L Lawliet x reader head-canons and oneshots • DEATH NOTE [COMPLETED]

L Analysis 4 - his mental state

Right this has been bugging for ages.

L MUST have a mental/physical health issue/condition. I just don't know what...

We have bad conformation that he suffers insomnia and scoliosis, which is no surprise. But there's so many traits about him, there must be something else.

Of course if the 'Ryuzaki persona' theory is true then it's all a load of bullshit. But if it's not there are some things I think he could possibly have.

Asperger's syndrome
High functioning autism
An eating disorder
Depression
Post traumatic stress disorder

Here's a point I want to bring up first. Here is a frame from L file 15, the manga special about L's childhood

It's stated that plain white room is his room... but it looks an awful lot like a padded cell.

Of course if he was a danger to himself (suicidal, had a meltdown tick etc) then it would definitely be a safe option. But why throw him in a padded cell.

I also want to bring up that we never knew what happened to L's parents, but losing your family at such a young would be incredibly traumatic, so that may have something to do with his condition.

Also

The translated version of this says that someone tried to touch L, like hug him, so he pushed them all away and knocked them down. I'm not sure what that could fit into, but it's evidence for something definitely.

Let's go over the possible conditions and evidence.

Asperger's syndrome

Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It's a milder condition on the autism spectrum.

Difficulties in social interaction? Definitely. L was never the best at talking to people, he open accidentally overstepped a boundary and always spoke his mind with no filter.

Repetitive patterns of behaviour and interest? Kind of. His candy addiction and the way he sits could be categorised into this, but it depends on who you ask.

High functioning autism

High-functioning autism (HFA) is a term applied to people with autism who are deemed to be cognitively "higher functioning" (with an IQ of 70 or greater) than other people with autism. This can sometimes overlap with Aspergers.

He DEFINITELY has the smarts for it. He's literally the worlds greatest detective.

Other traits are similar to Aspergers like particular interests, difficulties in social interaction and odd habits.

All of which L had demonstrated as sated above.

Also, some people with autism are known to have 'meltdowns' they're kind of like fits of emotion, they can be more verbal like screaming and crying or physical like kicking and lashing out, if L's were particularly bad, maybe that's why his room is literally a freaking padded cell, so he doesn't hurt himself or others.

Also, in the episode where the second Kira tapes first aired and everyone was panicking, there's that scene were Aizawa grabs L's shirt and starts yelling at him, L grips onto the seat and has a stern tone in his voice, I always thought it was fear, which I could be, but it could maybe be him trying to hold back a meltdown, since some people can feel a meltdown coming.

An eating disorder

It's hard to say what disorder it is, since we have no evidence of L ever throwing his food back up or going for long periods with no food.

But if he had an eating disorder, it would explain why we could eat so much junk and stay thin, it would be one of the disorders where you eat a lot and don't gain weight. L isn't particularly active, sure he did tennis and knows martial arts but he doesn't do them regularly so working out is off the table.

I'm not 100% sure what disorder it would be, but it would explain why he's a stick.

Depression

Depression is a well known mental illness, so I won't go too into it. But here's some traits that are linked with L.

•lack of sleep
•significant weight loss or gain (loss in his case because he's skinny as fuck)
•being irritable
•not going out
•with drawing from close family or friends (he's only close with Watari, he never got too close to others)

Post traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a particular set of reactions that can develop in people who have been through a traumatic event which threatened their life, in L's case, loosing his parents/being abandoned as a young child.

Here are some traits:

Being overly alert or wound up: in L's case, this could associate with some of the extreme measures he took in the case, he was very alert to the danger of Kira and took extreme measures to make himself sure he'd be safe.

Feeling emotionally numb: L almost never displayed emotion throughout the show (even tho he definitely has emotion) he was always monotone and always looked bored.

Difficulty sleeping: L never slept, enough said.

Trouble feeling positive emotions: this ties in with what I said before, the only emotion he did show in the show was irritated, angry and sad. He smiled once, and who knows if that was even genuine?

That's it.

So, thoughts?

What do you think he has? Maybe two are going alongside each other, but there's also the ryuzaki persona theory.

What do you think?