Wow, I quite like what I said in that post! Thank you for the question and reminding me my own meta exists!
The way Loki’s depicted in the films, I see a lot of indicators of mental illness. He attempts suicide at least once (though I don’t think it’s hard to read the scene with Kurse as, at least, Loki displaying a disregard for his own survival). He openly admits to Frigga in a deleted scene that he wants to be unable to tell reality from illusion. These are some specific instances that feel very relatable to my own struggles with mental illness, but there’s just a general element to his character that speaks to many mentally ill fans. This offers an opportunity for a lot of different interpretations. I tend to characterize Loki as having depression, as I struggle with depression, but I know other people who characterize Loki as having bipolar disorder, BPD, etc. He has no stated diagnoses (something tells me Asgard’s even worse at treating mental illness than we humans are), so it’s really up to the viewer to determine that.
Like I said, I tend to think of Loki in terms of him having depression, or exhibiting depressive behaviors as part of another mental illness. People who are depressed, through no fault of their own, experience persistent sadness or apathy. This is the result of a malfunctioning brain. It’s not the choice of the individual. They are not choosing to be sad or apathetic, they are suffering from an illness. You’ve probably heard a similar comparison before, but when there’s a problem with someone’s… let’s say liver, we don’t demand that they fix it through sheer willpower. We treat the liver. The same should be true of the brain.
There are various ways to treat mental illness. Not everyone will take medication (though the more it’s destigmatized, the better). I can’t really imagine that Loki would ever take pills… or that they would work for him being a different species. However, I think he’d benefit from therapy (honestly, I can’t think of a MCU character that wouldn’t benefit from a bit of therapy). But, as I mentioned in that post, I think the first step is actually Loki getting what he wants, which isn’t anything unreasonable, imo. I mean, I think he has crimes to atone for, but people can still treat him with basic respect and decency while he does so. And Thanos’ defeat would certainly help Loki to feel a lot freer without that looming threat. (Let’s all live in a magical timeline where Loki isn’t dead!) After that point, where all of Loki’s basic needs are met and he has a support system, at least in his brother (though ideally he makes more friends), then he’s got to learn ways to manage his mental health and avoid self-destructive tendencies (oh boy does Loki have self-destructive tendencies). That’s about as specific as I can get on how he gets as close to happiness as possible. It’s management of a chronic illness. Some days are good. Some are alright. Some days are bad. You learn ways to continue, and when it’s a good time to let yourself have a break.
I hope this answered your question, or made it a little clearer what I meant in that post. I don’t know… do you want to add anything @philosopherking1887 (or any of my other followers–you’re all welcome to contribute with your perspectives)?
Nothing to add here. I think I do on the linked post, though. Off to do that.
Loki is the Philosopher King 