24 CURIOSITIES OF THE SIMPSONS AND THEIR PERSONALITY - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The Simpsons is possibly the animated series with the most impact and influence in the history of television. His stories have never left anyone indifferent since, throughout his nearly 30 seasons, they have dealt with any issues such as politics, philosophy, culture, sociology and of course psychology.

Many of the characters have an unusual psychological profile, with some type of mental disorder, phobia or problems to socialize or integrate.

Although the most frequent themes are depression or self-esteem problems, Matt Groening, its creator, along with other screenwriters have managed to put many diseases totally unknown to society on the map due to their rarity.

Next we will analyze individually the main characters and their “crazy things”.

List of curiosities of The Simpsons

1- Homer Simpson

Main character of the series and one of the favorites by the public despite his many weaknesses, especially mental.

The most characteristic of the character is his slight mental retardation, which worsens as the seasons progress, perhaps as a strategy of the writers. In addition, he suffers from acute food cravings and alcohol problems.

In one chapter, his wife reveals that Homer has an uncontrolled fear of puppets, which in scientific terms is called pupaphobia. In another of his adventures, Homer is portrayed as a homophobe, a "phobia" that is cured in the same episode.

Perhaps, one of the syndromes that Homer suffered and that is less known, is when he suffered a kidnapping in Brazil and ended up fond of his kidnappers, an evil known as Stockholm syndrome.

In the odd chapter he has demonstrated his bipolarity and a possible Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which is reflected in chapters such as "Mad Daddy" or every time he strangles his son.

2- Marge Simpson

Homer's spouse and possibly the character who has suffered the most mental disorders throughout the more than 25 seasons of "The Simpsons."

Marge suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is reflected in the perfectionist way in which she manages her life and that of her family. OCD leads to situations of anxiety and stress, a constant of this figure that on one occasion even loses part of its hair.

Another problem that he suffers has to do with his problems with gambling. In several episodes, Marge shows an uncontrollable attitude towards arcade machines or gambling, losing several thousand dollars. This phenomenon is known as gambling.

More sporadically, Marge has been shown to suffer from some phobias such as aerophobia, caused by childhood trauma or agoraphobia after being robbed next to a supermarket.

3- Bart Simpson: paranoid or addicted?

Eldest son of the Simpson family. Naughty, restless, bad at school, and unable to stay calm. All symptoms of a hyperactive person (ADHD), a problem that is discussed in the chapter "Little Brother's Help" where Bart takes a fictitious experimental drug called focusyn to overcome his disorder.

In the same chapter, Bart ends up becoming paranoid due to the aforementioned drug.

4- Lisa Simpson

Middle daughter of the main family. Lisa stands out for her intelligence (156 IQ) but her relationship problems cause personality disorders, anxiety and low self-esteem.

The most significant case of her self-esteem problems occurs in the chapter "Sleeping with the enemy", where Lisa has anorexic problems because she feels bad about her body.

On another occasion, desperate for the future that awaits the world and the environment, his parents choose to take antidepressants, which leads to an addiction.

5- Abe Simpson

Paternal grandfather of the family. Influenced by a hard life and his participation in World War II, Abe suffers from problems of senile dementia, narcolepsy and a certain beginning of Alzheimer's.

In addition, he has a tendency to fable his stories from the past in an exaggerated way, being a disorder called mythomania.

6- Ned Flanders

Neighbor of the Simpsons family. Although a priori he does not stand out for any type of disorder, during his childhood he had to go through therapy because he was very rebellious

After spending a year being spanked as a priest, Ned became a repressed person, which led to an emotional collapse that erupted in the chapter "Hurricane Neddy", where he voluntarily attends a mental hospital.

7- Barney Gumble

Best friend of Homer Simpson. Rare is the chapter that does not appear in Moe's Bar due to his problems with alcohol. Although in a certain chapter he managed to rehabilitate himself from his addiction, in another he even requested that a ton of beer be injected into his vein.

7- Patty & Selma Bouvier

Sisters of Marge Simpson. Your addiction? Tobacco, one of the pandemics of this world.

8- Milhouse van Houten

Youngest son of the van Houten family and best friend of Bart. Socially misfit, he lives in Bart's shadow as a method of survival and feeling fulfilled.

With low self-esteem and signs of depression, on many occasions he has confessed that he requires a psychologist to cope with his problems or taking medication to forget past trauma. Her father Kirk also has very similar symptoms, especially as a result of her divorce.

Remarkable is the chapter "Futur-drama", where an adult Milhouse presents vigorexia, that is, an obsession to achieve a muscular body.

9- Seymour Skinner

Principal of Springfield Elementary School. Maniac and perfectionist, suggesting possible Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. What seems clearer is his Oedipus complex, demonstrated by his maternal dependence season after season.

Possibly from this syndrome derives his gamophobia, terror of commitment and especially of getting married.

10- Krusty

Clown by profession. This arrogant character has problems with nicotine, to which he is addicted and also has bipolar disorder, which he tries to remedy with lithium dibromide, a fictitious name for lithium monobromide, a mood stabilizer, sedative and remedy for seizures in episodes of epilepsy.

11- Supporting Actor Bob

Robert "Bob" Terwilliger as full name. Although he could be considered a psychopath because of his obsession with killing Bart Simpson, the truth is that he could not fall into this category because deep down he feels something for his enemy that he himself cannot explain.

Where if we could pigeonhole it is in narcissistic personality disorder, since it has airs of greatness such as feeling important and a lack of empathy or concern for others.

12- Otto

School bus driver. From the first episodes it has been hinted that he was taking some type of narcotic such as marijuana or LSD, something that has become more latent as the seasons have progressed, already being a clear example of drug dependence.

13- Ralph Wiggum

Lisa Simpson's classmate. Most extreme case of mental disability or autism, which grows season after season. Diction problems, location problems or auditory hallucinations are frequent in this mysterious character.

In one chapter, Ralph confesses to Bart that a goblin told him "to burn things", so it is possible that he suffers from some kind of paranoid schizophrenia.

14- Moe Szyslak

Innkeeper. Outcast by the people of Springfield and lonely for his edge and pedantic personality. In several chapters he has shown low self-esteem, depression and a tendency to suicide.

15- Diamond Joe Quimby

Mayor of Springfield and exacerbated adulterer. His obsession with sex can be diagnosed as hypersexual. There are several chapters in which his infidelities, affinity to pornography or sympathy for brothels are collected.

16- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

Owner and seller of the Kwik-E-Mart or “Badulaque” store. He stands out for his perseverance at work, managing a position that never closes. On one occasion he admitted to working up to 112 hours straight, causing him to believe he was a hummingbird. This is a disorder called workaholic (or ergomaniac).

He has another vice: saving. Considered colloquially as greed, in the case of Apu it can be considered a mental disorder called pleonexia.

17- Manager of the comic shop

Pedantic, sarcastic, rude and rude. Despite having unusual intelligence, he is so asocial that he is one of the few characters in "The Simpsons" whose name is unknown. His profile apparently fits people with Asperger's syndrome.

18- Doctor Hibbert

Simpsons family doctor. He often laughs at the most inappropriate moments and jokes about his medical diagnoses no matter how serious they are. You will rarely see him angry or worried about any issue, symptoms closely related to Pathological Laughter Disorder.

19- Nelson Muntz

Bart's schoolmate. He comes from an unstructured family in which his mother has certain addictions to alcohol and drugs and his father abandoned them. For this reasons, Muntz indicates in many chapters signs of depression, reaching hallucinations believing he saw his father.

20- Professor Frink

Inventor and scientist expert in quantum physics, prototype nerd focused on his love of science. Genius that is characterized by suffering in certain episodes repetitive, involuntary and uncoordinated movements of its motor and vocal gestures.

These conditions lead to the assumption that the teacher suffers from Tourette syndrome.

21- Eleonor Abernathy, the “crazy cat”

Springfield neighbor with multiple disorders. Apparently, this graduate in medicine and law, began to show signs of alcoholism after 30 years of age, which together with the attack of her favorite cat, caused her to lose control of her life and especially of her mind.

His fondness for collecting abandoned cats from the street is known as Noah syndrome, his fondness for collecting all the useless junk is called Diogenes syndrome and his continuous hallucinations, social withdrawal and perception disorder are symptoms of schizophrenia.

22- Colonel Richard O'Hara

Best known for being a rich Texan. In several chapters he reveals that he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and that he is afraid of beards, that is, that he suffers from pogonophobia.

23- Leon Kompowsky

In the episode "Crazy Daddy", Homer was admitted to a mental hospital by Dr. Marvin Monroe after wearing a pink shirt to work. Although this time he did not suffer from any disorder, there he met an individual who claimed to be Michael Jackson, who lied, but Homer believed him because he did not know the pop singer.

His real name was Leon Kompowsky, who suffered from delusional grandeur disorder, caused by depression during his life in New Jersey.

24- Artie Ziff & Lurleen Lumpkin

Similar cases. Both are obsessed with one person. In Artie's case for Marge and in Darlin's case for Homer. This type of disorder is due to the low self-esteem of a person who has a huge emotional void and who thinks that having someone else can alleviate this problem.

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