Rue suffers from ADHD, bipolar, general anxiety, depression, and BPD – and rather than romanticising her trauma, creator Sam Levinson shows Rue's days stretching out ahead of her: a monotonous Sisyphean struggle with her own psyche. The eroticisation of women's madness goes as far back as Shakespeare's Ophelia.
It is alluded to that she suffers from bipolar disorder, anxiety, as well as OCD. As viewers, we hear Rue's thoughts, we watch as she cannot fully escape them, and we break a little inside as she uses drugs (and continues to use them) as an escape.
This is a metaphor for Rue's drug use and withdrawal. Rue is implied to live with bipolar disorder alongside borderline personality disorder and ADHD, as she displays symptoms of mania and depression throughout the episodes.
But she also spends the entire episode yawning, excessively sweating, vomiting and grabbing her abdomen. Since she's on the run, without her suitcase, she no longer has access to drugs and begins to experience the effects of opioid withdrawal.
Rue acts out a risky behavior (smoking), talks fast about several things that may or may not be related, and has trouble focusing or sleeping (further exacerbated by her chugging coffee made with coffee) — all symptoms of a manic episode.
Sweeney's Cassie is never displaying the same level of emotion as those around her unless it's rage — uncontrollable outbursts of anger being another criteria of BPD. In every scene, she's either displaying a significantly higher level of emotion than others or she is fully shut down, dissociating.
She's thin, she's blonde, she says "wow" a lot. Cassie is depicted as being eccentric and suffering from several mental disorders — most notably, anorexia nervosa — and multiple issues, including low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, and drug addiction, but is gentle-natured and friendly.
On the show Euphoria, Rue is so depressed that she can't get out of bed to go to the bathroom. Depression can definitely cause a lack of motivation and changes in energy levels, causing some people to do destructive things towards their health.
Why does Rue keep yawning in 'Euphoria'? Now without drugs and currently on the run from her family, Rue begins to experience the effects of opioid withdrawal. There are several symptoms associated with the condition, but one of the most common is excessive yawning.
We learn later in the episode that she was given medication to combat opiate withdrawals and has since been fighting to stay clean. She can barely open the candy wrapper. In narration, Rue explains that her mother is attempting to book a rehab clinic so Rue can try, once again, to get clean.
Rue Bennett – ISTP. Rue is an unhealthy ISTP who seems hell-bent on her own destruction. Like most unhealthy ISTPs, she appears aloof, detached, and non-committal. Though she has deep feelings for Jules, she often keeps them inside until she reaches a breaking point.
Euphoria's narrator, Rue, is a classic example of someone with avoidant attachment patterns. Rue struggles to get close to others and experiences challenges when people depend on her.
Ruby “Rue” Bennett is a recovering drug addict and high school student from East Highland, California. Undoubtedly the central protagonist of Euphoria, Rue is introverted yet outwardly sarcastic, vulnerable yet resilient. And it's these contradictory complexities that make Rue a compelling heroine.
Someone with BPD may go to great lengths to feel something, as well as becoming increasingly withdrawn and avoidant during an episode. Paranoid thoughts of everyone being out to get them and hating them are also common during these times. Episodes can also be extreme highs, bursts of euphoria and positive emotions.
Rue Bennett : [voice-over] The other thing about depression is it kind of collapses time. Suddenly, you find your whole days blending together to create one endless and suffocating loop.
The key difference between bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder is that bipolar disorder is a mood disorder while borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder. Mood disorders are a category of disorders distinguished by serious changes in mood.
One of Rue's triggers for substance use issues is her struggle with anxiety, panic attacks, and other mental health issues, Fiellin points out. Mental illness and drug use can create a “vicious cycle,” she says: mental illness can push people to use drugs, which in turn can make the condition worse.
In Season 2's fourth episode, “You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can,” Rue narrates that her love for Jules is so intense, it is hard to verbally explain. So, while the two have sex, the scene moves to a montage of Rue and Jules reenacting various famous lovers of movies and pop culture.
Laurie is a villain and a real antagonist. She preys on Rue when she's at her most vulnerable, because she knows she'll have a use for someone like Rue. She's the kind of person to really fear: an insidious, unassuming predator.
For Rue, the hoodie is more than just something that her father wore - it's a security blanket. She seemingly wears the hoodie throughout the series as a form of comfort, as it helps her remember the touch and embrace of her late father.
Euphoria's main character, Rue (played by Zendaya) is alluded to as suffering from bipolar disorder, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Back at home, Rue has held off peeing for so long that she's on the edge of a kidney infection. Her mom finds her in agony on the floor on the way to the bathroom and helps her, getting her cleaned up and settled back in some clean sheets, realizing that her Rue is in the middle of a depressive episode.
Each character has a main color and style that is associated with them. For instance, Cassie wears baby blue and pink signifying how she has a naive innocence about her, while Kat changed from simple denim to a red leather dominatrix as she tries to break away from being the quiet, shy pushover.
Throughout the series we see her go through a lot of trauma where she gets used for sex by everyone around her, her boyfriend McKay going through prejudices for being with someone like her and eventually accidentally getting pregnant and getting an abortion.
Rue exposing Cassie for sleeping with Maddy's ex Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie's diminutive response has sparked controversy amongst "Euphoria" fans about who is more in the wrong in the situation.