Does Henry have a mental disease?

[Mr. E. Nygma]

I was looking at some topics and read this


Symptoms
DSM-IV-TR specifies seven diagnostic criteria for schizoid personality disorder:

•Avoids close relationships: People with this disorder show no interest or enjoyment in developing interpersonal relationships; this may also include family members. They perceive themselves as social misfits and believe they can function best when not dependent on anyone except themselves. They rarely date, often do not marry, and have few, if any, friends.
•Prefers solitude: They prefer and choose activities that they can do by themselves without dependence upon or involvement by others. Examples of activities they might choose include mechanical or abstract tasks such as computer or mathematical games.
•Avoids sex: There is typically little or no interest in having a sexual experience with another person. This would include a spouse if the affected person is married.
•Lacks pleasure: There is an absence of pleasure in most activities. A person with schizoid personality disorder seems unable to experience the full range of emotion accessible to most people.
•Lacks close friends: People affected with this disorder typically do not have the social skills necessary to develop meaningful interpersonal relationships. This results in few ongoing social relationships outside of immediate family members.
•Indifferent to praise or criticism: Neither positive nor negative comments made by others elicit an emotionally expressive reaction. They don't appear concerned about what others might think of them. Despite their tendency to turn inward to escape social contact, they practice little introspection.
•Emotional detachment: Their emotional style is aloof and perceived by others as distant or "cold." They seem unable or uninterested in expressing empathy and concern for others. Emotions are significantly restricted and most social contacts would describe their personality as very bland, dull or humorless. The person with schizoid personality disorder rarely picks up on or reciprocates normal communicational cues such as facial expressions, head nods, or smiles.


Do you think that they wanted Henry to be so emotionless or was it just bad writing?
Full article here http://www.minddisorders.com/Py-Z/Schiz ... order.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ShOkxP9uhw
This is a great example.

[Don, Aman]

This hit a little too close to home for me. I just might need therapy, because this sounded like someone was writing an article about me (well, some of it anyway)! In all seriousness though, given the history of Silent Hill protagonists' mental states, it is likely that Henry has some kind of mental disorder.

Do you think that they wanted Henry to be so emotionless or was it just bad writing?

It's been mentioned before that Henry has some sociopathic tendencies, but this fits him a little more closely in my opinion. Then again, it could have just been poor writing. Silent Hill protagonists also have a history with some pretty bland dialogue.

[SilentWren]

I don't think we're ever going to get any more information about "why Henry is the way he is" from official sources.
Maybe he was just down on his luck before the events of the game. Maybe he got fired or recently lost a girlfriend. Maybe any number of things could've caused his strange behavior.
I tend to lean more towards bad writing, but I also don't think Henry's personality quirks were essential to the game the way it was presented. I would've liked a little more background on him so I could've identified/sympathized with him more, but some of his actions made up for the lack of actual dialogue. (For the most part. )

[Soulless-Shadow]

I don't think there's enough information about Henry for one to come up with any kind of...disorder or whatnot. What was it someone said in another thread...? We're simply playing as an NPC (paraphrased). His background isn't as important as that of Walter's, or anyone elses. He's just an unfortunate guy who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Anyway...

•Avoids close relationships: People with this disorder show no interest or enjoyment in developing interpersonal relationships; this may also include family members. They perceive themselves as social misfits and believe they can function best when not dependent on anyone except themselves. They rarely date, often do not marry, and have few, if any, friends.

We don't really know if he tries to avoid close relationships. All we know is he lives alone and hasn't got to know his neighbours.

•Prefers solitude: They prefer and choose activities that they can do by themselves without dependence upon or involvement by others. Examples of activities they might choose include mechanical or abstract tasks such as computer or mathematical games.

I'll admit Henry does seem to prefer his own company, but again I don't think there's enough information to prove it. We know he lives alone, and hasn't got to know his neighbours (as I already mentioned), but other than photography we don't know if his hobbies exclude other people.

•Avoids sex: There is typically little or no interest in having a sexual experience with another person. This would include a spouse if the affected person is married.

Did you come to this conclusion because Henry doesn't jump at the chance to jump Cynthia when she throws herself at him? Again, there's not enough proof. He's probably just shy, or was worried he'd catch something (no offence to Cynthia).

•Lacks pleasure: There is an absence of pleasure in most activities. A person with schizoid personality disorder seems unable to experience the full range of emotion accessible to most people.

I don't really recall anything to suggest he "lacks pleasure". I recall him mentioning something about photography when one exams different photos in the apartment. I assume he would do that because he enjoys it, therefore finds it somewhat pleasurable.

•Lacks close friends: People affected with this disorder typically do not have the social skills necessary to develop meaningful interpersonal relationships. This results in few ongoing social relationships outside of immediate family members.

Again, we don't have enough proof. For all we know he could have very active social night on the weekends in-between taking random photos of random places. The only thing I can think of that could suggest a lack of friends is him not taking the time in getting to know his neighbours.

•Indifferent to praise or criticism: Neither positive nor negative comments made by others elicit an emotionally expressive reaction. They don't appear concerned about what others might think of them. Despite their tendency to turn inward to escape social contact, they practice little introspection.

It's been a while since I've played, but I don't recall anything to suggest such a thing. What made you connect indifference to praise to Henry?

•Emotional detachment: Their emotional style is aloof and perceived by others as distant or "cold." They seem unable or uninterested in expressing empathy and concern for others. Emotions are significantly restricted and most social contacts would describe their personality as very bland, dull or humorless. The person with schizoid personality disorder rarely picks up on or reciprocates normal communicational cues such as facial expressions, head nods, or smiles.

Minor Spoilers
Henry does seem concerned about Cynthia when he finds her after she's been attacked. Sure, he comes across as a bit slow in that scene, asking her if she's ok when she's clearly not, but he does show concern. He was also concerned for Eileen. In one ending he even goes to the trouble of taking her flowers while she recovers in the hospital. I'll admit he is dull and bland though.

Do you think that they wanted Henry to be so emotionless or was it just bad writing?

I think maybe bad writing and wanting us to focus more on Walter's story and less on Henry's. As I've already said, there's little evidence in game to prove or disprove these symptoms. I think he's supposed to be a "normal" person, but his story is simply irrelevant for the most part.

[alone in the town]

Look, I don't want to sound overly negative, but Jesus pasteurized processed Christ, he's introverted and we really don't need another "is Henry a sociopath" thread. As Soulless-Shadow made clear with many more words, we're given no reason at all to assume he has mental disorders of any variety. Henry is not schizoid, he is not sociopathic, he's not bipolar, a drug addict or a werewolf. He's just a quiet guy who prefers his own company, as far as any evidence points. That's all. That's it.

Psychology on the internet only hurts the innocent.

[lain of the wired]

Please... please put the DSM down. You don't know how to use it. The curse of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is that you can almost certainly flip to any page and *discover* that you have 5 or 6 disorders described therein, and half of them contradict the others. Unless you have actual training in psychology, you really don't know what you're doing. You have to look at history, current circumstances, environmental factors, conduct a clinical interview, administer testing and THEN you can make a diagnosis. It's unethical to do otherwise.

If you continued reading that article beyond the symptoms:

For a diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder to be accurately made, there must be an ongoing avoidance of social relationships and a restricted range of emotion in interpersonal relationships that begin by early adulthood. There must also be the presence of at least four of the above-mentioned symptoms.

A common difficulty in diagnosing schizoid personality disorder is distinguishing it from Autistic Disorder and Asperger's Disorder, which are characterized by more severe deficits in social skills. Other individuals who would display social habits that might be viewed as "isolating" should not be given the diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder unless the personality traits are inflexible and cause significant obstacles to adequate functioning.

The diagnosis is based on a clinical interview to assess symptomatic behavior.

We have no background history of Henry. He may love his parents dearly and have plenty of friends, but not spend any time with his neighbors. We don't know, and we have no way of knowing. We can't make any kind of clinical diagnosis without a case history. We can't conduct a clinical interview with a script. We can't administer a Myers Briggs or an MMPI to pixels.

Lastly, and perhaps my favorite reason why we can't diagnose Henry with schizoid personality disorder, is the fact that schizoid personality disorder will soon no longer be diagnosable based solely on the presence of the symptoms you quote. As mentioned, it's poorly defined and confusable with other diagnoses because the symptoms are shared with other disorders. They will now be diagnosing it on a dimensional axis rather than a check list.


But here, I'll be nice. Instead of just slapping you down and throwing jargon at you, I present an alternative theory based not in psychology but in game design:
Someone recently suggested that Henry is meant to be blank and background-less so that the players can easily picture themselves in his place. It was meant to be an immersion factor. When you think about it, since SH is often described as the character's personal hell, it was a clever attempt. However, it was flawed, and the result was just bad voice acting and countless theories that he's stoned/stupid/crazy. I like this idea. Everybody's always all "NOTHING IN SH IS ACCIDENTAL," and often argue that the voice director could only have been stupid or deaf to miss Henry's total lack of affect. This idea takes that into account rather nicely, I think.

Now please, leave the DSM on the shelf, k?

@Don, Aman: Like I said, don't self-diagnose. I imagine if I, without a medical degree, read through the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, I'd discover I have any number of diseases that I don't really have. There's a reason we go to trained doctors, and there's a reason we go to trained therapists.

[Don, Aman]

@Don, Aman: Like I said, don't self-diagnose. I imagine if I, without a medical degree, read through the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, I'd discover I have any number of diseases that I don't really have. There's a reason we go to trained doctors, and there's a reason we go to trained therapists.

You're right, it's too easy to read some symptoms in a book and automatically see them in yourself. I wasn't so much saying that I personally have schizoid personality disorder, but that if those are the only criteria for the disorder then it must be pretty common, as I see those tendencies in many people I know, including myself at times. Thinking some more about it, it's more likely either bad writing or the developers intending for us to put ourselves in Henry's place. I just enjoy the idea that he's a bit of a shut-in, so the idea of a disorder kind of makes sense to me in his case. Obviously, nothing specific is ever said in-game about it, though.

[lain of the wired]

I wasn't so much saying that I personally have schizoid personality disorder, but that if those are the only criteria for the disorder then it must be pretty common, as I see those tendencies in many people I know, including myself at times.

I love it when examples fall into my lap. Not to insult you, Don, but that's exactly why people who aren't trained shouldn't use the DSM: they don't know how to interpret it.

They are NOT they only criteria, even when that was the official list of symptoms. You have to also consider the person's background, history and current circumstances. Sometimes even their cultural or religious background: a person babbling word salad on a street corner may be schizophrenic... but if they're Pentecostal Christians, it's speaking in tongues and part of their religious practice. You also have to present with symptoms for a certain amount of time, consistently, with no change. It's different to be sad if you've lost a loved one, even if it was many months ago, versus sad when your life has never been better. One's normal grieving, the other may be clinical depression. Understand? You have to take into account everything happening to a person before you can diagnose them.

[Doctor Eggnog]

Yes. He's also a sociopath.









...or he's just a bad character.

[Don, Aman]

@lain of the wired: No worries, I didn't take it as an insult. I am certainly not a trained mental health professional. I think we may both be aiming at the same point, though. That there is simply not enough information on Henry's background to say that he definitely has a mental disorder, even if it is likely. What I was getting at is, if we took the scant in-game information we have about Henry and said he has schizoid personality disorder, then that would imply that a large portion of people I've known do as well (when I know they don't). Does Henry have sociopathic tendencies? Arguably yes. Does this mean he has schizoid personality disorder? It's a bit of a stretch to be that specific, but I wouldn't consider it completely impossible.

[alone in the town]

Does Henry have sociopathic tendencies? Arguably yes. Does this mean he has schizoid personality disorder? It's a bit of a stretch to be that specific, but I wouldn't consider it completely impossible.

I think the point she's making is that the rate of 'having tendencies' is extremely high compared to the rate of 'having actual disorder', and unless those tendencies are very pronounced (which is certainly not so in Henry's case), it's hardly even worth mentioning.

The fact that he helps and protects Eileen in spite of the fact that there is no real, tangible benefit to himself for doing so is a powerful argument against sociopathy.

[Don, Aman]

^ Point taken about Eileen. That's not the behavior I (not being a psychiatrist, mind you) would expect from a sociopath. I guess I just don't feel comfortable attributing Henry's personality (or lack thereof) to bland writing. There's a little Team Silent fanboy in us all.

[Soulless-Shadow]

Does Henry have sociopathic tendencies? Arguably yes.

There's not enough proof in-game to come to that kind of conclusion either. We simply don't know enough about Henry to come up with any mental illness or whatnot. If one wants to argue that he's got sociopathic tendencies or the other thing, then one could also argue that he's suffering from haemorrhoids. Either way, there's the exact same amount of proof - none.

[Tillerman]

^ Point taken about Eileen. That's not the behavior I (not being a psychiatrist, mind you) would expect from a sociopath. I guess I just don't feel comfortable attributing Henry's personality (or lack thereof) to bland writing. There's a little Team Silent fanboy in us all.

I don't think it has to be one or the other (bad writing or he's a sociopath.) I think his personality kind of works for the game he's in. I doubt he's meant to be a sociopath, I just think that Team Silent wanted the main character of the game to be the room itself, and not so much Henry.

[AuraTwilight]

Does Henry have sociopathic tendencies? Arguably yes. Does this mean he has schizoid personality disorder? It's a bit of a stretch to be that specific, but I wouldn't consider it completely impossible.

I think the point she's making is that the rate of 'having tendencies' is extremely high compared to the rate of 'having actual disorder', and unless those tendencies are very pronounced (which is certainly not so in Henry's case), it's hardly even worth mentioning.

The fact that he helps and protects Eileen in spite of the fact that there is no real, tangible benefit to himself for doing so is a powerful argument against sociopathy.

Bullshit, he's clearly only protecting Eileen so he can rape and kill her later. Did you even PLAY the game?

[lain of the wired]

^OBVIOUSLY then he'd have a narcissistic personality disorder with psychopathic tendencies, not schizoid personality disorder with psychopathic tendencies. Pffft, yaokay as if even! I'm sure there's another thread somewhere around here where you can espouse your CUH-RAZY and outlandish ideas about him being a narcissistic serial killer.... what DSM-IV-TR were YOU reading? Pffft!

[Soulless-Shadow]

Bullshit, he's clearly only protecting Eileen so he can rape and kill her later. Did you even PLAY the game?

No, you're wrong. Did you even play the game? Clearly he's not going to rape and kill Eileen. Clearly he's going to kill then rape her, like any good crazy person. The only reason he didn't make a move on Cynthia was because she was still a little too lively when he found her after Walter got to her. Duh.

[alone in the town]

Bullshit, he's clearly only protecting Eileen so he can rape and kill her later. Did you even PLAY the game?

Is that what happens in the "Mother" ending? It's the only one I never bothered to get.

Please say yes so I don't have to waste my erection.

[AuraTwilight]

Well duh. It's called the Mother ending because he impregnates her (unfortunately he kills her and eats the unborn child in order to gain it's strength).

I mean it was SO OBVIOUS.

[Trauma_]

So... You're coming to this conclusion based on a game that took place possibly over less than 12 hours and haven't been able to observe other behavioral patters when y'know- He wasn't locked inside his apartment? He could behave perfectly normal, just like everybody else. But until they make a Silent Hill 4-The Room-The Sequel-Lol Henry finally got out of his apartment let's follow him when he goes shopping we won't know what his personality is usually like. That's just like saying someone suffering from sleep deprivation induced hallucinations is suffering from schizophrenia when there are multitudes of other mental illnesses that can cause hallucinations.