LYDIA MARTIN

MENTAL HEALTH ANALYSIS

TRIGGER WARNING: this writing will include my insights into lydia and her mental health. this will be things such as certain events and how they impact her, her guilt and feelings of failure, the feelings that she hides from others, and relationship headspaces. areas of this oneshot may be triggering to some, so please beware if this may cause discomfort. 

"everyone grieves differently"

"nobody is perfect"

"failure is a stepping stone to success" 

throughout her entire life, lydia martin had heard these statements, never feeling the pressure or reasoning behind them. growing up, she felt shielded from societal expectations, the perfection that was assumed from girls, etc. due to her luxuries and comforts, people started to be drawn towards her in middle school. like anyone else, she had her group of friends, but things changed, people changed. towards the end of middle school, she began putting on the act of how she wanted others to perceive her, and by high school things were set in motion. as we first get to know lydia she seems fairly pretentious, self absorbed, and a typical popular girl. much of this facade is caused by her relationship with jackson whittemore.

a toxic relationship can mean different things for different people, but with lydia and jackson, he constantly belittled the young girl. she never felt like she was good enough for him or to be seen with him. words can hurt, and that was a large aspect of the rocky relationship. these issues mainly stayed hidden to the public eye, as the two gave off the vibe of a stable relationship. they easily climbed the social ladder at beacon hills high school and gained a reputation to their names. jackson strived for perfection in whatever he did, gaining and attitude and cockiness to him. when things didn't go his way, he often blamed lydia, wanting more from her and claiming that she could have done better. at one point, jackson even referred to lydia as 'dead weight within his life'. not only the belittlement, but due to his inferiority, lydia concealed her intelligence for quite some time. her achievements and capabilities were dumbed down and she played a somewhat ditzy character during their relationship. 

with all that being said, the two had a sense of trust between them. as challenges were being unveiled within beacon hills, jackson was quick to protect lydia. he helped her through some tough times, showing their loyalty to each other. the two had an on and off relationship, with passion and lust, but there is an aspect that will never leave lydia. from this relationship, she learned to carry herself at a higher standard. she didn't let boys push her around or use her, rather she would use them at times. her view on relationships changed completely, and it was hard for her to comprehend someone truly caring for her. 

as her story unfolds and she gets involved with the pack, pressures begin to build. not only does lydia put pressures upon herself, but the supernatural aspect of everything amplifies the stress. while we put aside the stress of family and personal life, schoolwork and extracurriculars, and randomized events, lydia strives to please others. we see this especially in the first few seasons in an underlying sense. she wants people to like her, she wants to please others, and wants to do what she can to give people the best experience possible. 

in regards to the pack, she struggles to do her part sometimes. she often worries that she isn't pulling her weight or that she is letting everyone down. as she first discovered her powers and abilities she felt like the weak link, although she would never admit that to anyone. there are times when she lets the pack down, which is one of the worst feelings to her. the thought eats away at her, keeping her up at night, embarrassing her, and also pushing her to be the best version of herself. 

lydia martin has gone through a lot, especially in the recent years of her life. first off, she was attacked by alpha peter hale, only then to be haunted and possessed after the incident. emotionally, she felt numb, as she was dealing with relationship struggles as well. these events messed with her mind, causing confusion and hesitation in her daily life, something that was not common for the girl. along the way, she has lost many friends and loves, such as allison argent, jackson whittemore, aiden steiner, and more. she has been attacked on multiple occasions, each one leaving her with self discovery. each attack helped shape lydia into the person she is. she gains a strong sense of will power, determination, loyalty, and trust amongst other characteristics. 

with the supernatural presence in beacon hills, her life changed for good. it answered many questions and uncovered new ones, all the while changing the world she knew. one of her first losses was her grandmother. while others deemed her insane, lydia had a fairly close relationship with the woman. years later, she is able to discover their similarities as she uncovers her banshee history. banshees are very rare and tend to be seen as monstrous creatures, wailing towards death, and being rather helpless. lydia didn't want to follow the stereotype, so she chose to use her abilities for good. these powers and abilities were far from easy to control. while she continues to learn, she has gotten used to some aspects of the specialty. the voices in her head often made her rethink her sanity when they first appeared. she didn't know what to think, especially as they led her to murder scenes. she is far from achieving full control, but she realizes that she is not under control of the supernatural. she cherishes the fact that she is connected to her supernatural friends in a way that others are not. while being a banshee has its struggles, she is proud of how she can adapt to the situations it throws her way. 

considering everything that has been mentioned thus far, we must also consider how she copes. lydia is the kind of person that keeps her emotions to herself. she doesn't want to burden anyone with her personal issues, she doesn't want to receive their pity, or her reputation be tarnished in any way. a lot of this deals with her being able to trust someone. at the start of our story, she is not particularly close to people, especially in terms of a shoulder to cry on. because of this, she has learned to cry alone in her car, bedroom, or bathroom. as her personality and characteristics develop, we see this start to change. as she gets closer to the pack, she lets her emotional guard down more and more. she lets these people in, letting them see the worst sides of her, as they develop closer relationships. while she grows to let others comfort her in times of need, she still has moments where she puts on a strong face. 

"just because no one else can heal or do your inner work for you doesn't mean you can, should, or need to do it alone." - lisa olivera