Final Fantasy VIII and personality disorder

[Rosesandwine]

Did any of you guys notice that Squall Leonhart has an avoidant personality disorder?

[Cell]

From memory he's a slightly different character if the translation from Japanese wasn't so half assed.

[Rosesandwine]

I actually believe that he does.

His behaviors and thoughts through out the game undeniably aligns with the traits of a cluster c personality disorder.

It fits with the theme of the game which is centered around "time", "time compression", and "memories".

Also evident in his childhood orphanage revolving around Ellone (showing his coping mechanism in face of abandonment) and his attitudes towards comrades. His subconscious, deeper psyche is more farther revealing through his interactions with not only Rinoa, but with others that constantly contradict and challenge his inner views or paradigm.

[Wolf Kanno]

I wouldn't say he has avoidant personality disorder. He definitely has an avoidant style attachment, but he's way too functional to have the actual personality disorder, nor would he even be capable of being a leader figure if he had the personality order since they are largely driven by fear of social situations. Whereas being avoidant in his attachment style fits much better since it doesn't really hinge on being fearful of rejection as much a it's an inability to get close to others due to an unhealthy obsession with independence and lack of trusting others usually caused by childhood abandonment.

Shinji Ikari would fit avoidant personality disorder a bit better since he craves affirmation and fears rejection. Squall doesn't seem to be bothered much by how people perceive him outside of one moment where he finally starts to question how he'll be remembered. Yet since we get a better look into Squall's head than most protagonist, he just comes across emotionally distant and poorly in touched with his feelings which could lead to emotional outbursts like the ones seen in the game.

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[Fynn]

From memory he's a slightly different character if the translation from Japanese wasn't so half assed.

The translation wasn't half-assed in the slightest. In fact, it's the first competent translation of an FF that wasn't hampered by technological limitations. Squall's personality is perfectly preserved, regardless of what people who have no idea about how cross-cultural translation works will tell you online.

[Rosesandwine]

I wouldn't say he has avoidant personality disorder. He definitely has an avoidant style attachment, but he's way too functional to have the actual personality disorder, nor would he even be capable of being a leader figure if he had the personality order since they are largely driven by fear of social situations. Whereas being avoidant in his attachment style fits much better since it doesn't really hinge on being fearful of rejection as much a it's an inability to get close to others due to an unhealthy obsession with independence and lack of trusting others usually caused by childhood abandonment.

Shinji Ikari would fit avoidant personality disorder a bit better since he craves affirmation and fears rejection. Squall doesn't seem to be bothered much by how people perceive him outside of one moment where he finally starts to question how he'll be remembered. Yet since we get a better look into Squall's head than most protagonist, he just comes across emotionally distant and poorly in touched with his feelings which could lead to emotional outbursts like the ones seen in the game.





https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/avoidant-attachment (this, sounds like him)

He was so poorly in touch with his feelings that when others would normally respond to Rinoa’s plight at Edea’s parade, he failed to do so, and later again when she fell from the cliff at Balamb Garden.

Also, if you look closely at Squall beneath his apparently “cool” exterior, which is really a facade, he actually does care, quite a lot, what others think about him. SPOILER: He revealed this later to unconscious Rinoa at the bridge to Esther:

“What do you think? To tell you the truth... I worry too much about what others think of me. I hate that side of me... That's why I didn't want anyone to get to know me. I wanted to hide that side of myself. I hate it. Squall is an unfriendly, introverted guy. It made it easy for me when people perceived me that way. That's a secret between you and me. Got that?”