lucky to even get hauling duty.

[I am Leo]

She rarely feels discouraged. Good for her.

[JimDale]

I feel moot pointing this out, but that's not borderline personality disorder at all.

[Loud Whispers]

Nervous wreck who is reserved and doesn't seek relationships.

Huh.

[Tally]

Nervous wreck who is reserved and doesn't seek relationships.

Huh.

I think the point was more being a nervous wreck who loves to take risks and doesn't let anything dissuade her anyway.

[Kromgar]

Some dwarfs should go insane for no reason... This would be one of them

[Xob Ludosmbax]

Spoiler: Selected portions of the subjects file, quoted here for convenience (click to show/hide)

She was upset to be wearing old clothing lately
...
She talked with father lately.
...
She is twelve years old
...
She has ... very bad intuition, little linguistic ability, poor creativity and really poor focus.
She is a nervous wreck.
She rarely feels discouraged.
She does not actively seek friendships and is incredibly distant and reserved.
She is a risk-taker and a thrill seeker.
She is guarded in relationships with others.
She does not go out of her way to help others.
She does not feel effective in life.
...
She needs alchohol to get through the working day.

Spoiler: The definition of borderline personality disorder from the DSM IV (click to show/hide)

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and affects, as well as marked impulsivity, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
   

• Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-injuring behavior covered in Criterion 5
• A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation.
• Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.
• Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., promiscuous sex, excessive spending, eating disorders, binge eating, substance abuse, reckless driving). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-injuring behavior covered in Criterion 5
• Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-injuring behavior such as cutting, interfering with the healing of scars or picking at oneself (excoriation).
• Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
• Chronic feelings of emptiness
• Inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).
• Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation, delusions or severe dissociative symptoms

If we take the symptoms one at a time, we can see quite a bit of support for a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder:

• "Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment." -- "She talked with father lately."
• "A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships..." -- "She does not actively seek friendships and is incredibly distant and reserved.", "She is guarded in relationships with others."
• "Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self." -- "She does not feel effective in life."
• "Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging ..." -- "She needs alchohol to get through the working day." "She is a risk-taker and a thrill seeker."
• "Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-injuring behavior" -- She's a dwarf.  Does anything more need to be said?
• Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood -- Again, she's a dwarf. 
• Chronic feelings of emptiness -- We can only guess, but "She was upset to be wearing old clothing lately" seems to indicate that she's attempting to fill a void.
• Inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger. -- Dwarf.
• Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation, delusions or severe dissociative symptoms -- This is the only symptom we have no evidence of. 

Also, combined with the rest of the subject's file, "really poor focus" there is some support for a diagnosis of ADHD, and "very bad intuition, little linguistic ability" may be indicative of aspergers or autism, but there is not enough information to fully support or refute either of those. 

Of course, this is armchair psychiatrist-ing by someone who doesn't have any real training.  I would suggest sending the poor girl to a real psychiatrist, and perhaps some therapy sessions, assuming you can get her out of the fortress.  Maybe the goblins can help. 

[misko27]

Twelve, shes screwed now. Only way out is being magma'd.

Well then, I don't think just being a dwarf can account for that. We need to observe her.

[muzzz]

IANAP, but...

Also, combined with the rest of the subject's file, "really poor focus" there is some support for a diagnosis of ADHD, and "very bad intuition, little linguistic ability" may be indicative of aspergers or autism, but there is not enough information to fully support or refute either of those.

People with Asperger's syndrome often exhibit exceptional linguistic ability, compared to other autism spectrum disorders.

You also seem to have a different interpretation of "unstable". From what I've been told, in this context, someone with consistently low self-esteem ("does not feel effective in life") actually has a stable self-image. And likewise for relationships.

[JimDale]

It's BPD as long as any 5 of the 9 are filled, and from what I've read of that post you're using rather dubious logs as supposed support for BPD.

"Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment." -- "She talked with father lately."

Then again, I'm not sure if you're actually using some of these things as actual support... "She talked with father lately" isn't strong support of the attached symptom, MOST people would have talked to their fathers lately. I do all the time and that doesn't mean it's a symptom of BDP or that I'm frantically avoiding some sort of abandonment. Frantic efforts would include talking to father at every opportunity and purposely following her father. 

"A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships..." -- "She does not actively seek friendships and is incredibly distant and reserved.", "She is guarded in relationships with others."

Those aren't interpersonal, from what I understand of that term interpersonal relates to how one sees one's position within his/her society, and anyway being reserved or distant != unstable or intense interpersonal relationships. These bits would also go against the first symptom.

"Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self." -- "She does not feel effective in life."

Actually, such a feeling would be classified as stable. It's a negative view of oneself, but it's stable nonetheless. If you were looking for unstable, a good example would be something similar to bipolar disorder, feeling great about oneself one day and feeling like absolute shit the next.

Chronic feelings of emptiness -- We can only guess, but "She was upset to be wearing old clothing lately" seems to indicate that she's attempting to fill a void.

...You're kidding, right? I would be upset if I wore old clothing all the time. Anyone would be upset. That doesn't mean she's 'attempting to fill a void' (a wild jump to such a conclusion). 'Attempting to fill a void' would be like purposely wearing that old clothing beyond reason as a reminder of something that is now lost.

"Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging ..." -- "She needs alchohol to get through the working day." "She is a risk-taker and a thrill seeker."

The DSM-IV also lists substance abuse (including alcohol), reckless driving, and other more severe activity. Needing alcohol for normal function probably wouldn't be regarded as a strong case for this, binge drinking however would. Risk-taking and thrill seeking are normal behaviors of many people, making those a symptom for BDP would be impulsive behavior, such as actively seeking out opportunities to put onself in risk.

"Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats or self-injuring behavior" -- She's a dwarf.  Does anything more need to be said?

Most wouldn't go out of their way to get into harm's. From what I've noticed, AI isn't a very good representation of sanity regarding suicidal behavior.

Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood -- Again, she's a dwarf. 

And another rather poorly though out explanation, dwarf moods are pretty consistent unless they get a strange mood or you're terrible at fortress design and management, the latter of which would be a perfectly reasonable reaction.


Then again, I think we're both over-analyzing a few lines of text in a game with psychological disorders not even implemented.

And now I need to return to the paper I'm currently writing about this subject, what a coincidence.

[AutomataKittay]

I'm pretty sure most psychological disorder with dwarves are tracable directly back to players' actions

Then again, some dwarves just takes breaks all the time, all season long, and then some. I think that's some lazibonetitis.

[untakenusername]

Am I the only one who finds it wierd that we are trying to diagnose a computer generated being that isn't even human, with mental disorders?

[Imp]

Am I the only one who finds it wierd that we are trying to diagnose a computer generated being that isn't even human, with mental disorders?

Nah, we're expected to anthropomorphize, if we're to pass our own Turing tests.

[pisskop]

I wouldn't go near a dwarven mental hospital.  Bad, bad, bad for business to be beaten to death with a large plastic table.

But interesting idea for a mod.  Dwarf Therapist would be upset, but imagine you run a ward instead of a fort!