What does “Winnie the Pooh” say about you?
A new “Pooh Pathology Test” claims to show which mental health disorder you might be suffering from based on the character you most resemble in the classic cartoon franchise.
Professors Dr. Sara E. Shea and Dr. Kevin Gordon studied seven characters from the series and “concluded that each of them could be linked to a definite psychiatric diagnosis.”
According to the professors, there are seven clear conditions on display in “Pooh”, including anxiety, depression, OCD, and schizophrenia.
IDRlabs.com created a quiz based on the professors’ claims, asking participants to respond to 33 questions to see which character they were most like and, therefore, which condition they might have.
The test asks users to respond to statements on a seven-point sliding scale from “agree” to “disagree.” Statements include: “My thoughts jump from topic to topic with little consistency or control” and “When I am alone, I sometimes feel as if there is something or someone watching me.”
The experts note that the results “should not be construed as providing professional or certified advice of any kind.” However, the test has gone viral on TikTok and many on Twitter are also blown away by the accuracy.
Below are seven “Winnie the Pooh” characters and the mental health condition with which they are closely aligned:
Pooh: Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
Test takers who most closely resemble Pooh are described as “distractible, forgetful, inattentive and disorganized.”
The character “easily gets lost in his own world and loses track of what he is doing’ thanks to his ‘short attention span” and has “obsessive fixations” — like honey.
“Pooh’s attempts to get what he wants are impulsive and poorly thought out,” the test results declared. “When he gets a hold of something that he wants (i.e. honey), he keeps stimulating himself to the point of oversaturation (i.e. binge-eating).”
“Pooh is kind-hearted and well-meaning, but also not within the bounds of normal cognitive functioning.”
Piglet: Anxiety disorder
Piglet spends a lot of time “excessively worrying” about a “great number of things” and “finds it difficult to control” fears.
Those who most closely resemble Piglet may tend to “overthink and get stuck in negative thought loops” or “expect the worst even when there is no apparent reason to do so.”
“His anxiety is always with him, making him uncomfortable in a wide range of situations,” the quiz concluded.
“He frequently anticipates negative outcomes and stutters because he is so scared,” it added. “Piglet worries more than is warranted by actual events. He is unable to let go of his worries and is indecisive for fear of making the wrong decision. His anxiety is not a phobia, but a generalized condition.”
Rabbit: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
People with OCD want everything to be in its “proper place” and get “upset” when things get changed, the test said. They want “everything in order” and feel that “everything depends on this.”
This is represented by Rabbit, who “has recurrent and persistent urges that everything must be perfect.”
“He feels driven to live out his obsessions and to enforce rules that must be applied rigidly,” the test said, giving examples such as keeping his garden in order and constantly cleaning his house.
“However,” the writers added, “we never see any acute dangers that Rabbit actually wards off with these behaviors. The mental habits that Rabbit has formed are clearly excessive compared to the hazards they are intended to neutralize.”
Eeyore: Persistent depressive disorder
Famously mopey Eeyore “is depressed more days than not,” the quiz makers claimed. “He never tries to have a positive outlook on life” and “oesn’t try to be cheerful, and experiences his depression as the default state, as opposed to episodic.”
Thus, it’s no surprise that those who most closely resemble Eeyore likely struggle with “chronically low moods” and “feelings of hopelessness.” They are also likely to “look at the negative” and “expect bad things to happen.”
Tigger: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Meanwhile, the quiz claims that people who are like Tigger might suffer from ADHD.
“Tigger’s abnormally high energy level causes him to interrupt and intrude upon others, as well as to blurt out answers before a question has even been completed,” the test asserts. “His inability to learn from the frightening and hazardous incidents he gets himself into means that he bounces back almost immediately and is ever-ready to pursue the next source of excitement”
People with this result might have a “high stimulus threshold and trouble feeling fear” and an “overconfidence” that can lead to “dangerous and reckless behavior.”
Roo: Autism
Roo is “mentally shut in” and “lacks awareness of what is going on around him,” the test declared, saying respondents who resembled the baby kangaroo could be on the spectrum.
“He is unaware of social clues and subtexts. He alternates between overenthusiastic and reckless behavior on the one hand, and sitting impassively in his mother’s pouch on the other,” the test makers theorized. “He has difficulty understanding and expressing emotions. In conversations, he repeats back what is said to him without understanding the meaning behind the words.”
Christopher Robin: Schizophrenia
Finally, the professors also claimed that Christopher Robin displays signs of a mental health disorder.
Because he believes he can talk to animals and has created an “entire fantasy world that only he lives in,” he could be suffering from schizophrenia.
People who suffer from schizophrenia are likely to hear voices when alone and have “alterations in memory, consciousness, and perception.”
“(Christopher Robin) likely has two distinct ego states: an ordinary one in the real world and a magical one in the Hundred Acre Wood,” the test declares. “His excessive cognitive fluidity created this world and all of the characters in it – a theater where he plays every part.”