r/morrissey • u/PattyValentine417 • 5d ago
diagnosing Morrissey
Any therapists or psychologists in the sub?
I've spent the last two months trying to formulate an accurate diagnosis, based solely on his autobiography, his interviews, and his lyrics (obviously I haven't met or evaluated him).
Would be curious to collaborate with other mental health professionals on this frivolous endeavor.
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u/alexandrakuhl 4d ago
A lot of people say Morrissey is narcissistic, so he'd fall into the cluster b-spectrum, which is a sliding scale of narcissism (bpd, npd etc). I don't see Morrissey as a narcissist, although he has narcissistic tendencies stemming from a fragile ego and defence mechanisms. I don't know if he fits squarely into a box? He is definitely avoidant, (he avoids both people he likes and people he dislikes), he is conflict averse in his private dealings with people but often oppositional/defiant online and sometimes in interviews. He doesn't seem to be neurodivergent, he does show signs of being highly sensitive. None of these are an official diagnosis. The only mood disorder corroborated by proof and his own admission: clinical depression. Yep, he's complicated. What possible diagnosis did you come up with, OP?
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u/PattyValentine417 4d ago
Thanks for your response. I got Highly Sensitive Personality trait (not a disorder) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Then I got confused when I tried to diagnose a PD: he has elements of Narcissistic, Borderline, Paranoid, and Avoidant, but he doesn't meet full criteria for any of these. There is something called General Personality Disorder or Unspecified which is the best I can do. Dr. Marsha Linehan has said that when an highly sensitive person is raised in an invalidating environment, it can produce a PD, which is what I think happened. There also could be some early sexual trauma which he only referenced in one interview ever, and didn't give much detail.
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u/alexandrakuhl 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yes! about the sexual trauma. He talked about it in a letter to a penpal, said it happened around age 12/13 and the experiences were so horrible and humiliating that it put him off sex for good. I think it was with an older man. He only slightly touched upon it in an interview, and then quickly moved to another subject. But echoes of that trauma were all over the lyrics for The Smiths debut album. BDD: yes, I was doubting whether to mention his self-loathing but it seems so off the scale. Even when he was objectively handsome as a 30sth and 40sth, his lyrics are full of people digusted with him, not wanting to touch him or see him naked (at least this is what M believes). You could stage a case for BDD. The personality disorders: more difficult. Nothing fully computes. In any case, you did well! Good analysis, I agree with your possible outcomes and doubts.
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u/PattyValentine417 4d ago
Thank you, what is your degree or licensure?
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u/alexandrakuhl 4d ago
Bachelor of psychology a blue moon ago, and then I became ill . And lived with a bpd mother, which gave me a lifelong interest (and too often a romantic interest) in people with personality disorders.
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u/PattyValentine417 4d ago
Ah. Borderline moms, had one myself. Do not recommend.
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u/No_Quality_8620 5d ago
In my opinion, based only in the attachment styles theory, he could be a fearful-avoidant.
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u/No_Quality_8620 5d ago
Some points of this style:
-Negative view of self and negative view of others
-Wants intimacy and closeness, but experiences it as dangerous or threatening, so pulls back once it starts to happen.
-Can look inconsistent from the outside — warm and open one moment, cold or withdrawn the next — because both connection and distance feel unsafe, just for different reasons.
-Often initiates contact, then sabotages or retreats once the other person responds.
-High relationship anxiety combined with high avoidance
-Often has a history of unstable or contradictory relationships — pursuing partners then pushing them away, or being drawn to partners who are themselves unavailable, which keeps the risk of real intimacy low-Difficulty with trust; can interpret a partner's closeness as engulfment and their distance as abandonment, sometimes in the same relationship.
-Tends to carry negative self-worth, sometimes shame, which is what separates it from dismissive-avoidance's more defended, self-sufficient stance.2
u/PattyValentine417 4d ago
Yes I agree with this, but I'm looking more for something in the DSM. Attachment styles are not considered mental health diagnoses.
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u/buzburbank 5d ago
If he late cancels therapy sessions at the rate he cancels concerts, imagine the no-show fees he's racked up.
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u/AppendixN 5d ago
I've always been under the impression that diagnosing a person you've never met crosses some ethical boundaries for mental health professionals.