Sherlock mirroring John.
Oh, look, another symptom of Asperger’s Syndrome, not sociopathy.
Okay, it’s unpopular opinion time. Ignore me if you wish.
Alright. Let me start this little rant by saying that I’m absolutely sick of people claiming Sherlock Holmes to be a ‘sociopath’. He isn’t. Allow me to also say that I know how similar Asperger’s and sociopathy can seem, in certain cases, and that’s because I was misdiagnosed as a sociopath awhile back. I have Asperger’s Syndrome. As does Sherlock.
Common symptoms of high-functioning sociopathy:
- Superficial charm
- Manipulative and conning
- Grandiose sense of self
- Pathological lying
- Lack of remorse, shame, or guilt
- Incapability to love
- Need for stimulation
- Lack of empathy/inability to relate
- Irresponsibility
- Lack of realistic life plan
- Extreme intelligence
Common symptoms of high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome:
- Issues picking in on social cues (ex: When someone is upset with them, or being sarcastic, it’s very hard for them to tell)
- Appear to lack empathy/inability to relate
- His or her speech may be flat
- Formal style of speaking
- May avoid eye contact (me) or stare at others (Sherlock)
- Talk a lot, usually on favorite subject; inability to tell when boring the listener
- Internal thoughts are often verbalized (ex: Seeming blunt or rude by telling someone they’re stupid, merely because they have no filter)
- Extremely heightened senses (GEE I WONDER WHY SHERLOCK CAN SMELL AND HEAR AND TASTE AND SEE EVERYTHING)
- Highly intelligent/logical way of thinking
- Tendency to mimic others, especially people they like (JAWN)
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Typically only keep few, very close friends
- Can go days without speaking, and eating very little, especially when drained
SO NOW THAT THAT’S COVERED. Let’s move on, shall we?
Sherlock Holmes grew up with the Holmes family, a respectable family. Behavior is learned, especially for those with Asperger’s. Why is Sherlock so proper? Why is he so cunning? Why does he dress the way he does? Well, that may just have something to do with the people he grew up with.
Is he manipulating? Of course. Yet, isn’t Mycroft? Hm. I wonder where he learned that trait. Not only that, but he’s doing it for basic information, not just for pure entertainment as a sociopath would. Let’s be serious. He doesn’t fool around. Oh, did I mention that’s another symptom of Asperger’s? Conversation and action for purpose, not for pleasure; very precise.
Let’s also toy around with a very common controversial topic within the Sherlock fandom: Sherlock does feel. He does love. He does care. The whole reason he jumped was because he cared. He cares for John, he cares for Mrs. Hudson, and he cares for Lestrade. John is his best friend, Mrs. Hudson is his mother figure, and Lestrade is his friend and his work. Without those, he would have been nothing. It would have destroyed him. Therefore, he destroyed himself in sacrifice (which we all know was faked, blah, blah, but the sentiment is still there, blah, blah).
While Sherlock may not have the physically clumsy symptoms of those with Asperger’s (I don’t either), that’s typical for someone of his age, as it’s something you usually grow out of as you get older. Asperger’s is a lifelong disorder. It never goes away, and there’s no medication that targets each symptom. You treat what you can, and live with what you can’t.
His need for stimulation, I think, has to do with his basic frustration and his work, as a matter of fact. Sherlock does drugs. Okay? That’s common knowledge within this fandom. He likes his drugs. Why does he do them? Well, to quote him, ‘they help him think’.
In all reality, it’s somewhat correct. The drugs Sherlock takes heighten his senses to an even more extreme degree, making him the observant smartass that he is. Not only that, but they speed up his thought process, and mixing that all in with his intelligence level, makes for one smart cookie.
I also believe that he’s just…frustrated. It’s hard. It really is. He knows he’s not like everyone else, which is why he’s clung onto the sociopath nonsense. He truly believes that he is a sociopath, probably because he’s done research on it and saw a partial match. It was something, finally something, he could relate to. Because I did the same goddamn thing. He knows it doesn’t fit perfectly. Moriarty knows it doesn’t fit perfectly. ‘We both know that’s not quite true’. He knows. He just has nothing else to hold onto.
Rant over. Knowledge is power. Blah, blah, blah.
The end.
SHERLAWKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
this gives me all the feels
and YES
YES
I can’t believe how many people ACTUALLY think that he’s a sociopath
or claim to be one because of it
nope nope nope
thank you
Question: Do you think it is intentional that Sherlock announced he was a high-functioning sociopath in the first episode? If the two conditions are commonly misdiagnosed for each other, maybe that was an intentional misdirection.
Can I just throw ADD into the mix as a possibility? Sociopathy, Asperger’s, and ADD are misdiagnosed for each other, with ADD being the most commonly diagnosed because that’s what people would rather hear (which is ridiculous btw. As if your diagnosis impacts your condition). But… Hyperfocus to the point of eclipsing bodily functions, tendency towards addiction, difficulty with social interaction, no desire to eat, inability to understand the direct connection between work and need for income (Sherlock rushing off to start the immediately gratifying work of solving the case without collecting the check, which is delayed gratification), difficulty sleeping, complaining of loudness when nobody’s talking (to a person with ADD, everything is loud. Your bright pink shirt is loud. The stupid look on Anderson’s face is loud. The unfinished puzzle in the corner is loud.)
It’s just my opinion, but I’m going to take a leaf out of John Green’s book and say that for me, Sherlock has ADD because that’s how I see him and that’s how I need him to be. And the nice thing about that is you’re allowed to think whatever you want, too!
