To millions of children, Santa Claus is a beloved, colorful individual who brings them joy. However, if we dig deeper and examine Santa’s personality qualities it reveals that this is a deeply disturbed individual. The fact that Santa “sees you when you’re sleeping and knows when you’re awake” is a characteristic associated with tyrants. It’s quite disturbing. The all-seeing eye keeps those who are observed in a perpetual state of fear. Having privacy and personal space are positive components to an individuals mental health.

Santa Claus has a naughty and nice list which reveals he is judgmental. According to Caroline J. Simon Ph.D “Being judgmental distorts our perception of other people, of ourselves and of what matters most in living a well-lived human life. It feeds on and engenders a lack of sympathetic understanding of others.  It is often linked with other related character flaws: hypocrisy, self-righteousness, malice, insensitivity, and the enjoyment of destructive gossip.”

Santa is grossly overweight which could indicate that he is an emotional eater. It could also indicate that he may not think too highly of himself knowing the long term effects of obesity can be heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and others. 

Santa only works one day a year which may reveal that he has a lack of motivation or ambition to do more things with his life. Santa still wears the same outfit he’s worn for the past two hundred plus years which could also indicate that he’s not a risk taker.

Overall, I think that Santa Claus should start seeing a therapist because he does have a plethora of issues that deserve immediate attention.

Dr. John Huber (www.mainstreammentalhealth.org)