Sherlock - BBC

Oh, look, another symptom of Asperger’s Syndrome, not sociopathy.

Okay, it’s unpopular opinion time. Ignore me if you wish.

Alright. Let me start this little rant by saying that I’m absolutely sick of people claiming Sherlock Holmes to be a ‘sociopath’. He isn’t. Allow me to also say that I know how similar Asperger’s and sociopathy can seem, in certain cases, and that’s because I was misdiagnosed as a sociopath awhile back. I have Asperger’s Syndrome. As does Sherlock.

Common symptoms of high-functioning sociopathy:

Superficial charm
Manipulative and conning
Grandiose sense of self
Pathological lying
Lack of remorse, shame, or guilt
Incapability to love
Need for stimulation
Lack of empathy/inability to relate
Irresponsibility
Lack of realistic life plan
Extreme intelligence
Common symptoms of high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome:

Issues picking in on social cues (ex: When someone is upset with them, or being sarcastic, it’s very hard for them to tell)
Appear to lack empathy/inability to relate
His or her speech may be flat
Formal style of speaking
May avoid eye contact (me) or stare at others (Sherlock)
Talk a lot, usually on favorite subject; inability to tell when boring the listener
Internal thoughts are often verbalized (ex: Seeming blunt or rude by telling someone they’re stupid, merely because they have no filter)
Extremely heightened senses (GEE I WONDER WHY SHERLOCK CAN SMELL AND HEAR AND TASTE AND SEE EVERYTHING)
Highly intelligent/logical way of thinking
Tendency to mimic others, especially people they like (JAWN)
Depression
Anxiety
Typically only keep few, very close friends
Can go days without speaking, and eating very little, especially when drained
SO NOW THAT THAT’S COVERED. Let’s move on, shall we?

Sherlock Holmes grew up with the Holmes family, a respectable family. Behavior is learned, especially for those with Asperger’s. Why is Sherlock so proper? Why is he so cunning? Why does he dress the way he does? Well, that may just have something to do with the people he grew up with.

Is he manipulating? Of course. Yet, isn’t Mycroft? Hm. I wonder where he learned that trait. Not only that, but he’s doing it for basic information, not just for pure entertainment as a sociopath would. Let’s be serious. He doesn’t fool around. Oh, did I mention that’s another symptom of Asperger’s? Conversation and action for purpose, not for pleasure; very precise.

Let’s also toy around with a very common controversial topic within the Sherlock fandom: Sherlock does feel. He does love. He does care. The whole reason he jumped was because he cared. He cares for John, he cares for Mrs. Hudson, and he cares for Lestrade. John is his best friend, Mrs. Hudson is his mother figure, and Lestrade is his friend and his work. Without those, he would have been nothing. It would have destroyed him. Therefore, he destroyed himself in sacrifice (which we all know was faked, blah, blah, but the sentiment is still there, blah, blah).

While Sherlock may not have the physically clumsy symptoms of those with Asperger’s (I don’t either), that’s typical for someone of his age, as it’s something you usually grow out of as you get older. Asperger’s is a lifelong disorder. It never goes away, and there’s no medication that targets each symptom. You treat what you can, and live with what you can’t.

His need for stimulation, I think, has to do with his basic frustration and his work, as a matter of fact. Sherlock does drugs. Okay? That’s common knowledge within this fandom. He likes his drugs. Why does he do them? Well, to quote him, ‘they help him think’.

In all reality, it’s somewhat correct. The drugs Sherlock takes heighten his senses to an even more extreme degree, making him the observant smartass that he is. Not only that, but they speed up his thought process, and mixing that all in with his intelligence level, makes for one smart cookie.

I also believe that he’s just…frustrated. It’s hard. It really is. He knows he’s not like everyone else, which is why he’s clung onto the sociopath nonsense. He truly believes that he is a sociopath, probably because he’s done research on it and saw a partial match. It was something, finally something, he could relate to. Because I did the same goddamn thing. He knows it doesn’t fit perfectly. Moriarty knows it doesn’t fit perfectly. ‘We both know that’s not quite true’. He knows. He just has nothing else to hold onto.

Rant over. Knowledge is power. Blah, blah, blah.

The end.

Some might hope however that 'Into Darkness' bombs — so Cumberbatch does not become too famous to keep playing Sherlock Holmes in the masterful BBC series. Will he ever get too big for 'Sherlock'?

"No! Absolutely not," he said. "I don't think that's a possibility because I love it to much. Making [Sherlock] is all about availability. Martin Freeman [who plays Watson] has the same kind of pressures on him now. It's a thing of quality not quantity that show - thank god. We started young with it. We started when they meet and we still are young for those roles. There's no reason why it can't continue until we get too old."