Sherlock Holmes

Based on the books and/or adaptations, do you think Sherlock Holmes could have had/been bipolar?

On what do you base your answer?

In the new series here in the US, he's schizophrenic.
His father hired Dr. Watson to monitor him.
Then again, Dr. Watson is a woman now.
Not bipolar. Wrong sub forum.

Yes, SZ and BP: very different. I feel torn.

Everything is different, nothing the same.

Have you read the books? He seems BP/SZ, so let's say SZA/BP: Reasons backwards.

Depression, manic behaviour, fast reasoning (backwards).

Has only important stuff in his head: nothing not about his goal.
Could be described as highly associative.

Addict.

I like this version better. It more atune with the times.
Besides, Dr Watson has great legs.

In Psycology Today magazine, they interpret Asbergers or adhd of the character. Also shot up cocaine,which was popular and legal when the books were written.

i think he had Aspergers. He is portrayed as very focused, bright, lacking social skills, and sees things in black and white terms (good vs evil, right vs wrong, guilty vs innocent) with not a whole lot of grey.

Yes, it certainly is a possibility: his memory for arbitrary information is good, arguably he doesn't understand emotions (that is what Watson thinks).

In the BBC Sherlock series he definitely is portrayed like that, but in the most recent (as far as I know) he is clearly BP (also played by an actor with BP, whose name has now escaped me).

Of course since he is a fictional character (based on different persons in real life Arthur Conan Doyle knew) he could (and probably is likely to have at least one) co-morbidities you can think of.

I was diagnosed both with ASD and SZA/BP. We now figured out (a few different clinicians) that ASD is highly unlikely, it being difficult to distinguish from disorganised SZ, so it could be that he really only has a psychotic disorder.

He needed lots of nicotine to be able to think. That is a major clue. He also didn't sleep or very little when "manic"/manic. He needed total independence and has no routine to speak of.

Those are all reasons why ASD is less likely. A highly rational mind is not enough: psychosis is highly rational and facts to reason with can protect you from becoming irrational, losing control. So many with SZ also like facts. The only difference with ASD is that they are very practical: that certainly goes for Holmes.

ASD is (regarded as being) highly overdiagnosed and psychotic disorders are underdiagnosed. ASD incidence has really been very unstable: has risen tenfold in not that many years. I tentatively assume that is because it is a diagnosis without pharmacotreatment, so more "safe" to diagnose, for the psychiatrist mainly.

That could be both SZA/BP, SZ, BP or ASD. The focus is very much goal-directed. That is a contraindiction for ASD.

His depressions are caused by lack of stimulation, not too much. That is also indicative of something unipolar (arguably some specific type only) or bipolar depressive. And is likely to rule out ASD.