The Psychology of Danny

Psychologically Analyzing Danny

As a psychology major, I often find myself psychologically analyzing characters from books I read. Currently I am enrolled in Abnormal Psychology where we are leaning about how to measure and diagnosis different syndromes and disorders. One of these conditions is Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

One of the ways to measure this is to use the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, a method in which patients answer rate 1-5 how a much 12 separate statements regarding uncertainty relates to them. The less comfortable they report being with uncertainty, the more likely they are to have an anxiety disorder.

Throughout the book, Danny shows symptoms of anxiety with how she reacts to uncertainty.

The first statement is "Unforeseen events upset me greatly" to which I believe Danny would respond with a 5 (entirely characteristic of me).

Evidence of this includes being extremely upset when her mother turns her back on her when her father is around, she is outed as a superhero by graywytch, her mother removes her from school, and David treats her poorly when she comes out as being a girl.

To all of these unforeseen situations, Danny responds with angry outbursts or crying. Had she anticipated these events were about to happen, it is likely they would not have affected her as much.

The 11th statement is "I should be able to organize everything in advance." I believe Danny would also respond to this with a 5.

When Calamity suggests they fight Utopia after she blows up their last lead, Danny finds herself feeling conflicted as she has not had time to plan an attack, clearly not wanting to be spontaneous with it. In the past she has planned specific times to leave and be back at her house so as to avoid her parents finding out about her secrets.

I won't go into detail about all of the statements but in my opinion Danny would have a relatively high score on this scale. This means she is likely to have Generalized Anxiety Disorder or another form of anxiety. This condition affects how and may explain why she reacts to certain situations the way she does. Living with two huge secrets is bound to have a negative impact on your life and lead you to want to plan everything out meticulously to avoid any further anxiety inducing situations.

I will include a copy of the scale below. Feel free to rate Danny or even yourself on it!

Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale - Short Form

(Carleton, Norton, & Asmundson, 2007)

Please circle the number that best corresponds to how much you agree with each item.

	Not at all characteristic of me	A little characteristic of me	Somewhat characteristic of me	Very characteristic of me	Entirely characteristic of me
1. Unforeseen events upset me greatly.	1	2	3	4	5
2. It frustrates me not having all the information I need.	1	2	3	4	5
3. Uncertainty keeps me from living a full life.	1	2	3	4	5
4. One should always look ahead so as to avoid surprises.	1	2	3	4	5
5. A small unforeseen event can spoil everything, even with the best of planning.	1	2	3	4	5
6. When it’s time to act, uncertainty paralyses me.	1	2	3	4	5
7. When I am uncertain I can’t function very well.	1	2	3	4	5
8. I always want to know what the future has in store for me.	1	2	3	4	5
9. I can’t stand being taken by surprise.	1	2	3	4	5
10. The smallest doubt can stop me from acting.	1	2	3	4	5
11. I should be able to organize everything in advance.	1	2	3	4	5
12. I must get away from all uncertain situations.	1	2	3	4	5

About Me

Welcome to My Life

(the good, the bad, and the ugly)

Name: Katherine Weitbrecht

Major: Psychology and Criminology

Interests: Playing music, sewing, horseback riding, playing with my animals (2 chinchillas and a rabbit), playing video games, and blogging on occasion

Song: "Girl on Fire" By: Alicia Keys

Where I'm from: Braintree, MA

(Sunset Lake)

Have I come of age?

Personally I think coming of age has no definitive end. Everyone is constantly growing and evolving as people throughout their lives. I don't feel like I will ever reach a point where I can confidently say that I have completely come of age but I'm okay with that. I would rather continue to grow every day than to reach a peak where I no longer mature mentally.

I have always found myself in a higher stage of maturity of more mentally "of age" than my peers. However, at age 12 I started working for my family's business and had to give up gong to some sleepovers and birthday parties for the sake of making money and helping my family. At 12 years old that was hard for me to understand but by being put into that position I didn't have much of a choice but to learn to understand at an early age.

In freshman year of high school I got my first solo in a concert and had to get over my immense fear of public failure and learn to loosen up and live in the moment.

At age 16 my pen-pal and best friend became my boyfriend. While this may seem insignificant to coming of age, it has been one of the most life changing events that I have gone through. he lives 250 miles (around 5 hours) away from me. At age 16 I started working two jobs at once in order to afford plane tickets. Most people my age sign up for Tinder and enjoy meaningless flings but here I am at age 18 and I don't feel even a little disappointed that I never got to experience it because of the relationship I do have. It's emotionally taxing to be so far apart but it has taught me so many valuable lessons about communication, sacrifice, trust, and so much more. Not to mention, flying alone can be pretty scary.

Moving into college was a big step in my life. I had always lived in the same home throughout my entire life and never went to sleep away camps. Being away from my family (and my pets) was emotionally difficult but it threw me into a position where I would have to become more independent. I couldn't just ask my mom to do my laundry anymore or go hang out with my high school friends when I had a rough day. It was emotionally challenging as someone with social anxiety to force myself to go out and make new friends but in the end I did it and it was a huge milestone in my life. I also officially became super broke and had to take out loans (RIP).

Very early on into my freshman year in college I was violently attacked (I won't get into details). Although clearly it was very traumatizing, it made me aware of how serious of an epidemic this is on college campuses and that colleges tend to mishandle try to cover these stories up. I know people who follow my Instagram are sick of hearing me say it and probably think I'm crazy at this point but after going through this I found the whole process to be very troubling and problematic. The point is, going through all of that has been a big wake up call and ignited a passion in me that I never knew I had before.

Now, I make speeches alongside my lawyer, in front of high school seniors and their parents, warning them of the reality behind these issues and advising them how to handle it if they find themselves in a similar position. There was no feeling more satisfying than having people line up to thank me after making my very first speech. It made me feel mature and proud that I had done something that many adults cannot.

Overall, most of my coming of age process has occurred when I have been forcefully pushed out of my comfort zone and had to learn to navigate new situations. A coming of age has lots of ups and downs, each of which you grow from. It's not something that can be measured but you can just sense when something that has occurred will cause you to become more "of age" and you can see it in the way you handle situations you're put in.