link

Mainly think schizophrenia though; There are actually a few disorders I could see her having some less so than others. But above all I would diagnose her with schizophrenia...above all the paranoid type. "People with paranoid type of schizophrenia have an organized system of delusions and auditory hallucinations that may guild their lives" (Comer's Abnormal Psychology). This statement holds very true for Azula. The girl had displayed a vast variety of delusions among them that her servant was trying to choke her to death with a cherry pit, she was going to be assassinated, the Dai Lee would attempt to over-throw her, and that her dad sent Lo and Li to yell at her (despite the fact that he was miles away in an air balloon). She also had very vivid auditory and visual hallucinations of her mother. And they became more constant as the Search played on. Such hallucinations and delusions very much guided her life. From the very beginning of the Search it became apparent that her life aim was to destroy her mother due in part to her delusion that her long-missing mother was trying to ruin her life. These delusions and hallucinations had sent her with Zuko and Aang's posse on a wild adventure. Her life consumed by the task of trying to find her mom to end the madness.

So exactly what types of delusions did Azula display? Upon observing her character I noted that she displayed 3 of the 5 types; delusions of persecution, delusions of control, and delusions of grandeur. "Delusions of persecution are the most common in schizophrenia. People with such delusions believe that they are being plotted or discriminated against, spied on, slandered, threatened, attacked, or deliberately victimized" (Comer 429). This, I believe is the most obvious in Azula. In regards to being plotted against she firmly believed that someone was plotting to assassinate her. In an Avatar book told from each character's perspective, Azula claimed that she thought it was Zuko trying to kill her with the cherry pit as the servant 'wasn't smart enough to think of it on her own.' She also believe that the Dai Lee were plotting to over throw her as they did with Long Feng...plotting to betray her just like Mai and Ty-Lee did. She also believed that she was being slandered--this portrayed when Lo and Li displayed concern for her. She instantly assumed that her father didn't think she could handle the job...there for slandering her good name. Of course the thought that she was being attacked and threatened was portrayed throughout her whole break.
"People with delusions of control believe their feelings, thoughts, and actions are being controlled by other people" (Comer). Azula very much pinpointed a lot of her issues on her mother. She in the Search begged Zuko to let her kill her mom so "you can be free of a throne you never wanted and I can be free of this incessant nagging in my head." She believed that her mother was in control of her mental state. But more over she believed that Ursa was controlling everyone around her. She thought that Ursa told Mai and Ty-Lee to betray her (asking Ty-Lee how her mother managed to get to her). She asked Zuko "is she whispering in your ear right now telling you to throw me over the cliff." She was seen stating that Ozai 'overcame her control just long enough to tell me about these (the letters)'. And those are just a few of many examples of Azula believing that her mother was controlling her actions and everyone else's.
Last but not least in light of delusions; According to Comer, "people who experience delusions of grandeur believe themselves to be great inventors, religious saviors, or other specially empowered persons." Azula's background certainly plays a hand in this one. She's a princess and has very well done some astonishing things. This gave her a heightened sense of self-importance. Even after her fall she remains completely convinced that she is still above everyone...she simply has to reclaim what is hers.

Azula also shows signs of what is called the 'inappropriate affect'. By definition, this is when the person "displays emotions that are unsuited to the situation." This could (not necessarily) explain her enjoyment when hearing that Ozai was to kill Zuko (smiling at bad news). Or the fact that she was smiling as Zuko was facing her father in the agni kai.

Furthermore she even has the type of history that would create for this disorder. Pulling this directly from an earlier comment I made on this spot; In my psychology class in pretty much every topic we covered (in light of severe disorders) parenting was always a factor…particularly with schizophrenia. In way of schizophrenia much research has been done particularly on the patient’s relationship with his…or in this case…her relationship with her mother. To take directly from my textbook “Years later, noted psychodynamic clinician Frieda Fromm-Reichmann elaborated on Freud’s notion that cold or unnurturing parents may set schizophrenia in motion. She described the mothers of people who develop this disorder as cold, domineering, and uninterested in their children’s needs. According to Fromm-Reichmann, these mothers may appear to be self-sacrificing but are actually using their children to meet their own needs.” This, I believe applies to Azula in many ways. First and for most both of her parents were rather cold and unnurturing, Ozai particularly. I think that Ursa was rather cold in her treatment of Azula—whether it was on purpose or not as well. Ozai was definitely cold and domineering. Neither seemed all that interested in Azula’s needs (nor for Zuko’s needs for that matter). In fact Ozai was all about dominance. I do believe that Azula was afraid of him. I think she had this undisplayed fear that if she stepped out of line she'd end up with a scar mirroring Zuko's. Going back to that book written from each character's perspectives; Azula says (after Ozai yells at her for arguing that she should go with him on the day of the comet) she never fought with Ozai before and that she was in fact afraid of the above mentioned. She questioned what he would do to her. The next part (of Frieda's theroy) applies more to Ozai—it always seemed like he cared for Azula, but at the end of the day she was a pawn…a means to achieve his world domination. His human weapon. And this, can no doubt mess a person up. Arguably, the same could be said for Ursa, she only seemed to show interest in Azula when she wanted information…particularly in The Search.

Another thing I'd like to note is Freud's theory; "Freud believed that schizophrenia develops from two psychological processes: (1) regression to a pre-ego stage and (2) efforts to reestablish ego control." He goes on to say that the harder the person tries to regain self-control, the further they fall as they become very confused and frightened. This was most evident in the Search. Azula recognizes that there is something not quite right with her. She tries to reassemble the fragmented pieces of her mind, but this really only seems to make the issue more intense.

On the other hand, one major thing that makes me doubt the diagnosis though is the age onset. Typically this disorder shows up when the person is around their late teens and mid-30's. However there are some exceptions to the rule, and stress is another factor. "Sometimes this phase is triggered by stress or trauma in the person's life" (Comer). While not quite fitting in with the age onset, Azula had recently lost her two friends, her father's respect, and had just revived a very important and stressful job. All this pressure may have been the trigger. Adding onto it the fact that she saw her brother get half his face burned off and the fact that she felt unloved by her mother.

As a side note "A fuller recovery form schizophrenia is more likely in persons who functioned quite well before the disorder whose initial disorder is triggered by stress" states Comer. So Azula's odds at recovery are pretty good if given the help she needs. As she functioned more than well prior to her collapse. And her collapse was probably triggered by stress. So there's a bit of positive thinking there.

This disorder can also tie into something like Paranoid Personality disorder (defined by Comer as) "people with this disorder deeply distrust other people and are suspicious of their motives. Because they believe everyone intends them harm, they shun close relationships. Their trust in their own ideas and abilities can be excessive."

Anti-social would be choice two. And I think she shows some of the quirks within the other two but not enough to diagnose her with such.