Elliot Alderson: Mental Health and Identity in Mr. Robot

Elliot struggles with mental health, using technology and relationships to cope with his trauma and isolation.

### The Complex Interplay of Mental Health and Technology in Mr. Robot
* 🧠 Eliot grapples with his mental health issues, acknowledging his struggles but feeling **overwhelmed by the anger and anxiety** that arise from confronting his past.
* 💻 Sam, a spell, presents Eliot's mental illnesses without judgment, highlighting their **damaging effects** while emphasizing the **difficulty of achieving a healthy state of mind**.
* 🔍 As Eliot's memories resurface, he finds solace in familiar files, yet struggles to accept that his condition is **beyond his control**, leading to a disturbing reality that he must **confront**.
* 🤖 The series Mr. Robot, through Eliot's journey, critiques the portrayal of hacking in media while reflecting on the **psychological burdens placed on individuals with compromised mental health**.
* 💔 Eliot's relationships, especially with his sister Darlene, reveal the **complexities of support** and the **emotional strain** on those who care for him, as they navigate his **turbulent state of mind**.
* 📉 The show explores the impact of consumerism and financial debt on mental health, emphasizing Eliot's struggles with **clinical depression and social anxiety** amidst a capitalist society.
* 🧩 Ultimately, Eliot's journey is a poignant reflection on the **intersection of technology, mental illness, and the quest for understanding and healing**, as he seeks to **reconcile his fragmented identity**.

common patrols of computer hacking replaces human action with animation, leaving these depictions to be ridiculed by the experts that portrayed the Hollywood hacker bullshit. I've been in this game 27 years, not once have I ever come across the animated singing virus. I have yet to fly through a Tron city directory structure. Samus Mil addresses this in authenticity to the surprise of many in his post-sever Punk drama Mr. Robot by assembling a cast that mirrors a segment of the American population that's technologically literate, both self-taught and formally educated, working on their own or from inside the tech sector, and places them in a setting that is immediately recognizable to the audience. Mr. Robot follows Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and vigilante hacker who annoyingly forms Eff Society, a group of activist hackers that systematically infiltrates the world's largest conglomerate, the Evil Corp, together with the Dark Army mercenary hackers from China, as society puts into motion a plan to destroy Evil Corp servers, separating the masses from

their dead and pushing the conglomerate to financial ruin. Mr. Robot explores life in a capitalist society, particularly where consumerism, financial debt, and influence are concerned, feeding a general misanthropy at the heart of the series. However, SML places great importance on his characters, the state of their mental and emotional health, as the physical and digital realities they interact with fold in on one another. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the first moments of the pilot. Hello friend, I love a friend, that's lame. Maybe I should give you a name about that - slippery slope. You're only in my head. We have to remember that shit. It's actually happened. I'm talking to an imaginary person. The connection between people and their computers as a social observation of a culture driven by information, one where the individual and the application of their data sailors their perception of reality. For Elliott, his world and personal shaped by these same elements. However, his ability to process information is undermined by

illness suffering from both clinical depression and social anxiety. Elliott has managed conditions with the combination of drug consumption and addiction management, the damaging of its own. His recreational abuse of medication arguably does less to reinforce his conditions and his practice of experiential avoidance by keeping himself in social interactions, denying most desires, and avoiding uncomfortable thoughts. Elliott has attempted to dull the sharpness of anything that causes him pain. This is just as a pattern of behavior actual sufferers of either condition use in order to bolster their mental health, something that seems logical on the surface. That's the only way to protect myself, never show them my source code, close myself off, create my cold perfect maze where no one can ever find me. This unfortunately does not hold, and Elliott finds themselves too coming to more severe bouts of depression, paralyzed again at the thought of interaction, regressing into an a-social state. Elliott supplements human relationships with an imagined one, Elliott's friend, the viewer. This is on the other side of fourth wall breaking.

conversations that build intimacy by including them in the disturbing reality he inhabits. Samia's fell backs this up with a disregard for traditional photography, making use of lower quadrants, causing an unsettling reaction in viewers when they see actors in such uncommon emplacements on screen. This disorienting effect communicates Elliot's off-kilter view of the world, but also how those around him notice his own peculiarities. Hurry talking to eventually comes to light that Elliot's friend is one of two Mr. Robot, at first believed to be Elliot's deceased father, Edward, as in masses, a projection of Elliot's conversion disorder. The relationship between Elliot and his father is arguably the most contentious, ranging from friendly to outright dangerous. This violent shift in behavior is rooted in his childhood and has informed his relationships with men as an adult. This is perhaps best realized in Elliot's vigilante hacks, all of which have targeted men who raised him and were emotionally and physically abusive.

mother who undoubtedly worked in Tanner with Edward to support Elliot's maladaptive schemas. She doesn't seem to be as influential a factor in healing its relationships with women. In fact, those are the healthiest relationships he engages in despite a history of abuse. Led managed to make and keep a childhood friend, develop romantic interests, and exercise concern for those closest to him. I'm not gonna do any of that long as you break up with Krysta tonight. Why? That would destroy her. She thinks that we're in love. Exactly. Krista needs to avoid dickheads like you in the future. The same group has made an investment in Elliott Yamin. Okay, in his presence, I really miss that. And even as betterment, these are all empty. You're just filling them and jumping them. They do so being at least partially aware of its psychological state and as a result, they endure emotional stress when Elliott undermines their wishes and applies his judgment instead. Had leukemia made me swear to never tell anyone, especially my mom. He

got sicker and sicker. Finally, I got so worried. Told my mom. Never spoke to me after that. I couldn't even look at me. Even the night he died. This pattern of interaction follows John Bowlby's attachment theory, which highlights a parent's influence on their child's relationships as an adult. After being pushed out of his bedroom window and it collected for months. The consequence of trying to get his father help. Elliott learned from Edward that men can turn on him in an instant. They should carry over to reflect his abusive mother. But in her place was a surrogate in the form of Darlene, a resilient younger sister who helped Elliott endure abuse. As he grew older, Darlene was quarantine and his mind set apart from the rest of the family. And in doing so, Elliott has burden Darlene while also empowering her with the ability to reach under layers of psychological damage to revive the person buried beneath so much. What allows Elliott to communicate with a projection of a father he doesn't

recognize and to remove his sister from memory is a conversion disorder which can delete episodic memory, erasing or distorting a handful of days or specific events and people. This can be accompanied by a string of hallucinations and delusions, such as speaking to the dead and the overwhelming sense of being pursued. Though a very serious disorder, it could be helped where Elliott to acknowledge the authority of his psychiatrist Krista at his treatment began in childhood. It might have made a difference. Psychiatrist Judith Lewis Herrmann, an expert on childhood trauma and recovery, found that children came out of trauma wanting to turn inward in search of psychological protection rather than seek the assistance of some recognized Authority. For Elliott, diagnosing himself has much in common with the process software developers employ when creating a patch, a patch of software released by the developer of an existing program to provide it new files, overwrite others, and keeps them from executing. Elliot's conversion disorder has been applied like a patch to the program that is his

mind creating new people, allowing you to assume contradictory personalities and delete entire relationships from memory. And that was written to fix a program. A patch can't create conflict, introducing unforeseen problems. Dear brothers and sisters, now is the time to open your eyes. If you have not yet woken up to the reality of profiteering in a statement with a warning about, I hope you realize you're fast running out of time. The governments of the world and their corporate masters do not want us to seek. Why? Because we are not truths. We expose villains. We exorcise demons. Citizens of the world, we are here to help. If you have any interest in waking from your slumber and retrieving lost, damaged, or stolen memory, we are here for you. We have your back. We are a society. Sam Espinel has clued the audience in to Elliott's state of my personal history largely through misdirection, but his strongest comments on these issues are

communicated continuously through Elliott's observations, diagnosing behavior and thought patterns using terms exclusive to computing. It's a disturbing space, even for someone who wouldn't have its that reality regularly, and it takes an equally disturbing episode to rival older traumas and pull Elliott back to a physical reality, a place where he can accept that what is wrong with him is beyond his ability to control. You're gonna be okay. I think I'm very fucking far from okay. Pursuing these themes from the vehicle of Eliot, I mean, Eliot is basically a thinly veiled version of maid-sama. Smell points out the inability of an individual to make sense of their mind alone, especially those whose mental health has been compromised. Eliot has passed his mind more than once, but this has only made clear through the people in his life, those who sacrifice part of their lives so they can be included in his good again. Did you forget Who I am? And it's because of them that he's

willing to acknowledge what he's been hiding from, but even admissions of guilt on his part, but lies the negligence of his health, does not guarantee a path forward. In fact, when Eliot's memories stitched back together, and he remembers who and what Mr. Robot is, he's angrier and more anxious than before. Rather than attempt to craft the solution to his complex condition, Sam, a spell, prefers to present Eliot's mental illnesses with little judgment or prescription, yet never shied away from detail about damaging they can be. As unfair as it may seem to the character, this is simply how only it is healthy as a state he'll probably never comprehend, let alone achieve. For Eliot, the closest he can come to healing is through familiar files and the hope that when he needs them, his interaction has rendered them inoperable.

Mr. Robot  | Mind as Computer

Pattern Theory

Common portrayals of computer hacking in media, especially Hollywood, are often unrealistic and ridiculed by experts.

Robot, created by Samus Mil, offers a more authentic representation of technologically literate individuals, following the story of Elliot Alderson, a cybersecurity engineer and vigilante hacker.

The show explores Elliot's complex relationships and emotional struggles while he leads a group of activist hackers to infiltrate and disrupt a powerful conglomerate, Evil Corp.

Robot delves into the impact of capitalism, consumerism, and financial debt on individuals, highlighting a general misanthropy.

The series emphasizes the mental and emotional health of its characters, particularly Elliott, who struggles with clinical depression and social anxiety.

Elliott's coping mechanisms, including drug use and social avoidance, ultimately lead to a deeper regression and a reliance on an imagined friendship with the viewer.

Elliot's Disturbing Reality and Conversion Disorder

Elliot's unique view of the world is portrayed through unconventional photography and disorienting placements of actors, reflecting his peculiarities.

His tumultuous relationship with his father, Edward, and the violent shifts in behavior have influenced his adult relationships with men, leading to vigilante hacks targeting his abusers.

Elliot's conversion disorder, causing memory distortion and hallucinations, may have been addressed if he had acknowledged his psychiatrist's authority during childhood.

The Impact of Trauma and Relationships on Elliott's Life

Elliott's struggles with his personal history and relationships are influenced by his father's abuse and his mother's neglect.

Darlene, his resilient younger sister, plays a crucial role in helping Elliott endure the abuse and navigate his psychological struggles.

The pattern of interaction between Elliott and his family follows John Bowlby's attachment theory, highlighting the lasting impact of parental influence on adult relationships.

Eliot acknowledges his hidden struggles but feels angrier and more anxious as his memories resurface.

Sam, a spell, presents Eliot's mental illnesses without judgment, highlighting their damaging effects.

Eliot's healing seems elusive, with his interactions and the people in his life playing a crucial role in his journey towards understanding and acceptance.