Rabbit

I like this one better!! He looks ~hungrey~

It looks like he's on meth.

He's naturally high on happiness! :0)

Ironically, y'all, this pic disturbs me.

It reminds me of the Rabbit in Donnie Darko...oooo...ok so now it disturbs me too! The more I look at it...the more something bothers me...

Aww look it's me when i wake up, my hair sticking up into ear/horn like things a big grin on my face and looking like i'm gonna kill someone. Mornings are the best.

Something about this bunny is a wee bit disturbing.

maybe because he has HUGE teeth.

I wonder if it was a patient's "imaginary friend"?

And anna wins the prize! That is exactly correct! When we are interpreting drawings we have a ~few~ guidelines to go by, since everyone is so very individual, but frequently it is the case that if someone draws huge teeth it indicates a bit of a hostile touch. Not always, just sometimes, and you need to know 2,000 other things about the person and the conditions under which the drawing was made before you can have any faith in this, but for a "cold read" it is a tad disturbing. :-)

Here in México, we have some demon/nightmare like figures called Alebrijes, I'd say this could be one of them. Imagine what was thinking or feeling the person that drew it.

Wow that is creepy...the eyes...the smile....eek

Barbara, you beat me on this one! The eyes are what got to me first. I didn't notice the teeth until later, but did notice the ominous smile. It is creepy! What a find, Motts!

Mott's, was this image drawn on the bare plaster ?
Did there appear to be other images or writing, i just wonder what else is hidden under the paint.

I love this pic...

Wow, to be institutionalized, not getting any, AND be living up north- that would be like a trifecta.....

I'm with Lynne on this one. The Teeth and what appears to be a set of second human ears freak me out. Adding the eyelashes I wonder if this was a subconscious self-portrait.

Well, overall this isn't too bad if it is done by someone who is at the 4 to 6 year developmental level. Lots of little kids draw long ears on bunny rabbits and forget that they don't also have ears at the side of their heads like people do. It's sort of an egocentric thing at that age. The eyelashes are actually a good thing (as are the eyebrows and the curve of the cheeks) - extra detail = + intelligence. The only thing odd about this (other than the fact that this tells me it was either drawn by someone who was very young or who was developmentally very young, which is sad if they were in a psychiatric hospital and especially if this was a seclusion room) is the drawn teeth which sometimes indicate hostility. Of course, if the person was very young or was developmentally immature and was in seclusion, you can certainly understand them being somewhat pissed off.

Anyways, I shouldn't even be engaging in this sort of speculative shenanigans, not knowing anything about the person who drew this. For all we know, one of the staff may have had their child with them at work one day (we have seen in other posts that this was not an uncommon occurrence in the past) and maybe the child drew on the wall and then it got painted over.

P.S. Almost all portraits are self-portraits in some way, and I'm not even a Freudian. :-)

Very interesting pic, would love to see more of the resident's artwork.

Had to post on this again, you know, this pic is very striking and so far the only one on this site which has actually managed to make me uncomfortable...on the other hand, the fact that the rabbit character has four ears is hilarious. Think about it, if you were drawing a picture of a rabbit on a wall, you would of course include two large ears up top, but, somewhere during the process of drawing this rabbit, you lost track of just exactly what is was that you were doing..in this momentary lapse of awareness, you may have inadvertently drawn a pair of ears on the sides of the rabbits face. Of course even after you finished you didn't realize that it was wrong, after all, where are your ears?

I totally see what Lynne is saying...what is so weird those is how proportionally drawn the "bunny" ears are...there is no wavering, it would suprise me if a young child could steady their hand that well. Then again, I'm not around young children much. For all we know, it could have been some bored teenager thinking they were being funny.

I have to say.... That we can only see one actual ear on the side of the bunny's head, let me propose this.... maybe it is the fluffly lil tail on the rabbit's behind. You CAN'T have a bunny picture with out the fluffly lil tail, now can you?

Being a former 'doodler' who scribbled 'artwork' on almost everything, I can relate to the picture. I didn't want to say this before, but it does resemble one of my old drawings. I would start out with a regular smiley face, then tack on the side ears, then add some curly hair with 'antennas'. Most of these had little lines at the top, as if they were transmitting something. (LOL) As for the mouth, it was common for me to draw big teeth with big fangs. I never thought I was showing hostility. All I remember was not too many people liking my 'artwork', and as I got older, it just faded away.

I just posted a sample of my 'artwork' on the PBR Blog...

http://puddleboyrules.blogspot.com/

I don't agree with the tail thesis, I think that somebody drew a self portrait showing the way that he or she felt in that moment. It's not unusual to project your inner self trough an animal image (totems) I apologize for my poor english, hope you can understand what i mean.

I think the extra two 'ears' are ARMS. remember, this drawing was drawn by a patient and it is in a psychiatric hospital.

hey lynne,you seem to know a lot about this sort of thing...do you work in a psyc hospital or just know alot about the subject??just wondering...

You just wait, you cheshire-cat-esque scary ass bunny rabbit...I just bought a pack of brand new pink erasers...


then again, I'd never deface such an interesting defacement.

Will B. -

Licensed clinical psych with dual emphasis in clinical child psych and mental retardation, plus years and years and more years of working in various facilities, group homes, schools, hospitals, private homes, blah, blah, blah, blah. :-)

How come when adults talk to someone thats not there it's scitsophrenia (definitly speeled wrong) but when a kid has an imaginary friend it's cute? The name of the bunny rabbit in Donnie Darko is Frank. I watched it like four times in a row and still don't get it. Either way it's still my favorite movie.

Lynne,
i know the comments on this picture are getting long, but what does the circle drawn around the rabbit symbolize ?

psycadellic one,

This drawing prompted to look back through some of my old testing materials. I couldn't find my cognitive scoring paperwork, but I am now going to stake $1.20 (that's a large sum for me) that the bunny was indeed drawn by someone at the 4 to 6 year developmental level. Since I mainly test children of all cognitive levels and adults with intellectual disabilities, I like using drawings to start a testing session to warm the person up and give them something "fun" to do. I have had good luck using drawings to estimate cognitive level - the results correlate fairly well with standardized intelligence tests. I *rarely* use them for emotional interpretation, as they sometimes reflect more about the interpreter than the interpretee. :-)

I couldn't find anything about a circle being drawn around the drawing, and again we are merely speculating here (think of this as a sophisticated parlor game, y'all), but I am remembering that a circle around a drawing would probably be interpreted as one of several things. 1-) The person has some organicity (brain damage) and needs to draw a boundary for the drawing so it "stays in one place." People with brain trauma or other organic issues sometimes have a hard time knowing where one thing stops and another starts, so they will sometimes draw a boundary to help them establish edges. If they draw on a piece of paper they sometimes can't "negotiate space" and will start too close to the edge of the paper and their drawing may end up being squished so it will all fit on the paper, or sometimes parts are left off because they can't orient themselves to start the drawing in the middle of the paper and they run out of room. 2-) The person feels closed in or trapped. 3-) The person feels secure and homey and all nestled up.

So you see, there is a way to interpret it as either bad or good. You have to put it in context with a bazillion other variables.

I did some quick research scanning and there is definitely some support for prominent teeth in a drawing being indicative of hostility. However, it doesn't indicate whether YOU feel hostile or whether you feel others are being hostile TOWARD you.

OK, more than anyone ever wanted to know about the interpretation of drawings. :-)

Ron, my little buddy,

You win the gazillion dollar prize! That has been a huge problem in my field. For years (and even today, I am ashamed to have to admit) when someone with an intellectual disability talked to an imaginary friend they ran the risk of being labeled schizophrenic and put on meds. If you look at their developmental level, however, you see that this is not abnormal or unexpected. Lots of young children at the very same developmental level have imaginary friends and they are not (normally, thank God) put on medication because of it. As well, when there was crappy funding and staffing levels were low, there were times when some folks had no one else to talk to who was verbal, so a good way to pass the time was to make up an imaginary friend.

If people bother to take the time to look (and many don't), there is a world of difference between an imaginary friend and a hallucination. Imaginary friends are generally positive experiences and the person with one doesn't change their overall functioning level. They still interact with others, they remember to eat and drink and take care of hygiene, etc. Hallucinations, on the other hand, are generally very frightening or upsetting and the person shows general signs of deterioration along with them, such as forgetting about hygiene, getting paranoid over almost anything, etc.

I didn't read all the comments because there are so gard-dern many...but maybe someone else realized that the base of the bunny is a side view of a right-hand closed fist (ewww, precision)...am I the only one who has ever drawn a face on her hand and made it talk?...like Topogiggio? (Man, am I saying a lot about my, er wise years?...

My guess is a child traced their hand then got creative in the palm area. Remember the turkey handprints from 1st grade? You traced your handprint on construction paper, then cut it out. The thumb was the neck and head and the fingers became the feathers. I think there was a layer glued on top for the body. That's my guess.

FOLLOW THE WHITE RABBIT

Well I've read your opinions on bunny ears but that means that they're two sets of ears, or maybe stubby hands? Also what is his head connected do? A rotting potato. Well thats my opinion, hoped you liked it.

Chip the paint off from the right side of the bunny. I bet the fricking thing is flipping us off.

Schizo bunny from HELL! RUN!

It's possible that a pissed off patient drew this intentionally to freak out a staff member. That is possible isn't it?

Prolly not.

Lynne,
Just out of curiousity (I know I can't spell lol) did you ever deal with a patient who did intentionally do bad stuff just to get on the staffs nerves?

All the time. Still do. :-)

Thanks Lynne,
Has a patient ever managed to do something so disturbing that deep down you were a bit unnerved?
Sorry for all the questions but I find it so fasniating to hear the opinions of those who work with and care for the mentally ill.
Sorry about my spelling. :)

Run Rabit ! Run !!

He looks........delightfully mad.

This reminds me of a modern cartoon rabbit that has all kinds of evil, degrading, and just plain rude little sayings. Ever heard of "Happy Bunny"? Maybe this child grew up to be the artist!

Regarding the "extra ear", I don't think that it is an ear at all. I believe that what we have here is an attempt at perspective of sorts. It appears that the front leg is directly below the face. I believe that the bump is the end of the rabbit's other foot peaking out from the other side. Think of one of those little stuffed animals that lays on it's stomach. Maybe this lonely child/adult had a stuffed toy that was it's only friend and they gave it a bit of a personality.

Could it be that it is a top down view, with the head tilted back and torso in a straightjacket?
The circle around it may just be to emphasize the picture or to frame it, I often do this when i draw things that i want to stand out.

This picture creeps me out more than it should for several reasons, many stated by others:

- It's an outline of a fist. Probably someone with a pencil got bored and traced their hand on the wall, then got creative.
- The perspective is "off". It's hard to tell what angle this is or what composes the "body". Is it laying down? Are we looking at it from above?
- The expression. It's taken something normally cute and happy and made it a little TOO MUCH so. Like the Cheshire Cat's grin, it looks "wrong"... not as in incorrect, but as in so close to normal- but not QUITE.

Creepy. I approve!

First thing...anybody else reminded of Bunnicula, who would suck all the stuff out of carrots and lettuce?

Second...I completely agree with the "imaginary friend being ok for adults" theory. I don't know if it's just because I like to talk a lot and don't always have a willing listener, or if it's just that the ones you make up always say what you want them to say so YOU can say what you wanna say, but i have hosts of imaginary people I talk to constantly. However it's only when I'm alone and I'm confident in the fact that they are not real. =)

If that makes me crazy, then hell I'll embrace the insanity!

Florida Jen have you ever read a book by Ceclila Ahern? Its fiction but involves a woman and her relationship with her nephews imaginary friend. Its a beautiful story....you should give it a read. I highly recommend it!

yeah his imagenary friend is kind of odd but its normal for kids they are lonley so they create someone to play with

I am thinking that maybe one person drew the person...maybe themself or a staff member. and then maybe a second person added the rabbit ears to an existing drawing. or maybe the same person added the ears but I think they were added after the figure was drawn.

no matter who drew it and why, this thing creeps the hell outta me.

There was another drawing that was taken, of a bird? Well i think that maybe the same person did them? Or maybe alot of the paitents drew on their walls. I know I draw and paint all over my walls when i am bored. And i know when i am doodling and i keep drawing the same thing over and over until i come across the one that i like the most and i circle it. I know my dad dosent have the best drawing ability and this resembles something very simular to what my dad would draw. He draws me and my sister pictures to get us to laugh. Maybe this person wanted to have something to make him/her laugh. There are many possibilities for this.

wow this bunny reminds me of the bunny in "Donnie Darko"...and his smile is what gets to me...=(

"Look, that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!"

It looks like the bunny from Donnie Darko.

I just had to comment, though I am over a year too late. I believe this to not be drawn by a child, but an adult. I also believe this to be his version of a demon or devil. The bunny ears, horns, which is why it resembles a human. Most adults who are institutionalized to contribute "child-like" qualities.

That is one rascally rabbit!

That is one disturbing rabbit, or devil?! Damn I got the chills.....

the bunny has mad eyes like the walls of this fantastic place

you're very good with not peeling the paint to see what else is there... if i had found this i probably would have kept chipping away out of curiosity to see what else i could find... haha. this picture also gives me unsettling feelings... like i can't get it out of my head sometimes. good photo.

i just accidentally visited this site, i just want to visit a site wherein i can learn to interpret a drawing of a psychiatric patient since i am a nurse..coz we didn't actually learned the whole process of interpretation..i've been to a mental hospital for our duty and i've seen a lot of drawing from the residents their, drawing of my patient and the others..

this one really amazes me and freaks me out inside..it didn't actually look like a rabbit..it has 3 or 4 ears..huge teeth and eyes..and really disturbing smile..

to be able to interpret or judge a drawing u must somewhat learn the past and history of the patient and im really curious..wheew..!!!

Sometimes a bunny is just a bunny. Good Lord, do you all know how incredibly boring these places are? Whenever I wasn't writing I would draw cubes. Does that have some deep psychological meaning?

Consider this : Perhaps it is not a rabbit at all... perhaps it is a demon, and those are horns, not bunny ears.

Perhaps the patient felt troubled by this creature, and drew a circle aroud it as a way to keep it confined, in a symbolic way.

The expression on the face seems both amused and menacing -- perhaps the patient hallucenated a creature who enjoyed being malicious.

Typically, people (adults and children) draw eyelashes to denote femininity.

I think it's a female demon, not a bizare bunny.

Just another "Funny Bunny"!

by far my favorite collection..however the drawing reminds me a little of Donnie Darko's bunny. Run, bunny, run!

also, the bunny is in a cirlce, a circle usually represents protection, maybee they didnt feel safe and scaired witht hehuge teeth

or maybee they felt inprisoned in their thoughts and in realty, which would be understandable. because they was,

the rabbit has normal rabbit ears... and then it also has human like ears on the sides of its head.. and the circle around it... i wonder what was going through the mind of the person who drew this...

That is really nice concept dude.iam genuinely proud of you . Do u have twitter?? i want to adhere to you .thx