Daniel and mental health: Difference between revisions

[[Daniel]] has a troubled relationship with '''mental healthcare''' and '''mental health professionals'''. He is very mentally ill, something even those who are not well-averse in psychiatry can see clearly.

Daniel's delusions are downright dangerous, from thinking he is in a romantic relationship with celebrity [[Grace VanderWaal]], all the way to believing he is a world-famous [[Music|musician]] that is above the law. He is not the brightest candle on the cake, having a childlike mental capacity in comparison with his physical age. This is most apparent in his [[Tennyson Center]] interview, where during the interview, Daniel acts more like a 7-year-old despite being 14 at the time of recording.

As a result of his myriad of disorders, neglectful upbringing, enabling, his very poor intellect, inability to perform self-care, and poor handling of certain situations, Daniel fails to function as an adult. The disorders he is confirmed to have as of March 2026 are '''autism''', '''bipolar disorder''', '''PTSD''', '''an unknown psychotic disorder''' and '''schizophrenia''' and possible '''traumatic brain injury (TBI)''' caused by the abuse his mother inflicted to him in his childhood. Due to Daniel's hostile relationship with psychotherapy, there are most likely other conditions he suffers from that will remain undiagnosed for the foreseeable future.  

== Daniel's Conditions & Issues ==

Daniel is confirmed to be autistic by both his [[Elisabeth Shimer|mother]], and by Daniel himself. '''Autism''', formally classified as '''Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)''', refers to a loosely defined, but interconnected, range of neurological challenges with social interaction and communication.  

In reference to delusions, Daniel is known to have delusions of grandeur, as well as delusions of persecution. For example, Daniel, at one point, believed himself to be followed by several white vans to a point where he stowed away in a gas station out of fear of being hurt. During the [[UCLA Arc]], Daniel was under the impression that the Chinese government was watching him, after a troll pretending to be a student mentioned having talked to the government. Furthermore, he thought himself to have been poisoned by staff after eating a [[Red Robin Poisoning|Red Robin]]. After being released from the hospital, his discharge papers described him as having "delusional ideas".   

Based on the March 2026 court documents, it is heavily implied that Daniel has permanent brain injury sustained from both his [[self-harm]] and the abuse perpetrated by his mother. On the competency documents, it states that, along with the trauma sustained by him punching himself in the face, there were reports all the way from 2011 that states that Daniel's mother reported that he had a "non-accidental head injury" when he was only 3 weeks old. He also had a seizure when he was 5 months old. It is said that 1 out of 10 people who were hospitalized after a TBI will have seizures<ref>https://msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/seizures-after-traumatic-brain-injury</ref>. The court documents also states that Daniel reported about an incident where his mother hit him with a hammer when he was only 8 years old. All these circumstances may have exarcerbated his cognitive abilities and may have influenced his low-IQ.

[[Spiddlekick Interview|As noted]], Daniel was regularly medicated during his time attending school at and living at the [[Tennyson Center]]. He claimed that once a month, students would meet with a doctor to prescribe and check on the effects of medication supplied to them. Given Daniel's documented violence, both [[November 6th Arrest|then]] and [[April 6th Incident|now]], it is likely that he was put on some type of antipsychotic by the center.  

While the quality of "help" can be debated, Daniel is no stranger to stays at psychiatric hospitals. During the conclusion of the [[Dog Arc]], Daniel was put into a psych ward following him having a [[The 7/11 Incident|meltdown in a Walmart]], as well as calling the police multiple times to "get his situation heard." While it is unknown if he was truly given medication, a voice note that surfaced during his stay depicts a very medicated sounding Daniel. It is most likely that he was given antipsychotics during his week-long stay.  

After being found incompetent for trial on July 19, 2024 during the [[Second Jail Arc]], Daniel was ordered to be institutionalized for a mental health evaluation, and was finally transferred out of FCI Englewood on December 10.  Two weeks later, he was institutionalized at MCFP Springfield for competency restoration where spent over a year. He was found competent on March 3, 2026, and his mental health history was documented.  

Daniel has a well-established persecution complex.

Daniel has many weird, if not depraved sexual delusions towards others, in particular [[Grace VanderWaal]].

Daniel often times sees gestures, comments and environmental cues, that, to the mentally sound, would be benign and confidential; for Daniel, however, he has had several moments where he believed such things were directed at him.j

Daniel has been recorded to, on occasion, hold delusion beliefs of an impending catastrophe.