Is there an official diagnosis for Cho?

Question

Autism... psychosis... schizoid personailty disorder... these are just some of the terms being thrown around for his mental condition.

Answer 1

It is reported he was diagnosed shortly after they moved to America (age 8) but I am skeptical of this autism diagnosis. I think it is more likely he was misdiagnosed.

He was clearly mentally ill. Either the family was unwilling to admit that & choose to claim he was autistic instead, OR he was BOTH autistic AND mentally ill.

So his mental illness never was treated.

But autism was not to blame for this tragedy.

Answer 2

I think my feelings on this subject are best expressed by a line from the New Line Cinema movie "Se7en," released in 1995, starring Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Brad Pitt as Detective David Mills.

Detective Mills: "He's a nut-bag!"

Answer 3

From what I understand he was being bullied all the time by other students. Imagine being emotionally abused everyday of your life with no one to turn to and then see if you don't end up with some sort of mental problem. It was caused by stress. He should have gone to see a therapist or something and talked to them about it. He just held it all inside till he snapped. That is not good.

Answer 4

Psychopath. Just like Eric Harris. Look up psychopathy on Wikipedia.

Answer 5

I want to say my heart goes out to the victims and families, having said that I think he might have needed help and should have gotten it. For all we know he was reaching for help and was ridiculed. I am not sure just speculation. we should be more kind and not so materialistic and selfish. should help one another as a society.

Answer 6

My psychologist said that from what she hears of him, he sounds like a paranoid schizophrenic.

Answer 7

I have no idea what he has, but he is obviously insane.

In is little video he rambles on and on about all of the "pain" he felt, and how "we" had one-hundred-billion chances to end this. His video seems to have a lot doing with rich people...was he poor?

Okay. Well first off, all of the students at VT said he was extremley quite.

Behavior at Virginia Tech
Fellow students described Cho as a "quiet" person who "would not respond if someone greeted him." Student Julie Poole recalled the first day of a literature class last year, when the students introduced themselves one by one: when it was Cho's turn, he did not speak. The professor, she said, looked at the sign-in sheet and where everyone else had written their names, Cho had written a question mark. "We just really knew him as the question mark kid," Poole added.
Cho's grandfather stated that "My grandson Seung-Hui was very shy. I can't believe he did such a thing." Professor Nikki Giovanni, who taught Cho in a poetry class, stated that she had him removed from her class because his behavior was so menacing. In fact she recalls being bothered by a "mean streak" Cho presented. She described Cho's writing as "intimidating... there was something mean about this boy. It was the meanness — I've taught troubled youngsters and crazy people — it was the meanness that bothered me. It was a really mean streak." When informed of the massacre, she remarked, "I knew when it happened that that's probably who it was," and "I would have been shocked if it wasn't." Giovanni insisted that Cho be removed from her class in 2005 about six weeks after the semester had started in September - Cho had intimidated female students by photographing their legs under the desk and by writing obscene, violent poetry.Giovanni said, "I was willing to resign before I would continue with him."Giovanni wrote a letter to then-department head Lucinda Roy, who removed Cho. Roy alerted student affairs, the dean's office, and the campus police, but each said there was nothing they could do if Cho had made no overt threats against himself or others. As a result, Roy, one of Cho's English professors, took Cho on as a kind of personal tutor.
Roy described Cho as "an intelligent man" but stated that he seemed to be an awkward and very lonely and insecure man who never took off his sunglasses, even indoors. She described his behavior as at times "arrogant" and "obnoxious". She said she tried several different ways to help him, including a decision to refer him for counseling which was unsuccessful. Roy would not comment at length on Cho’s writings, saying only that in general they “seemed very angry.” She said that he whispered, took 20 seconds to answer questions, and took cell phone pictures of her in class. After becoming concerned with his behavior and the themes in his writings, the professor started meeting with Cho to work with him one-on-one. She said she was concerned for her safety when she met with him. After notifying the legal authorities about his behavior, the professor urged Cho to seek counseling, but he refused.
According to an interview of both his roommates, John and Andy, on CNN, Cho listened to Collective Soul's "Shine" repeatedly and also wrote the lyrics down on his dorm room wall.

Official psychiatric evaluation
University officials said the school then obtained a "temporary detention order" from a local magistrate that allowed them to refer Cho to an off-campus medical facility. Cho was admitted to Carilion St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital on December 13, 2005. He was released the next day. According to Virginia law, "A magistrate has the authority to issue a detention order upon a finding that a person is mentally ill and in need of hospitalization or treatment." "The magistrate also must find that the person is an imminent danger to himself or others," says the guideline from Virginia's state court system. One of the photographs of Cho sent to NBC NewsIn 2005, Cho Seung-hui was temporarily detained for a psychiatric assessment, as he was suspected to be mentally ill and a danger to himself or others by a Montgomery County, Virginia district court. Virginia Special Justice Paul Barnett certified in an order that Cho Seung-hui "presents an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness," and directed that as a "Court-ordered Out-Patient he follow all recommended treatments." Following a psychiatric evaluation and medical exam which noted Cho's flat affect and depressed mood, he was told to undergo outpatient care and was released. Some reports state that Cho is believed to have been taking psychiatric medications for depression, but there is no record of this in federal prescription databases.The fact he was not committed later meant he was legally able to buy guns, avoiding the ban on those who have been involuntarily committed from owning firearms.



What I don't get is, what pain was he feeling.

I believe he made the pain up himself inflicting it to himself to give him some sort of reason on why he did it...or an excuse.

But he was the one who didn't open up.....

Answer 8

Metabolically challenged, i.e.,dead

Answer 9

Yeah, he's officially diagnosed as dead.

Answer 10

mass murderer.