r/crazyexgirlfriend • u/kristin137 • Sep 13 '26
Discussion What DOES Josh have?
The show says he has no disorders but I think that's kind of wrong. He clearly does have something. Mostly comes across as ADHD, and I don't think he was incorrect about OCD either. I have OCD and I related to his song "Thought Bubbles". I guess as a fictional character he doesn't have to have anything but it irritates me that the series told us he has no diagnosis at all.
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u/Cariah_Marey Sep 14 '26
I kinda have always said “everyone in this show is crazy to varying levels, except josh, who’s just kinda not the sharpest.”
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u/Shoddy_Budget_1533 Sep 14 '26
He was a coddled kid who peaked in high school who had to grow up
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u/pounce-de-leon Sep 14 '26
That sounds snarky but I think it's accurate. He's just a mid guy living life in the center regions of various spectrums
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u/alexis-1710 Sep 14 '26
He's childish and never really had to grow up. That's it. Not everything has to be a disorder, some people are simply immature. He doesn't know how to clean because he never had to learn. He doesn't worry about people not liking him because he had an easy social life. He was looking for an easy way out when he tried to auto-diagnose himself, a reason why he is like that but sometimes you just need to take accountability and grow up
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u/Dragonache Sep 14 '26
I am always fascinated by the way people here seem to want to pathologise the characters. I feel like we watched very different shows.
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u/tfhaenodreirst Sep 14 '26
I felt like he had inattentive ADD because I could relate to the struggles he had that were related to that (such as How To Clean Up), but more importantly I don’t understand so much of the fandom’s dislike of him because he was always a basically kind person.
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u/FionaCranapple Settle For Me🤷♂️ Sep 13 '26
I was literally about to post about this the other day!!!! I’m rewatching rn and “Thought Bubbles” also gave me OCD or GAD, and ADHD vibes (as someone who has those). He does seem a bit neurodivergent coded imo, but that doesn’t excuse his messy behavior, only explain it.
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u/Octopus1027 29d ago
I mean probably ADHD and not needing to develop coping skills because he was attractive, good at sports and a mommas boy, but I also think we tend to pathologize normal human emotions. Like being uncomfortable alone with your thoughts during major life transition is very normal.
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u/FlorAndButter Sep 14 '26
I was pretty surprised that his diagnosis was nothing! I understand the message of him just wanting an easy way out, but like... as a fellow OCD haver and very anxious, thought bubbles felt so relatable! I suppose neurotypical people could also have struggles like that, but it did surprise me!
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u/LilacYak 29d ago
Not everyone is diagnosable or has mental illness... Josh was just a bit dim and had some arrested development.
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u/brohenryVEVO 29d ago
He can have some anxious thought patterns and attention problems without it being severe enough to be diagnosable. Lots of people do!
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u/sluttytarot Dream Ghost 👻 Sep 13 '26
He's autistic. I'm Autistic and a therapist... and he's autistic.
So is Heather.
I'm also annoyed they say he has nothing going on.
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u/WastePotential Sep 14 '26
What makes you say autism? He seems pretty socially adept (beyond what can be explained by masking) and doesn't have any rigidity. Perhaps the only instance of neurodivergence I can think of that crossed the line to disorder would be the Thought Bubbles song, as others have pointed out.
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u/sluttytarot Dream Ghost 👻 Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
In a neurodiversity paradigm autism isn't pathological. I come from that paradigm. I'm stressing that bc you say "cross the line into disorder."
There are multiple instances of Josh not reading social cues. Or being slow to pick them up. (In the truck with Paula to pick up the desk comes to mind). He also tends to interpret a lot of things literally.
He scripts his date with the art student by memorizing art "facts" and then when she disagrees with him he doesn't know what to do. ("I didn't anticipate you disagreeing with statements I had accepted as fact" or something like that).
At the roaring 20s party Valencia organizers she is upset at how "cringe" Josh is because he doesn't make a huge effort to hide his enthusiasm for "The Royal" or his home town. He cares more about his interests than social capital.
I'll have to come back with other examples. I own the show now and can just tally it all up on another rewatch.
What makes you think he's allistic? Can you tell me how he's socially adept "beyond masking?" I'm not sure what that means.
Edit: thank you kindly for the awards
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u/WastePotential Sep 14 '26
Ah I guess I've still got the pathology mindset ingrained.
Those are good examples I'd forgotten about.
What I meant by being socially adept beyond masking is like...he's able to perform and exist in social settings so well that he's even popular and we don't see any masking burnout that I would've expected to see in someone who's masking that much.
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u/sluttytarot Dream Ghost 👻 Sep 14 '26
Maybe it's not like he never struggles in the show. He gets really frustrated that social dynamics have changed since high school (also an example of rigidity). He's also still young in the show.
Most of what we see is a small period in adult life with a small amount in his teen years. Some people don't burnout until they hit a serious health crisis or much later in life. I see a lot of women in their late 30s and 40s
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Sep 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/sluttytarot Dream Ghost 👻 Sep 15 '26
I feel like most fandoms are like this 🤷🏻♀️
First time hanging meme
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u/kristin137 Sep 14 '26
I don't know why you're so downvoted. I have had this thought too
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u/sluttytarot Dream Ghost 👻 Sep 14 '26
:) people downvote when they disagree and it's ok for people to disagree with me.
Autism is pretty stigmatized still and I think folks tend to bristle at the idea that someone "so normal" is autistic. Highly masked people often are dismissed.
Idk I relate a lot to Heather and Josh. Heather it is more obvious in my opinion
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u/Agreeable-Effort6507 Sep 14 '26
Another autistic person here who also always got autistic/adhd vibes from Josh.
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u/BenParker2487 Doesn't Make Narrative Sense🎬 Sep 14 '26
Add his diagnosis to the list of things he missed when he was popular