Moriarty
Jim Moriarty is the main antagonist of Sherlock and works as a foil to Sherlock himself in a lot of ways. They share many traits, such as an undeniably almost superhuman intelligence and a unique ability to notice even the smallest of details. They both are invested in crime because it is fun for them, a way for them to get mental exercise. However, while Sherlock fights “on the side of angels,” Moriarty does not. He instead is the one behind many of the crimes that Sherlock has to solve. His schemes are remarkably elaborate, and as long as it’s fun for him, he doesn’t care who gets hurt, including himself. While never formally diagnosed, Moriarty also is likely a psychopath, or suffers from psychopathic tendencies, which directly juxtaposes Sherlock’s position as a sociopath.
Sociopathy and psychopathy are related disorders, but are very different. In general, anyone who is a “psychopath” or a “sociopath” has antisocial personality disorder, which most directly affects a person’s empathy – or, how they can connect with other people. A person with low or no empathy would have a hard time telling what someone else is feeling, or understanding why someone might be feeling that or reacting in a certain way, which can lead to having a hard time with interpersonal relationships. Someone with more psychopathic traits would have difficulties with connecting to people, and any relationships they may have could be shallow or construed to benefit the psychopath more. This is not to say all psychopaths are unfeeling monsters, but it is a trait that is found with people who suffer from this disorder, and a trait that Moriarty himself shows.
That is, fundamentally, another important difference between Sherlock and his archenemy (not to be confused with his brother, whom he also refers to as an “archenemy”) – Sherlock has John Watson, his best friend and most loyal supporter. Moriarty has no one. Even when he pretends to be an everyday person, such as when he plays at being Molly’s boyfriend, he is only using her to get closer to Sherlock, although he plays that off as a kind of romantic interest.
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In the grand scheme of using these three characters as metaphors for people who do or do not get the help they need, Moriarty would be the one who gets no help and no support. He is alone, probably by choice, and instead of seeking help or more positive outlets for working through his disorder, he turns to crime and orchestrating crime, because it excites him and feeds into the dangerous impulsivity he experiences as a psychopathic person. The show doesn’t tell us a lot about his background or what he experienced as a child or young adult, so any guesses to his upbringing would be just that – guesses. But the show does hint that he started orchestrating elaborate crimes, or at least carrying out elaborate crimes, since he was young, which could also be proof that he didn’t have a more constructive outlet for dealing with his experiences.
Not getting help, or not being able to get diagnosed, can severely impair someone’s mental health, and without a diagnosis, even a self-diagnosis, the person is left to wonder what’s wrong with them. They will try to push through things to the best of their ability, in a lot of cases just writing off what they’re experiencing as them being “crazy” or “lazy” or some other untrue sentiment. And symptoms that already exist in early childhood can get worse as a person gets older, thanks to puberty or other changing elements of the brain as you age. Some disorders, such as bipolar disorder, don’t have diagnosable symptoms until someone is a young adult. So an undiagnosed person, for almost any condition will find it harder and harder to perform well in school. And without help, other issues may arise, such as depression or anxiety. Having a “why” to what you are experiencing is sometimes the biggest help – so a student can understand that they’re having a hard time or falling behind or any number of other things not because they’re “lazy” or “crazy” or some other negative reason.
Now, not everyone who is undiagnosed will turn to a life of crime and become a serial killer like Moriarty did – what pushed him off that edge is never known but it very well could’ve been something in his background – but it can lead to other unhealthy coping mechanisms or activities, such as drugs, drinking, smoking, reckless behavior, or any number of other things that don’t necessarily help the problem, and instead can cause other, equally bad problems.
The unfortunate thing about the whole system is that if a diagnosis is what can help people, or is the first step to helping people, then why is it so hard to get one? The mental health field is ridden with landmines of ableism and sexism, as well as reinforcing false stereotypes. Some psychiatrists will refuse to diagnose a woman or girl with autism or ADHD because there is an incorrect assumption that only men and boys can suffer from those, which in turn will lead to boys being diagnosed a lot sooner with both of these conditions and women either being diagnosed later in life, self-diagnosed, or never diagnosed at all. A man who may have borderline personality disorder, BPD – which is a lot more like bipolar disorder than some scenario where you “switch” personalities – he may not get diagnosed with it and instead is said to have bipolar disorder, or, more commonly, PTSD. And some psychiatrists make it nearly impossible to seek a diagnosis after you turn eighteen, and if a student comes from a family that doesn’t support or doesn’t believe in mental health or psychology (many do, unfortunately), they’re simply out of luck, since it would require parental consent to be screened.
Mental health affects so many aspects of a student’s life. An undiagnosed disorder can throw a giant wrench on their academic path, and the sense of not knowing what’s “wrong” with them can be crippling and lead to several other conditions that can be just as detrimental on their own, never mind when comorbid with something else. The resources that exist to help students with anything they have mental health-wise are important and should not be discounted, but there are a number of students who, like Jim Moriarty, are suffering from being undiagnosed and not having a way to get the help they need (because even the UofL Disability Resource Center requires an on-paper diagnosis for any psychological conditions), leading to worsening academic performance.
To help, there should be regular reminders about the mental health services available, particularly the Counseling Center. Even more importantly, it should be stressed that the Counseling Center is free and students will not have to go through insurance or their parents if they want to start seeing someone there, which may appeal to students who feel that they cannot talk about their issues at home or feel that their parents would not support them.
Additionally, students need assistance in receiving a diagnosis, both in terms of access and cost. With a diagnosis, so many options are opened to them, not just for success as University of Louisville students, but also in life from that point on, from things like financial help to being offered opportunities to teach them how to live independently.
Everyone, no matter who they are or what they struggle with, deserves as equal of an opportunity to get help and to get a good education. Everyone deserves a chance to succeed in whatever they want to. These things may seem small, but to someone who is struggling with an undiagnosed condition, they can be, quite literally, life-changing.
