On the flip side, we’ve all heard that Eeyore’s friends represent symptoms of some mental illness (Pooh = eating disorder, Piglet = anxiety, Tigger = ADHD, etc.). Maybe the reason they leave him alone is because they’re too mired in their own disorders to know that he might be troubled. Or more menacingly, maybe they’re fully aware of their own illnesses and don’t ask him to change so that he can never outgrow them and will always and forever be ‘one of us.’
I don't think so. Eeyore's friends clearly act as though they care about him and want him to feel better, they just do so without trying to pressure him to pretend he is okay when he isn't. And it's not just Eeyore either, Pooh regularly attempts to easy Pigets worries without ever belittling him for having them. Tigger might be caught up with his own issues, but even he will slow down a moment occasionally to comfort one of his friends.
And the idea that they seem to genuinely care but actually just want him to not outgrown them so they are only pretending to care is not the kind out behavior you get with the disorders that the minnie the pooh gang has. That is a sociopathic tendency, and none of the characters or sociopaths.
I think it's more likely that each of them is just doing their best job of being friends, not having any idea how go treat any of their disorders, or even being aware they have them. Eeyore's friends want the best for him.
It's just that no one in the whole gang understands how to treat any disorder. All their doing is trying their best to be good to each other and not do things that would make them upset. And most people find it upsetting to ja e their feelings undermined or be told to just "feel better" when they are upset.
And the idea that they seem to genuinely care but actually just want him to not outgrown them so they are only pretending to care is not the kind out behavior you get with the disorders that the minnie the pooh gang has. That is a sociopathic tendency, and none of the characters or sociopaths.
I think it's more likely that each of them is just doing their best job of being friends, not having any idea how go treat any of their disorders, or even being aware they have them. Eeyore's friends want the best for him.