Central Perk is Actually a Mental Hospital, You Didn't Know?

What if Central Perk wasn’t a coffee shop at all, but rather the cafeteria to a mental institution in which the six central characters were placed at? 

Too big a jump? Let’s see. 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S seems to be about six people all living in Manhattan at the same time. As they navigate their way through their own lives they connect and become lifelong friends.

So, they all just happened to be in the same place at the same time? Not too believable. There must be another explanation. 

Central Perk and the surrounding neighborhood may just be a psych ward housing these friends and their serious emotional issues. 

There's more.

Monica, Joey, Rachel, Chandler, Phoebe, and Ross all have some sort of mental affliction that they need to work through. Suffering from a variety of personality disorders, they are confined to a facility and can only shuffle between their rooms. 

You may still be a bit hesitant to believe this theory. Let me better explain each one of their disorders.

Monica Geller

Monica has been left with tons of insecurities thanks to her mother's constant criticism which later manifests into some serious type of obsessive compulsive disorder. Ross being the “favorite” child growing up while she was often ignored has left her with a need to please others, causing her need for control, therefore producing OCD. A Type A personality without a doubt. Neat freak! Everything must be clean and organized or else a fit will be thrown. A piece of furniture moved a centimeter..AHHHH..you are in big trouble!

Ross Geller

Monica’s brother Ross seems to be in an everlasting state of depression ever since Carol left him along with her annoucement that she was a lesbian. Massive relationship troubles. Jealousy. Anger issues. These problems develop from his lack of trust in others. Ross’ anger issues emerge one day at work when he transforms into a raging monster, screaming at his boss because his sandwich was stolen. This lands him fired and in therapy (But I guess he was already in therapy).  He becomes even more socially awkward, not knowing how to behave and confused about his whole life leading up to this point. He believed that his love with Carol was real, and when that ended in an unexpected way and his heart shattered. 

Rachel Green

Not only a narcissist, Rachel also has histrionic personality disorder - the need to always be the center of attention. Rachel Green, dramatic, spoiled, sassy, and stylish which all seem to work to her advantage. She has a hard time being happy for other people. When Monica and Chandler wanted to move in together she couldn’t help but be upset that she was losing her roommate. She seems to only like Ross when he is in a relationship with someone else. Julie, Bonnie, and Emily three of Ross’ girlfriends are all hurt by Rachel and her selfish personality. She doesn’t care who she is hurting. Rachel first, always. 

Chandler Bing

Chandler has severe social anxiety in which his entire personality is used as a defense mechanism - including his sardonic sense of humor. It seems that Chandler suffers from a psychological disorder known as Social Phobia. As the show continues, Chandler goes on to

display symptoms such as having a persistent fear of many social performance situations. His inability to ask a girl out on a date, helplessness when cornered by people in positions of power, unable to say “no” in situations that call for it, and importantly the fear of anything long term including marriage. Chandler can’t even get through a conversation without making a sarcastic comment. He lacks making eye contact and being able to deal with authority. He overthinks every single word that comes out of his mouth. There are several instances where Chandler talks about bed-wetting as a result of his parents divorce and making self deprecatory jokes when embarrassed. Chandler has difficulty building relationships, he only had one friend throughout all of highschool. He tends to have many panic attacks throughout the show including when he is trying to propose to Monica. His issues seem to be caused by trauma he had during his childhood

JOEY TRIBBIANI
Joey may just be in love with food but I believe that there is more to it. Joey has a binge eating disorder which is why every time he sits down he ends up eating two pizzas, a whole cherry pie, and of course the whole chicken dinner. Joey cares more about his food that he does about women, and that is saying something. His disorder causes him to eat an unimaginable amount of food during each sitting. Although this may be played off as a joke on the show, his disorder is serious as are other eating disorders.

P H O E B E
Schizophrenic behavior is seen in Phoebe throughout the entire show. Each season brings new quirks and weirdness which definitely stemmed from her abnormal childhood. Her mother committed suicide and her father went to jail. Phoebe’s schizotypal personality disorder presents illogical ideas, hallucinations, strange emotional responses, and memory problems. Phoebe believes that her mother’s soul is in a cat, feels that an old lady’s soul is trapped inside of her, has illogical solutions for her friends problems, and reacts strangely to shocking news. 

Maybe it’s all in my head…

The craziness of the show allows me to believe that this theory may just be true. 

What F.R.I.E.N.D.S character do you relate to the most?