PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SHOW "EUPHORIA"

Euphoria is an American TV series, created by Sam Levinson, revolving around the lives of high school students through the experiences of friendships, love, identity, trauma, drugs and sexuality. The series shows that our modern society with dating apps, common use of drugs, internet pornography, etc, has made the teen life more dangerous than ever before. Though, the show might have, in some areas, exaggerated all these things and not every other teenager is involved in drugs or violence, but there are sure a wide number of teens doing all these things and this happens around us without us being aware. One of the main reasons could be that teenagers don't have many mature ways to evaluate their values. They have less coping skills than adults and aren't smart enough to deal with their issues in a more healthy way. The show, actually focuses more on teen life but in reality it is relatable to both teen and the adult life. The reason why Euphoria has spoken to so many people, is because of how relatable it is.

Through analysis and observations, here I discuss the psychology of a few characters from the show:

RUE

• Since the beginning of the show, Rue is seen to be diagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), which could be observed when she used to count lights on the dinner table, from the beginning to the end, and would become distracted when her mother asks her to focus on the food instead.
• Her parents take her to the psychiatrist, as a result of other mental disorders like ADHD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar Disorder and even Borderline Personality Disorder.
• Why is Rue seen extremely anxious during her childhood and as a teen? One reason could be that she was born during the terrifying incident of 9/11. The other could be that her father had died when she was only eleven years young. She had said she had her first panic attack when her father passed away, and was also seen getting panic attacks in her class as well.
• After she takes drug for the first time, Rue says, "This is the feeling I've been searching for my whole life." For her, drugs made her feel normal and, being sober was a high. When she is on a drug, she forgets about everything that is wrong with her life. Not everyone can experience drugs the same way as Rue because not everyone has been traumatized like her. Because of how she felt the first time she took the drug (which is the same with every other addict), she becomes an addict and is sent to rehab. Rue, later, comes home from the rehab with no intention to stay clean as for a long time she could not figure out who she is without drugs, until she met Jules.
• Rue has not been very close with her parents. Sometimes when she did not have access to drugs, she lashed out her frustration or anger at her mother, which made times for both of them more miserable. Her relationship with her sister, Gia, was pretty good but her sister was afraid of her as she saw her getting overdosed and is also a little influenced as she is seen trying weed in the later episodes. Jules made her feel loved, heard and important which is why Rue is very much close to her. Jules is her favorite person and Jules even seem to reciprocate as she says, "I hate everyone else in the world except for you". 

NATE

• Nate is a good example of the fact that we are mostly our parents as we grow up. Nate has been obsessed with his dad's secret life. His dad has always empowered him and taught him to be successful and strong. Nate seems to link success with toxic masculinity, which can be clearly seen in his character. At the age of 12, he begins to work on building his body to look like his idea of masculinity. He doesn't understand any way other than aggression to express himself out in the world. He likes football because of the crowd and admiration, which shows a little of narcissism. He mentioned he likes women who are hairless, elegant and does not sit or talk like boys, which is because he thinks he will be less of a man if he gets attracted to someone a little masculine.
• Nate is seen to have a pretty complicated relationship with Jules. In my opinion, Jules is a threat to his masculinity as he has seen her as an independent girl and probably being aware of the fact that his father has been with Jules, which is why Jules is terrifying to her. He is attracted to her, but hates her at the same time.
• Maddy, on the other hand, is a safe place for him, because with her, he is allowed to be vulnerable. Plus, she is more feminine and makes him feel important and loved, which in turn makes Nate feel more dominant and powerful. Rue narrates, "That's the thing with guys like Nate, they don't actually want a person but a thing that they can own and possess". Which is true because Nate seems to be extremely possessive towards Maddy and even says he'd kill anybody that tries to hurt her.
• When the group of friends was talking about Cassie, Nate tries to put her down by humiliating her because of her sexuality, McKay says, "Well, I don't know what Cassie did but I think she's cool and funny, and she likes cars", which is a belief which goes against toxic masculinity, that women are much more than just that. Though I feel McKay isn't the nice-guy either, as he himself had humiliated Cassie. When Cassie dressed a little more provocatively for the Halloween party, McKay tells her to change, which shows a dominating behavior. When Cassie tells Mckay she got pregnant, he only mentions his desires and talks about his dreams and his plans, instead of considering Cassie's as well.

MADDY

• Maddy is mostly innocent, but savage at the same time. She always wears confidence and knows this is the quality that makes her unique. She knows what she wants and tries to do everything to get what she wants. She doesn't admit to herself, but she is in need for love.
• Maddy has never seen her parents having a nice relationship with one another. Her dad had a serious illness for a long time and never really interacted with her or her mother. Because of her upbringing in a dis functioning family, she thinks Nate is doing so much more than her dad and likes the idea of being in love with him. She likes to dream about herself and Nate being together and in love. She never wants to end up like her parents.
• She is strong and confident, but when things don't go Nate's way and when his anger gets in the way, Maddy becomes weak. She is not afraid of the violence, but of the fact that whatever Nate does, she'll still love him.
• Maddy and Nate are seen in a very abusive and a toxic relationship since the beginning of the show, but no matter what happens, they don't agree to leave the relationship. This might be because they never really discuss the problems and rather try to get each other back with short sweet words, and the cycle continues.

CASSIE

• Cassie is sweet and is looking for a purpose in life. She explains the typical girl life and is hugely relatable to many other women. She has always loved her father, but her father had been an addict and could never really keep up with his family. Cassie was always disappointed because of not being able to see her father for days, weeks, months and sometimes a year. 
• After her parents split up, her mother tells her, "he just did not want to take up the responsibilities", which though is not entirely true. In spite of how much Cassie loved her father, she began to see him more of an irresponsible father as she grew older.
• Cassie is shown to be falling in love with every guy she has been with, which is mostly because of the absence of her father. She could not receive the love she needed from her father, so she wants some other guy to replace that for her and make her feel loved.
• Also, Cassie had to face teenage pregnancy, which also in most cases, is the consequence of the absence of father.
• When Cassie realized she had nobody to talk to about her pregnancy, she takes help from her mother and feels her mother is aware of everything and she is the only true supporter she has in her life. Which is also the true representation of majority teenagers, as they take time to realize how experienced their parents are.

JULES

• Jules is a trans person, who is living up to womanhood as she has seen women around her being treated by men in a certain way. She is searching for love in the external world and is not completely aware of what she wants.
• She says, "If I can conquer men, I can conquer femininity", which explains her idea of womanhood.
• At the age of 13, she transitions into a girl, because of her idea of femininity and she wants to be treated like other women in order to feel more feminine.
• The reason why she has this idea of womanhood could be because she hasn't ever been close with her mother. She has lived with her father most of her life.

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