How does F.R.I.E.N.D.S teach us Psychology?

Every character on the show is equipped with a distinguished personality. Did you know that they are also the ones to portray various psychological traits?

Let’s dig into each character and identify what they portray. No, we are not trying to ruin the show for you, we love it too! We are just trying to add a different perspective.

You remember how Monica hates when someone else cleans for her. That is because she loves to keep things in order and hides every mess in her closet. Rachel and Chandler independently tried to clean the apartment but it all got messed up when Monica found out about it. So what do we know from this? The character of Monica played by Courtney Cox has symptoms of OCD. Well OCD is not just confined to cleaning, therefore, we cannot diagnose her but we think she has symptoms!

What about everyone’s favorite and loving Joey who doesn’t love to share food? Well, we think that Joey has a Type B personality. Easy going and chill loves his friends to the core, is protective of his people but also believes in having loads of fun. Full of innocence and with good communication skills especially with the ladies. We think it's Type B, what about you?

Now comes the two most interesting subjects, Chandler and Phoebe. Both of them have been portrayed as having childhood issues. The former’s parents got divorced, his dad was gay and his mother hugely attractive, stopped being there for him, and wrote erotic novels. But what did it result into? Thanksgiving got ruined for him, he hates his job, finds it hard to trust, and uses sarcasm and humor as a defense mechanism. In one episode where Ross wanted Rachel to dress up as Star Wars Character Princess Leia, Chandler mentioned how he imagines his mother while engaging in physical intimacy. Well, we all know what Freud said about the oedipal Complex.

Phoebe on the other hand had a very hard childhood on the streets as her father left and her mother killed herself. Struggling through the years she finally landed a job as a masseuse and found self-love as her priority. We learn a lot from Phoebe’s independent, affectionate character accompanied by her interesting delusions. She thinks she is a great singer, that Ross did something bad to her, keeps rats as pets, and did not have a long-term relationship except with Mike. She does have symptoms of Schizotypal Personality disorder with all her illogical beliefs and perceptions. Though we cannot deny that Lisa Kudrow nailed the performance!

 Who are we to say about Ross cheating with another woman on Rachel! After all, THEY WERE ON A BREAK! The most boring of all but also the smartest. One of a kind love for dinosaurs, always having a failed marriage that is our Ross with three divorces. We all wanted Ross and Rachel to be together and the end was exhilarating. We think Ross is our introvert who struggled with talking to people and often found it uncomfortable. But with his friends, he was this weirdo who ruined Chandler’s and Joey’s apartment with his shifting boxes and Monica’s relationship with her parents. But in the end, we all know who got the Porsche.

 And finally, the one in the beautiful wedding dress who never got married, or did she in Vegas? In the recent reunion of Friends, the directors revealed that it was hard to find the best suit for Rachel and then Jennifer showed up! She made the narcissistic character loving with her innocence. She did nail it at Ralph Lauren even if she was a bad waitress for years. Well, we all know why Gunther did not fire her from the job. A strong and popular cheerleader, can woo any guy (wood one to give her SATs), cries every time things go wrong, and hates when anyone questions her. Rachel was always full of herself but matured during the show becoming one of the most loved characters. We think she had narcissistic issues, after all her dad was the proudest of her among all the three Green sisters. Let’s all agree that we shared a laugh when Rachel compared her to a Shoe! 

Well, that was our take on the show Friends, let us know what’s yours!