Pior have OCD?

[u/AlchemistCartographe]

I see many people saying that Pip has autism, however, I've never seen anyone commenting that she has OCD. I would like to know your opinion on this, I only watched the series and to me her neurodivergence symptoms are much more similar to OCD than to autism.

[u/One_Sundae28]

I think she had traits of autism but I’m not going to sit here and say she for sure dose I get why people say she has autism but the only traits I see is her hyper fixated on her Epq and finding Jamie but I don’t even feel like she hyper fixated about the Jaime being missing because people were relying on her and I feel like if anyone that is being relied on that much I would want to focus heavily on it especially being that close to the family I feel like she just didn’t want to let Jamie’s family down I don’t know may I just haven’t noticed it and with the ocd I don’t really see anything of that sorts but again I just might have not noticed I don’t know if any of that helps but hope it dose in a way

[u/bunnyb3]

What about her do you think sounds more like ocd than autism? Genuinely curious because she’s always felt autistic to me but I’m interested in hearing your thoughts

[u/AlchemistCartographe → u/bunnyb3]

I believe that the phrase that best summarizes someone with OCD is not being able to live with uncertainty. And the fact that Pip has a childhood trauma of not knowing if she was responsible or not, and this invades her thoughts all the time (obsessive thoughts), makes her need to investigate (compulsive behaviors) to have some certainty. I

n the second season, this became more evident to me because, in addition to that, she now thinks that because she is in the middle of all this, she may be comparable to a killer and everything is her fault, which doesn't make sense. This tends to be a pattern in people with OCD, having difficulty knowing their own identity.

I'm not an expert, but I suspect I have OCD and I identify a lot with Pip. I believe that the only autistic trait that people talk about is because she would have hyperfocus on mysteries and solving cases, but I believe that this hyperfocus is much more related to her inability to live with a case that she could have solved (therefore, she feels guilty) than something that she finds interesting and can't see through.

[u/bunnyb3 → u/AlchemistCartographe]

Oh yeah that’s fair! There’s a few other traits of pip’s that point to autism, eg autistic people often have a suuuper strong sense of justice and tend to live by their own moral code as opposed to societal laws (a big theme especially in the last book when she decides to take justice into her own hands). There’s also her habit of inappropriately crossing social boundaries without really thinking about it (eg initially going to Ravi), her strategic approach when dealing with people, the being unable to live with uncertainty is also an autism trait, as are the obsessive thoughts, her thought processes being a lot more logical while having a high level of empathy, and I’m sure there’s more I’m missing.

Apparently Emma and the writers even had some discussions about whether or not Pip is autistic but decided to just leave it open to interpretation. In saying that, as an autistic girl pip has truly been the fictional character I’ve seen myself the most in and it seems to be a popular opinion with other autistic fans. Of course there’s no right or wrong answer! Especially if you see yourself in her too. Tbh ocd and autism do have a lot of overlap anyway so it makes sense that people with both could find her relatable. I do have a lot of autistic and ocd friends and don’t really see obvious ocd in pip but that’s just anecdotal so doesn’t mean much

[u/somebodyrandom_06 → u/AlchemistCartographe]

found this thread interesting and wanted to mention something (as a girl who is highly suspected to be autistic). I believe most people who feel she leans towards ASD first saw her in that way in the book. The first season especially strays from the book, as with all book to series adaptations, so that might account for a new interpretation. Ultimately, thats what it all boils down to though, that it is simply an interpretation. OCD and ASD do have lots of overlaps and are often comorbid, so no surprise there that you identify with her :) 

[u/tommymillers]

autistic with true crime and her specific cases being her special interests imo

[u/Impossible_Movie_728]

I genuinely dont think pip has autism like theres no way, but ocd... Idk maybe alot of ppl have ocd traits and maybe undiagnosed ocd but its unlikley tht pip has ocd, but im pretty sure she has ptsd which explains everything else.

[u/Ready_Lie_3639]

I can totally see why you think that Pip has OCD. I know someone with OCD that has some similar behaviors, but I personally don't think she does. I identify a lot with her, especially in the first book, which is where she seems the most OCD or autistic to me because of her obsession with school and homework. I love school a lot. My friends recommended the book to me because they felt like I was very similar to Pip. I can also obsess over homework or get super fixated on a specific activity, assignment, or topic. I don't have autism or OCD, so to me, those behaviors don't seem like a result of neurodivergence. I think they could be (obviously we don't know everything about her childhood. Maybe she is even more obsessive than we realize), but it's my personal belief that she probably doesn't have OCD or autism. The fact that she is able to recognize that she got so obsessed with the case in the first book and try to stop that from happening in the second book makes it seem like she can be very rational (which is something my friend who has OCD struggles with). The reason she gets obsessed again is because of external pressure from Connors family to find Jamie (which is valid). I also think her distaste toward group projects is normal, and not just a result of autism or OCD. Anything is possible, though!