Does Axl know he acted like a diva?

[Derick]

7 hours ago, Blackstar said:

He certainly has mental issues, but we don't know if it's BPD. He had gone to a clinic and filled a questionnaire, and based on that they told him he had BPD and gave him lithium. He had disputed it though, and in the 2008 chats he denied that he was diagnosed as bipolar.

Yeah I remember that 2008 statement but I´m with those that believe he was just trying to hide this condition from the world, since he became a more private person. I'm not saying he's a liar, but all that "Diva" or "egocentric" behavior along with the statements of people close to him, including Duff and Slash, to me is more valid than that 2008 statement. But you´re right, we can´t be absolute sure. 

My point is if "Diva" is the best label to assign to it. I mean, knowing that he has those mental issues and that shit family history..Is that the best way to define his acts? If we didn´t know anything about this shit and consider only the fact that an ordinary person, without those kinds of problems, started acting that way just because became rich and famous, I would say that's okay. But we´re die-hard fans, we know things. 

[Blackstar]

6 minutes ago, Derick said:

Yeah I remember that 2008 statement but I´m with those that believe he was just trying to hide this condition from the world, since he became a more private person. I'm not saying he's a liar, but all that "Diva" or "egocentric" behavior along with the statements of people close to him, including Duff and Slash, to me is more valid than that 2008 statement. But you´re right, we can´t be absolute sure. 

My point is if "Diva" is the best label to assign to it. I mean, knowing that he has those mental issues and that shit family history..Is that the best way to define his acts? If we didn´t know anything about this shit and consider only the fact that an ordinary person, without those kinds of problems, started acting that way just because became rich and famous, I would say that's okay. But we´re die-hard fans, we know things. 

Oh I more or less agree with you on the "diva" thing. I'm just saying that we can't know if his mental issue is BPD or something else. Mental illnesses can't be diagnosed with a blood test so psychiatrists mostly rely on symptoms to make a diagnosis, but there are symptoms that may have a different cause. 

If we compare the BPD symptoms as described in various web pages to some patterns in Axl's behaviour (as it has been documented and described by people who have known him), there are indeed similarities. But since there is no confirmation and we're not psychiatrists - not me, at least- (and even if we were, we couldn't diagnose him since we don't know him), we can't say that he has this or that disorder.

[Alja]

On 20. 1. 2018 at 10:58 AM, Derick said:

Well,with all due respect to @gnfnrs1972 ... IDK if "Diva" is the best definition to his behavior..Maybe it's an easier and more convenient way to put a label on someone without having to think too much about it...But in fact Axl has a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, ability to carry out day-to-day tasks...blá blá blá..

Medicine usually names this disease as "Bipolar Disorder" or "Manic-Depressive Illness". (There is no cure but there´s treatment options that can help lessen the symptoms.)

And to this Bipolar Disorder we can add events in his childhood that would probably affect the behavior of any of us over here..Yeah that old story about his dysfunctional family and child abuse that some people seem don´t care much but it can profoundly affect the emotional health of those who have experienced this type of trouble.

Someone can argue that he should be treated..I think he tried, he even took a therapist to the Illusion tour, but of course it didn´t work very well and it's also obvious that a world tour was not the best environment for such a demanding treatment..I have a friend who has been treating since when he was a  teenager, when he was diagnosed, he had a much less dramatic life than Axl and he still lives on a pain in the ass roller coaster. 

And to all this shit above we also can add the story of those who went from poverty to wealth and fame in the blink of an eye. Yeah now we can talk about this Diva thing of course only if we can pretend that none of that shit mentioned above exists or happened.

Anyway, about the thread´s title..His behavior has been changing for a while now..It's not something that happened overnight..And yeah, I think he knows ..He has Internet access and he must have read a lot about it in the press. 

Recently I went through an interesting book called "living as intellectually gifted". It`s a quiet new topic and basically the book was about how are these people different from the rest and how to get on with the world if you happen to be wired for extreme intelligence and empathy. Even it seems like gift, it comes in package with demons (to note, these people are often diagnosed as ADHD or ADD).

People born like this are androgynous: in men it`s that "diva" behavior, because they are abnormally sensitive and emotional towards self and environment for their gender (even for most women). They can be confused, because they cannot compare their experience with others (it`s less than 2% of these people in population; women are "man smart", analytic and decisive) or even explain it. In old interviews Axl described an ability to perceive mood of audience - and I swear I saw him doing this onstage, it`s hard to describe but I know that gut feeling when someone does it in my presence. I don`t think he could describe in extend he was believed what he perceives and even less he was believed if he was that golden goose to be onstage to earn money.  Same way he can recognize and create delicate mood nuances in a song.

Other thing this heightened sensitivity is extreme demand of private space, because each and every person makes vibe they perceive - and many people around mean noise and confusion. Demanding people makes you feel like they are tearing your energy apart. One of ways they react on overwhelming and frustration is throwing a tantrum. 

Environment on a tour is extreme. Also environment of abusive, insecure home is extreme and has much stronger impact on a sensitive, intelligent kid than on other, normal kids. even worse if the environment violently requires not to step out of crowd.

I don`t think he has a disorder, even some kids treated for psychiatric disease I know are just like that, weirdos, misunderstood, estranged from others, but otherwise amazing, often bright, visionary and artistic people. Normal ways don`t work for them and sometimes they build ugly coping mechanisms just to protect their hearts on their sleeve (they can`t do different). They are million times advised, how to behave, how to play well with others, how to be happy... and because it does not work, there comes frustration and self-doubts. Even their "super powers" are so natural and easy for them that they don`t believe how amazing they actually are, so at the end they are bunch of insecurities. They also navigate their lives by motives that completely make sense to them - and not so much to others. One other thing these intellectually gifted people have in common is authenticity and harsh honesty towards self and others. I bet Axl analyzed himself more than most people. I don`t think he identifies with his media picture, maybe that showy persona he developed during NuGNR era to protect himself can be count...

You know what works? Even finding out that you are not fault, cursed or loony, just rare. And what ultimately works is the feeling that you are unconditionally accepted and loved as whole.