Histrionic personality disorder. Kind of a focused, smarter version of Jennifer Lawrence's character in American Hustle, without the emotional noise.
Probably mixed with antisocial personality because she behaved like a *beep* sociopath in many scenes. Case in point, the way she looks at her colleagues while she inhales the oxygen after her apparent panic attack, sort of checking how believable her act is.
I doubted about this, and the source of her sex tape email, until I watched her mother's interpretation, and the fact that her husband didn't make an effort to challenge it.
If you remember the father when he said to the mother 'It was her jealous ex-boyfriend that actually posted that video' the mother replied 'Don't be so naive! She was always loved the attention, and didn't care how it affects us and has always been selfish. It's the truth' meaning that she twists things for her benefit, lies, is an attention seeker, likes to cause trouble and doesn't care who she hurts along the way. In the very first episode it tried to imply that she was this innocent girl shocked by what her friend done by being an escort BUT remember the guy that she picked up before she knew what her friend done? She propositioned him in the bar and had sex with him.
She liked the thrill, liked sex and seemed to have no heart.
If I was a doctor (or psychiatrist) which I am not I would say she was bi-polar, an attention seeker and probably even had a split personality/sociopath. She seems to take on different personas throughout the series which makes me think that. Also the fact that she is detached from her feelings and can't see anything wrong from what she is doing and also seems to take pleasure from hurting others and making it seem like she is the victim.
Sociopaths are very clever people and even tho she asked her sister 'Do you think I am a sociopath?' and her sister said 'NO, I deal with them all the time and if you have to ask then you are not'that is her clever way of making her sister think that she was/is not and that it was something else to throw her off the track.
She is a total mess but totally loving all the attention. The only time she did seem genuinely upset was when the old guy passed away but that didn't last long and it was probably the only time in her life she actually had some kind of feeling for someone but you never saw that side again from her and you hadn't seen that side before from her. She would be a therapist/psychiatrists dream patient BUT at the same time be their ultimate nightmare as they would never know when she was being truthful and letting her feeling out as sociopaths/psychopaths take on so many different personas even they do not know themselves which is why they are such dangerous people in reality.
I think Riley played her well as no-one really knew/knows what was/is going through Christines/Chelsea/Annas' head even at the end you are left wondering and in limbo what happened and why? Lol x
A psychiatrist IS a Medical Doctor, Brainiac. You don’t know that, but you do not hesitate to weigh in with your psychological “insights” and “diagnoses.” Pray, don’t let sheer ignorance get in the way of expressing your opinions. No, I don’t want fries with that.