Another Session with the Calculator

February 22nd, 2006

Filed under: Comics, Medicine

I’d like to take another look at the Calculator, one of the chief villains in recent issues of Birds of Prey as well as Villains United. I last talked about him in my review of Birds of Prey #87 and whether he had Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the more recent Birds of Prey #90, some more information on his mental state comes to light and I think it’s safe to say that he has a lot more mental illness than he’s letting on.

What makes me think this?

  1. He keeps insisting that the only thing wrong with him is Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. It seems to me that he’s trying too hard to convince someone that this is true.

    SIDE NOTE 1: The person he’s “talking to” in both issues is himself. So basically, he’s trying to convince himself that OCPD is all that’s wrong with him.

  2. The medicines he mentions using in Birds of Prey #87, Serotonin Specific Uptake Inhibitors, aren’t good for treating OCPD (actually, nothing really is). They are some of the main medications used for depression and anxiety. They are also sometimes used in other conditions including OCS and Attention Deficit Disorder.

    SIDE NOTE 2: In Birds of Prey #87 he mentions that he’s having a hard time getting his medications because Lex keeps killing off his doctors. So I ask you, did he really stop the medications himself, or is that just his rationalization for not being able to obtain them anymore?

  3. At the end of Birds of Prey #90 he is clearly hallucinating. This is not a component of OCPD and usually a sign of some more serious mental illness

So what is wrong with the Calculator?

It’s hard to tell since we’re only seeing part of the picture and since he’s not being honest about what’s going on — even with himself. I suspect writer Gail Simone has something up her sleeve and everything will be explained at some point. Still, allow me to go out on a limb and make my predictions:

First, I think he does have some OCPD. I think it’s one of the quirks that allows him to perfrom the job he does (and I suspect Oracle has some strong OCPD traits as well).

His main problem, I suspect, is schizoaffective disorder. This is a controversial diagnosis that not everyone agrees on it. Think of it as a combination of bi-polar disorder (manic depression) along with some schizophrenia thrown in for good measure. I think the Calculator has Manic-type Schizoaffective Disorder.

The Diagnostic Criteria for Schizoaffective Disorder are below the cut, or you might want to quit while you’re ahead.

These criteria are slightly modified from the DSM-IV (the “official” manual of mental illness diagnoses in the U.S.). I’m just going to focus on the manic aspect here of the disorder here (though the argument could be made that he may have some depressive symptoms as he was on antidepressants at one point). For the full criteria, check out a site about schizoaffective disorder such as this one.

Schizoaffective Disorder
An uninterrupted period of illness during which, at some time, there is either (1) a Major Depressive Episode, (2) a Manic Episode, or (3) a Mixed Episode concurrent with symptoms that meet (4) Criterion A for Schizophrenia.

(2) Criteria for Manic Episode

  • CheckA distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least 1 week (or any duration if hospitalization is necessary).
  • CheckDuring the period of mood disturbance, three (or more) of the following symptoms have persisted (four if the mood is only irritable) and have been present to a significant degree:
    1. Checkinflated self-esteem or grandiosity
    2. Checkdecreased need for sleep (e.g., feels rested after only 3 hours of sleep)
    3. maybemore talkative than usual or pressure to keep talking
    4. flight of ideas or subjective experience that thoughts are racing
    5. distractibility (i.e., attention too easily drawn to unimportant or irrelevant external stimuli)
    6. Checkincrease in goal-directed activity (either socially, at work or school, or sexually) or psychomotor agitation
    7. excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences (e.g., engaging in unrestrained buying sprees, sexual indiscretions, or foolish business investments)
  • CheckThe mood disturbance is sufficiently severe to cause marked impairment in occupational functioning or in usual social activities or relationships with others, or to necessitate hospitalization to prevent harm to self or others, or there are psychotic features.

(4) Criterion A of Schizophrenia

  • Two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated):
    1. maybedelusions
    2. Checkhallucinations
    3. disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
    4. grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
    5. maybenegative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition
  • CheckOnly one symptom is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person’s behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other.
  • maybeDuring the same period of illness, there have been delusions or hallucinations for at least 2 weeks in the absence of prominent mood symptoms.
  • maybeSymptoms that meet criteria for a mood episode are present for a substantial portion of the total duration of the active and residual periods of the illness.

Credit-where-credit-is-due Department: In the comments on Birds of Prey #87, Mike predicted that the calculator was manic way back in November.

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11 Responses to “ Another Session with the Calculator ”

  1. DrObvious
    February 22nd, 2006 at 11:31 pm

    Manual trackback attack!

    I didn’t see a trackback option here. Anyway, I love seeing this kind of thing. Keep up the great work. I think the calculator is one of the most underappreciated changes to come out of the whole IC thing, and this kind of analysis just sets my toes a tinglin.

  2. JMD
    February 23rd, 2006 at 12:41 am

    Hmmmm,

    This is a very interesting diagnostic, especially in light of what Simone said in an interview on Newsarama a couple days ago about her upcoming new Secret Six minseries:

    “GS: Right. The Six has one new member you can probably guess, and one new one you probably won’t. But the newest member, who is long-established, might secretly be the most *&%ed-up villain in the DCU. As bad as you think this character might be? He’s much, much more insane than that. “

  3. Nina K
    February 23rd, 2006 at 7:02 am

    Your analysis rings true, and then some. After reading the entry, I think you should also put a checkmark besides #7, “excessive involvement in pleasurable activities that have a high potential for painful consequences”. Which is as good a capsule explanation of DCU supervillainy as any other.

  4. DrObvious
    February 23rd, 2006 at 8:31 am

    I was thinking the same thing Nina, but I’m not sure that’s the case for Calc. Clearly, that would apply for someone like the Joker, but I think the Calc is a little different. I don’t think he does what he does for pleasure. I think its more of a job for him.

  5. Tim O'Neil
    February 23rd, 2006 at 12:32 pm

    Hey, on another topic, are you planning on takign a look at the last issue of Gotham Knights? Not a book I normally read, mind you – but I flipped through it and saw Hush attempting to perform open heart surgery on himself after shooting up some heroin. Now that’s comic book medicine at it’s finest!

  6. Scott
    February 23rd, 2006 at 12:59 pm
    Official Comment

    Tim,

    I’ve got in buried in my “to read” pile. I see I’ll have to move it up to the top now.

  7. Anonymous
    February 24th, 2006 at 3:23 am

    But… but… how can you perform open heart surgery ON YOUR SELF???? That’s as physically imppossible as looking at your own back without the use of reflective surfaces.

    That’s so stupid I can actually feel a facial twitch coming on.

  8. e
    February 26th, 2006 at 12:31 am

    I love your site, it is usually one of the highlights of my morning routine.
    Also, you consistantly show a better understanding of psychological diagnosis than most non-psychiatrist MDs I know.
    Looking at your DSM checklist above, I’m not sure Calculator shows any negative symptoms – flattened affect seems the only one (listed above) he could realistically have, but he got pretty excited about catching Oracle in the Birds of Prey arc and he’s usually drawn with some facial expressions (but that could be the artist’s problem, right?).

    What negative symptoms were you thinking of, because I am coming up empty.

  9. BPK
    February 27th, 2006 at 7:08 pm

    Hi, I’m a resident in psychiatry in Boston. Love your site and have been thinking how many great psych issues show up in comics. I follow with your thoughts on re-diagnosis, but I’d argue against schizoaffective disorder. Those patients exhibit features of psychosis even when not involved in a mood episode. We have no reason to think that’s the case. Instead, you could explain everything with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, as patients who are actively manic frequently have psychotic features, including hallucinations. Then that brings up whether he is in fact bipolar I disorder or bipolar II disorder, the latter having hypomania when in the “up” phase instead of the more severe full mania. But the degree of impairment he seems to be experiencing would be more consistent with mania, I suppose. In any case, as you know, SSRIs would be strongly contraindicated for someone with either bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, as they might well INDUCE mania. Worsening of a manic or hypomanic condition upon withdrawal of SSRIs wouldn’t be consistent with that.
    Honestly, my diagnosis is that he’s experiencing mood (i.e. manic) and thought (i.e. psychotic) disorder symptoms as a result of acute intoxication. I’ve seen guys who walk into the psych ER looking exactly like this on cocaine or crystal meth. Luthor probably slipped him something. And quite possibly, he has an underlying mood and/or psychotic and/or anxiety and/or personality disorder. How’s that for covering the bases!

  10. Mental Health Update
    February 28th, 2006 at 12:03 am

    Another Session With The Calculator

    A diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder for The Calculator character in the Birds of Prey comic….

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