LAUGH - Crazy Pooh

Winnie-the-Pooh may seem like an innocent children's story on the surface, but after deeper inspection it doesn't appear to be so! Journals published in the Canadian Medical Journal have shed new light on the characters. 

First written by A. A. Milne in 1926, and after being acquired by Disney, Winnie-the-Pooh went on to become one of the most successful children's series of all time. However, it turns out there are immense psychological undertones throughout the series and each character was meant to portray a different disorder. Tigger has severe ADHD, Piglet has anxiety, Rabbit is a pedantic loner, Owl has OCD, Eeyore has extreme depression, while Pooh represents an addict! 

Christopher Robin: Since Christopher Robin creates all of these characters in his mind, these characters represent feelings he is experiencing in his internal world. As a child, he is learning how to socially function and interact with the external world. Each character could represent a different reaction or feeling within himself as he learns to cope and deal with that extra world. The essay by Alan Bennett, from a website above, writes, "These different feeling states, the positions of the developing ego/self come to represent the characters, or, I should say that the 'Winnie-the-Pooh' characters come to represent the positions of the self in Christopher Robin." I almost think he might be schizophrenic if he actually takes on these personas. Either that or they represent parts of himself.

Winnie the Pooh: The Canadian Medical Association's article identified him with these disorders based on the following behaviors:

-ADHD: the inattentive subtype.
-Impulsivity and obsessive fixations on honey. (also obesity)
-OCD: Repetitive counting. OCD mixed with ADHD could eventually contribute to tourettes syndrome later on in life.

Piglet: Generalized Anxiety Disorder. He also has a speech imediment with his stuttering problem. Pooh and Piglet also have significant self-esteem injury.

Owl: Dyslexic, but extremely bright.

Tigger: ADHD. He cannot control his hyperactivity. He even will try anything that comes along his path which concerns psychologist with substance abuse problems. He is impulsive, a bad role model, a social magnet but those drawn into him will get themselves into trouble.

Kanga: The overprotective mother, obsessed with controlling her young.

Rabbit: OCD--he over-organzies and is obsessive with order. To me, for a male character, he is very feminine. Not that this is a disorder, it is just interesting to look at when analyzing his character.

Eeore: Depression, the most obvious. He needs some medication to brighten up his day.

All of these characters are male, with the exception of Kanga. I wonder why that is...?