Eleven is examined as a child hero of the series who has a potential diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), has significant psychosocial developmental delays that she continues to overcome as the series develops, and is an emblem for the cultural mythology of the 1980s.
Through nightmarish flashbacks, we see how a man whom she calls Papa experimented on Eleven for her entire childhood, subjecting her to psychologically damaging tests to assess the extent of her powers which, as we soon find out, enable her to access an alternate dimension habituated by a carnivorous beast.
While there are no direct statements, it's still clear that Max suffers from mental illnesses, such as depression, trauma, and even PTSD.
Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard opened up about his struggles with anxiety while filming and why growing up in the spotlight is not easy. Stranger Things is a global phenomenon, which means that, for the child actors in the series, the cast had to grow up in the spotlight.
Vecna's power not only takes a mental toll but also a physical one. Much like depression, Vecna's victims experience physical symptoms such as exhaustion, lack of sleep, headaches, and nosebleeds. Similarly, when dealing with depression and trauma, a person's physical health worsens.
Vecna adopts psychological warfare to target his prey – which, you could argue, very much serves as an allegory for trauma, depression and mental illness, which is all too real.
Brenner (Matthew Modine) states in the Stranger Things episode "Papa" that Vecna "consumes" everything about his victims, Vecna targets traumatized victims because it builds for him a well of sad and angry memories to draw from. With each victim, he can become gradually more powerful.
Psychotherapist Georgia Dow analyzes the character's very recognizable behavior. The Psychology of Robin's ADHD: Stranger Things 4 — Therapist Reacts!
Eleven is examined as a child hero of the series who has a potential diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), has significant psychosocial developmental delays that she continues to overcome as the series develops, and is an emblem for the cultural mythology of the 1980s.
Gaten Matarazzo III, who plays Dustin on the Netflix megahit, was born with cleidocranial dysplasia, or CCD, a rare disorder which primarily affects growth of teeth and collarbones. Like many celebrities, Matarazzo is using his new fame to bring attention to the condition.
Though Fred appeared to be bright and level-headed, he harbored extreme guilt for his role in the fatal 1985 car accident, and believed many people look at him as a "murderer." This guilt and mental unrest made him a target of Vecna.
Patrick was born sometime between 1967 and 1968. Patrick's father subjected him to verbal abuse, and likely also physically abused him; he was berated and called "an embarrassment to [his] family" when discovered to be drinking alcohol, and on another occasion, appeared at school with a black-eye.
Max essentially has a conversation with Vecna about Billy, and why he was right when he said that Max wanted Billy to die. She says, “he made my life living hell”, and she's right. In the episodes leading up to his death, Billy was consistently abusive towards Max and her friends.
Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown said on ITV This Morning that her character Eleven has more lines in season two and even gets to swear once.
As a result of trauma and repressing those memories, coupled with the fact that she was then raised in complete isolation (until 1983, when she escaped), El lost the ability to speak in the way that she used to as a young child.
The show originally made it clear that Eleven had limited social skills and communication abilities due to how she was raised in Hawkins Lab. It seemed as though she never learned how to speak until after her escape.
Vecna's curse refers to Vecna's predominant method of murder and torture. Using his supernatural psychokinetic abilities, Vecna can probe and influence the minds of others. Motivated by a cruel and misanthropic philosophy, Vecna targets particularly traumatized, mentally ill or insecure individuals.
The first seeds of Robin being on the autism spectrum were planted in Stranger Things Season 3. In her first season of the show Robin is shown to be impulsive, a talented linguist and out of the box thinker, allowing her to approach problem-solving from a unique angle and figure out the secret Russian code.
Once he takes control of the mind, he traumatizes them by showing the visions of their dark past. He takes them to unknown places and gives them a glimpse of himself. The pain of his victims doesn't end here. Every single one of his victims experiences nose bleeding and severe headaches as well.
He may be one of the most evil characters in the entire show, but Dr. Martin Brenner (Matthew Modine) is easily the most intelligent character in the entire show.
Eleven's character is portrayed as having special abilities and is isolated from society due to her unique experiences. While her behavior and social interaction may share some similarities with autism, it is not explicitly stated that her character has been diagnosed with autism.
Robin is highly intelligent and hyper-empathetic and struggles to understand social situations. She even describes her struggles in dialogue in the show by listing autistic traits. Here are her other autistic traits: She tends to ramble a lot and talk a lot about random things.
Vecna's powers allow him to form psychic connections with people in reality, especially teenagers dealing with trauma and mental health issues. Vecna develops these connections with young and vulnerable teens so that he can get out of the Upside Down and gain access to the real world by opening four gates or portals.
While falling into the dark dimension, One/Henry is struck by lightning, disfiguring him.