Vash needs therapy Pt. 1
(FYI: My view on therapy is that everyone can benefit from professional support, at least at times. But some people *need it urgently, right now, and maybe long term*. It’s a tool, don’t judge.)
So here’s my personal rule: DON’T DIAGNOSE PEOPLE OVER THE INTERNET. It’s unethical, and even if I were qualified (I am not) it would still be wrong.
But Vash is fictional, so that’s ok. :)
I said previously that psychological character analysis tries to explain how a character’s actions flow naturally from their past, relationships, and assumptions.
Today, we’re going to mostly look at actions. And Vash’s actions say he’s got a Savior Complex.
Savior Complex (SC) isn’t a diagnosis of mental illness. It’s not even in any version of the DSM. It’s more like a state of mind, stemming from toxic beliefs and reflected in toxic behaviors. Anybody can develop this mindset, with or without an accompanying mental illness.
Thanks to not being a “disorder”, SC is not a big subject for serious academics, but practicing therapists write about it a lot, so my citations are a little bit informal.
My favorite version of a definition of SC is from Grouport:
The savior complex is a psychological construct that describes a person's need or compulsion to save others, often neglecting their own needs in the process. It's a behavior pattern often rooted in empathy, but when left unchecked, it can lead to unhealthy dynamics in relationships and personal distress.
Individuals with a savior complex often believe that their worth is tied to their ability to help others. This belief can stem from societal expectations that value selflessness and altruism, sometimes to the point of self-sacrifice.
Doing good deeds is not a bad thing by itself; it even has health benefits for both helper and helped. But taken to extremes, it becomes a problem. People with SC often damage themselves and others in the name of saving someone, even the target of their help.
WebMD has a pretty thorough list of behaviors and beliefs that can indicate a SC. Let's match some of what we observe in Vash's actions and words to these indicators.
Does helping or saving others:
✅Put you in danger physically if you try to save someone in a dangerous situation
Agreeing to duel the Officer Chuck Lee in Jeneora Rock; jumping back inside the worm to rescue the reporters; getting in the middle of Wolfwood and Livio's firefight; walking right into Knives' trap; taking a bullet for literally anyone.
✅Affect your mental state, especially if you aren’t able to save the other person
After Rosa kicks him out of Jeneora Rock, Vash tells Meryl he is smiling because "I don't deserve to cry"; refusing to talk after Jeneora Rock; refusing to eat for two days after Jeneora Rock, refusing to eat for weeks after the Big Fall (especially significant since he only eats for the joy of it); stating that that he “failed” to protect Rem, and so he *has* to save LITERALLY EVERYONE; after the Big Fall, lying about Nai's survival to Luida and Brad.
✅Cause you to neglect your own physical needs, which could lead to illness
Refusing to eat for two days after Jeneora Rock; refusing to eat for weeks after the Big Fall; Letting that one officer in JuLai shoot him over Jeneora Rock, when Vash easily could have dodged; letting the JuLai military police beat him up until he was bleeding, in Jeneora Rock.
❌Lead you to get burned out
Not Vash, but only because he's not human.
✅Affect your personal relationships
In Rosa's first appearance, she says Vash rescued the town before, and that any friend of his is welcome in her diner. But after the Nebraskas, EG the Mine, and Knives wreck the town and Knives steals the Plant, Jeneora Rock has no power or water, and they have an enormous quantity of injured and dead people. Rosa blames Vash and kicks him out.
Wolfwood and Vash continually fight because Vash wants Wolfwood to adopt nonviolence, while Wolfwood finds that totally impractical. This creates conflict when Wolfwood kills the giant worm, then again when he shoots Rollo as a mercy, and again when Livio turns up on the steamer. Vash wants Wolfwood to change, even against his own will.
And then there's Knives. //sigh//
Effin Knives... Let's just put a quote here from VeryWellMind:
They also can have problems in their relationships with family and friends, and frequently find themselves being taken advantage of by others. People close to a person with a savior complex just assume that person will take care of them, without any regard to their needs. It can lead to a toxic, one-sided relationship, where your boundaries and feelings are not respected.
🤷♀️Negatively affect the person or people you’re trying to help
This is less clear-cut, because lots of people blame Vash for events that others are acually responsible for (chiefly Knives). We could argue that his previous failures lead to people not trusting his intentions, and acting against his saving them... Or we could just talk about Rollo. Vash essentially failed Rollo twice, when he didn't return in time to prevent him being made a child sacrifice, and again 20 years later when Wolfwood shot him as a mercy killing. Vash was angry, but Wolfwood pointed out forcing Rollo to continue living in pain and misery was cruel, and Vash was not able to cure the monstrous changes done to Rollo. Wolfwood feels the killing was actually compassionate, but Vash insists he could have found a solution without killing.
If we call that one a half-point, giving us a 4.5 out of 6 behaviors. Again, SC is not an illness, this is not at all diagnostic, but it's enough to suggest talking to a therapist would be helpful.
There's other self-assesment lists and articles out there, and some lump Hero Complex into the same broad definition as Savior. I had accidentally confused SC with Martyr Complex in an earlier post. The difference really seems be that both people with a Hero or Martyr complex need acclaim or praise for the good deeds they do, but Vash doesn't care about rewards or recognition at all. Rosa said he fixed the plant before for free, and other than food or drink, we never see him ask for payment or even trade in exchange for helping anyone in Trigun Stampede.
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Please tell me what you think of Part 1. Part 2 will cover the psychology of Vash regarding how his past relates to his beliefs, and if we have time, we can try to get into what that does to his relationships.
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Pardon me asking you a loaded question, but do you mind explaining the Free Sudan, Free Congo, etc? I already know at least the basics of Palestine, and I think me and other people who don't know about Free Congo, etc should educate ourselves on the matter. If you can't for whatever reason, is it possible to recommend a tumblr who can?
Hi there!!
I am not from either of those places so I will try to do the best I can to explain it briefly and link some resources at the bottom that can get you started!
Essentially both Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are undergoing a silent genocide that is very similar to Palestine. They are also slightly connected as !zrael extracts diamonds from multiple South African countries like DRC and always had conflicts with Sudan who is one of Palestine’s staunch allies.
For Sudan specifically there are MILLIONS of civilians that are being displaced from their homes due to armed conflicts that are out of their control - conflicts that have become so intense that there have been reports of ethnic cleansing being present. Even prior to those conflicts the people have been suffering extreme weather, political unrest, and rising food prices which puts said millions in poverty.
For the DRC (and SPECIFICALLY DRC as the Congo is a separate entity that needs help in other areas) not only are there also millions being displaced but also millions that have been forced to work in mining caves under EXTREMELY INHUMANE conditions including children. This is why people from DRC have asked to boycott specific tech companies such as Samsung and Apple (as in do NOT buy anything new from them at present / to NOT promote said new products) as many of those tech companies rely on the cobalt that are being mined in DRC under these harsh conditions.
These are the links that explain the gist of what I said, but I highly encourage people to share more well informed articles with this post & do some research on their own (especially on the other countries I hadn’t mentioned like Yemen, Tigray, Lebanon who is Palestine’s neighbor, and many many more!)
Sudan: https://www.rescue.org/article/fighting-sudan-what-you-need-know-about-crisis
DRC: https://reporting.unhcr.org/operational/situations/democratic-republic-congo-situation#:~:text=Decades%20of%20clashes%20between%20armed,million%20people%20within%20the%20DRC.
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