#writing mental illness

[ask-the-prose]

Writing Mental Health With Compassion

I've gotten a few questions regarding depicting characters with mental health challenges and conditions and I wanted to expand a little more on how to depict these characters with compassion for the real communities represented by these characters.

A little about this guide: this is, as always, coming from a place of love and respect for the writing community and the groups affected by this topic at large. I'm also not coming at this from the outside, I have certain mental illnesses that affect my daily life. With that, I'll say that my perspective may be biased, and as with all writing advice, you should think critically about what is being told to you and how.

So let's get started!

Research

I'm sure we're all tired of hearing the phrase "do your research," but unfortunately it is incredibly important advice. I have a guide that touches on how to do research here, if you need a place to get started.

When researching a mental health condition that we do not experience, we need to do so critically, and most importantly, compassionately. While your characters are not people, they are assigned traits that real people do have, and so your depiction of these traits can have an impact on people who face these conditions themselves.

I've found that reddit is a decent resource for finding threads of people talking about their personal experiences with certain illnesses. For example, bipolar disorder has several subreddits that have very open and candid discussions about bipolar, how it impacts lives, and small things that people who don't have bipolar don't tend to think about.

It's important to note that these spaces are not for you. They are spaces for people to talk about their experiences in a place without judgment or fear or stigma. These are not places for people to give out writing advice. Do NOT flood subreddits for people seeking support with questions that may make others feel like an object to be studied. It's not cool or fair to them for writers to enter their space and start asking questions when they're focused on getting support. Be courteous of the people around you.

Diagnosis

I have the belief that for most stories, a diagnosis for your characters is unnecessary. I have a few reasons for thinking this way.

Firstly, mental health diagnoses are important for treatment, but they're also a giant sign written across your medical documents that says, “I'm crazy!” Doctors may try to remain unbiased when they see mental health diagnoses, but anybody with a diagnosis can say that doctors rarely succeed. This translates to a lot of people never getting diagnoses, never seeking treatment, or refusing to talk about their diagnosis if they do have one.

Secondly, I've seen posts discuss “therapy speak” in fiction, and this is one of those instances where a diagnosis and extensive research may make you vulnerable to it. People don't tend to discuss their diagnoses freely and they certainly don't tend to attribute their behaviors as symptoms.

Finally, this puts you, the writer, into a position where you treat your characters less like people and story devices and more like a list of symptoms and behavioral quirks. First and foremost, your characters serve your story. If they don't feel like people then your characters may fall flat. When it comes to mental illness in characters, the people aspect is the most important part. Mentally ill people are people, not symptoms.

Those are my top three reasons for believing that most characters will never need a specific diagnosis. You will likely never need to depict the difference between bipolar and borderline because the story itself does not need that distinction or to reveal a diagnosis at all. I feel that having a diagnosis in mind for a character has more pitfalls than advantages.

How does treatment work?

Treating mental health conditions may appear in your story. There are a number of ways treatments affect daily life and understanding the levels of care and what those levels treat will help you depict the appropriate settings for your characters.

The levels of care range from minimally restrictive and minimal care to intensive in-patient care in a secure hospital setting.

Regular or semi-regular therapy is considered outpatient care. This is generally the least restrictive. Your characters may or may not also take medications, in which case they may also see a psychiatrist to prescribe those medications. There is a difference between therapists, psychiatrists, and psychologists. Therapists do not prescribe medications, psychiatrists prescribe medications after an evaluation, and psychologists will (sometimes) do both. (I'm US, so this may work differently depending where you are. You should always research the specific setting of your story.) Generally, a person with a mental illness or mental health condition will see both an outpatient therapist and an outpatient psychiatrist for their general continuing care.

Therapists will see their patients anywhere from once in a while as-needed to twice weekly. Psychiatrists will see new patients every few weeks until they report stabilizing results, and then they will move to maintenance check-ins every 90-ish days.

If the patient reports severe symptoms, or worsening symptoms, they will be moved up to more intensive care, also known as IOP (Intensive Outpatient Program). This is usually a group-therapy setting for between 3-7 hours per day between 3-5 days a week. The group-therapy is led by a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) or Licensed Professional Social Worker (LPSW). Groups are structured sessions with multiple patients teaching coping mechanisms and focusing on treatment adjustment. IOP’s tend to expect patients to see their own outpatient psychiatrist, but I've encountered programs that have their own in-house psychiatrists.

If the patient still worsens, or is otherwise needing more intensive care, they'll move up to PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program). This can look different per facility, but I've seen them to be more intensive in hours and content than IOP. They also usually have in-house psychiatrists doing diagnostic psychological evaluations. It's very possible for characters with “mild” symptoms to go long periods of time, even most of their lives, without having had a diagnosis. PHP’s tend to need a diagnosis so that they can address specific concerns and help educate the patient on their condition and how it may manifest.

Next step up is residential care. Residential care is a boarding hospital setting. Patients live in the hospital and focus entirely on treatment. Individual programs may differ in what's allowed in, how much contact the patients are allowed to have, and what the treatment focus is. Residential programs are often utilized for addiction recovery. Good residential programs will care about the basis for the addiction, such as underlying mental health issues that the patient may be self-medicating for. Your character may come away with a diagnosis, or they may not. Residential programs aren't exclusively for addictions though, and can be useful for severe behavioral concerns in teenagers or any number of other concerns a patient may have that manifest chronically but do not require intensive inpatient restriction.

Inpatient hospital stays are the highest level of care, and this tends to be what people are talking about when they tell jokes about “grippy socks.” These programs are inside the hospital and patients are highly restricted on what they can and cannot have, they cannot leave unless approved by the hospital staff (the hospital's psychiatrist tends to have the final say), and contact with the outside world is highly regulated. During the days, there are group therapy sessions and activities structured very carefully to maintain routine. Staff will regulate patient hygiene, food and sleep routines, and alone time.

Inpatient hospital programs are controversial among people with mental illness and mental health concerns. I find that they have use, but they are also not an easy or first step to take when dealing with a mental health condition. Patients are not allowed sharp objects, metal objects, shoelaces, cutlery, and pens or pencils. Visitors are not allowed to bring these items in, staff are not allowed these items either. This is for the safety of the patients. Typically, if someone is involuntarily admitted into the inpatient hospital program, it is due to an authority (the hospital staff) deeming the patient as a danger to themselves or others. Whether they came in of their own will (voluntary) or not does not matter in how the program operates. Everyone is treated the same. If someone is an active danger to themselves, then they may be on 24-hour suicide watch. They are not allowed to have any time alone. No, not even for the bathroom, or while sleeping, or during group sessions.

Inpatient Hospital Programs

This is a place of high curiosity for those who have never been admitted into inpatient care, so I'd like to explain a little more in detail how these programs work, why they're controversial, but how they can be useful in certain situations. I do have personal experience in this area, but as always, your mileage may vary.

When admitting, hospital staff are the final say. Not the police. The police hold some sway, but most often, if someone is brought in by the police, they are likely to be admitted. They are only involuntarily admitted when the situation demands: the staff have determined the person to be an imminent danger to themselves or others. This is obviously subjective, and can easily be abused. A good program with decent staff will do everything they can to convince the patient to admit voluntarily if they feel it is necessary, but ultimately if the patient declines and the staff don't feel they can make the clinical argument that admittance is necessary, the patient is free to leave. It should be noted that doctors and clinicians have to worry about possibly losing their licenses to practice. They don't want to fuck around with involuntary admittance if they don't have to, and they don't want potentially dangerous people to walk away.

Once admitted, the patient will have to remove their clothing and put on a set of hospital scrubs. These are mostly made of paper, and most often do not have pockets, but I have seen sets that do have pockets (very handy, tbh). They are not allowed to take anything into the hospital wing except disability-required devices such as glasses, hearing aids, mobility aids, etc. Most programs will require removing piercings, but not all of them, in my experience.

The nurses will also do a physical examination, where they will make note of any open wounds, major scars, tattoos, and other skin abrasions that may be relevant.

The patient will then be led to their bed, where they will receive any approved clothing items from outside, a copy of their patient rights, and a copy of the floor code of conduct and rules, a schedule, and any other administrative information necessary for the program to run efficiently and legally.

Group sessions include group-therapy, activities, coping skills, anger management, anxiety management, and for some reason, karaoke. There is a lot of coloring involved, but only with crayons. A good program will focus heavily on skills and therapeutic activities. Bad programs will phone it in and focus on karaoke and activities. Most hospitals will have a chaplain, and some will include a religious group session. I've never attended these, so I can't speak for them.

Unspoken rules are the hidden pieces of the inpatient programs that patients tend to find out during their first visit. There is no leaving the program until the doctor agrees to it. The doctor will only agree to it if they deem you ready to leave, and you are only ready to leave if you have been compliant to treatment and have seen positive results in the most dangerous symptoms (homicidal or suicidal ideations). Noncompliance can look like: refusing your prescribed medications (which you have the right to do at any time for any reason. That does not mean that there won't be consequences. This is a particularly controversial point.), refusing to attend groups (chapel is not included in this point, but that doesn't mean it's actually discounted. Another controversial point.), violent or disruptive outbursts such as yelling or throwing things, and refusing to sleep or eat at the approved and appointed times. All of this may sound like the hospital is restricting your rights beyond reason, but I've seen the use, and I've seen the abuse. Medications are sometimes necessary, and often patients seriously prefer having medication. Groups are important to a person's treatment, and refusing to go can be a sign of noncompliance or worsening symptoms. If someone is too depressed or anxious to go to group, then they're probably not ready to leave the hospital where the structure is gone and they must self-regulate their treatment. Violent or disruptive outbursts tend to be a sign of worsening symptoms in general, but even the best of us lose our tempers from time to time when put into a highly stressful situation like an inpatient hospital stay. The hospital is supposed to be a place of healing, for many it is. But for many more, it is a place of systematic abuse and restriction.

Discharge processes can be long and arduous and INCREDIBLY stressful for the patient. Oftentimes, they won't know their discharge date until the day of, or perhaps the day before. Though the date can change at any time. The discharge process requires the supervising psychiatrist to meet with the treatment team and then the patient to determine if the patient had progressed enough to be safely discharged. Discharge also requires a set outpatient plan in place, such as a therapy appointment within a week, a psychiatrist visit, or admittance into a lower level of care. This is where social workers are involved. Patients are not allowed access to cell phones or the internet. They cannot make their own appointments with their outpatient care providers without a phone number and phone access. Some floors will have phone access for this reason, others will insist the social worker arrange appointments and discharge plans. Social workers are often incredibly overworked, with several patients on their caseload.

The patient cannot be discharged until the social worker has coordinated the discharge plan to the doctor's approval. Most often, unfortunately, the patient rarely receives regular communication regarding the progress of their discharge. I've been discharged with as much as a day's notice to two hours notice.

Part 2 Coming Soon

This guide got longer than expected! Out of respect for my followers dashboard, I will be cutting it here and adding a Part 2 later on.

If you find that there are more specific questions you'd like answered, or topics you'd like covered, send an ask or reply to this post with what you'd like to see in Part 2.

– Indy

#writing advice #writing tips #writing resources #writeblr #amwriting #asktheprose #ask the prose #writing mental health #mental health #writing with compassion #writing mental illness #writing compassionately

[hayatheauthor]

How To Write And Research Mental Illnesses 

Mental illnesses are a large aspect of literature often incorporated into various different genres. However, even with their prevalence, many authors are often unaware of how to write about mental illnesses accurately. If you’re an author writing a character with a mental illness, here are some tips on how to write with mental illnesses. 

Don’t ‘Self Diagnose’ Your Characters 

When writing about mental illnesses it’s important to consider whether or not your character would realistically have this mental illness given their situation and story. Many authors often ‘self diagnose’ their characters without actually taking the time to research these illnesses and figure out whether their character would develop this illness if they were a real person. 

I say ‘self diagnose’ because as authors we generally do diagnose our characters based on our own interpretations and plans for them and their story, without looking to real people with these illnesses. 

Just because your character is going through an unproductive slump doesn’t mean they they are depressed. Just because your character is nervous and experiencing stage fright doesn’t mean they have anxiety. 

Take the time to look into these mental illnesses and genuinely consider whether or not your character has a mental illness, or if you’re just self diagnosing and wrongly labelling them. 

Do Your Research 

Whenever I blog about such sensitive topics, I always find myself ultimately mentioning this one point. This is because even with so many resources available to us both online and offline, writers still choose to be blissfully unaware of sensitive topics mentioned in their WIPs or stories. 

I sincerely cannot stress how important it is for a writer to do their due diligence and research the topics they write for, especially if it is something as sensitive as mental illnesses. 

Once you have established that your character would realistically develop or undergo a mental illness given the situation they are in, it is now time to research what exactly they would go through. 

A simple google search can tell you everything you need to know about your character’s mental illness. Or, you could reach out to people you know who suffer from the same illness and ask them questions about it. 

Researching your character’s mental illness helps ensure you don’t accidentally misrepresent that illness or create symptoms that are inaccurate and insulting to people who do suffer from that mental illness. It will also provide you with a sense of ease as an author, and allow you to work on your WIP without having to worry about accidentally offending an entire community. 

Remember The Three Ss

One of the biggest challenges writers face with writing with mental illnesses is unrealistic representation. Unsure where to start with your research? Here is a simple guide for you to keep in mind. 

When writing about mental illnesses, you need to recall the three Ss: 

Symptoms 

Side effects 

Stages 

Symptoms 

Every illness or disease has its own symptoms, the same applies to mental illnesses. When writing about a character with mental illnesses, you need to take the time to research the symptoms of this illness and how these symptoms can impact your character on a day-to-day and general level. 

For example, a character with PTSD would face trouble sleeping and concentrating, would be irritable, angry and face overwhelming guilt or shame. These symptoms can all make it hard for a person to excel at school or the workplace and can lead to delayed deadlines, unfinished work, and a lot of stress and anxious thinking. 

A character with PTSD would likely not be able to handle being at the top of their class, unless they completely engross themselves in their studies to the point where they can’t think of anything except that. However, if that were the case then they would find it very hard to handle ‘normal’ situations and wouldn’t be getting a lot of sleep. 

Side Effects 

A side effect is a temporary and commonly unwanted effect of a drug or medical condition. Unlike a symptom, a side effect can be harmful or beneficial and most go away on their own over time. 

They wouldn’t be considered as ‘serious’ as a symptom, however, they can still significantly impact your character, their story, and their dynamics with the characters they interact with. 

Following the above example, a character with PTSD would generally suffer from an inability to develop or maintain positive, healthy interpersonal relationships and an inability to trust others. They also often face side effects such as social isolation, chronic feelings of fear, etc. 

These are all side effects that would make it hard for a character with PTSD to maintain emotional relationships. You can use this to portray their sudden lack of connection with friends and family, and how they find themselves only associating with people who have either been through or understand their situation. 

Stages 

A person with cancer, or other such physical illnesses, doesn’t suddenly hit a chronic level overnight. The same logic applies to mental illnesses. Mental illnesses don’t just develop overnight. Your character won’t suddenly wake up one day in chapter ten and have a full-blown panic attack because they developed a panic disorder. 

Yes, people can face symptoms or side effects pertaining to a mental illness after facing a traumatic event. However, when writing about such events, it’s very important to do your research and consider whether or not a person would realistically undergo such serious symptoms in such a small timeframe given the circumstances. 

Outside of incidents that are a direct result of a traumatic event, it’s important to consider the stages your character would experience as a result of their mental illness. 

For example, a person with PTSD goes through five stages, the first being the impact or emergency stage, during which they struggle to process or deal with the situation they have gone through. Then comes the denial or numbing stage. 

Following the above example, a numbing stage would be akin to when a character pretends the traumatic event never occurred and throws themselves into their work or school. Then comes a rescue stage, which would be when other characters begin to intervene or when the character comes to terms with the events and starts to better themselves. 

Knowing the stages of your character’s mental illness allows you to accurately plan out what happens in your story and create a realistic portrayal of their suffrage. It also helps flesh out your story for your readers and allows you to seamlessly incorporate your character’s illness into the story. 

Don’t Define Them By Their Mental Illness

Now that you have a general idea of how to write and research mental illnesses, I would like to end this blog post with a small reminder. People with mental illnesses are human. They have personalities, hobbies, likes, dislikes, and other such traits that often have nothing to do with their mental illness. 

When writing with a mental illness, it’s important to take this into account and ensure you don’t constantly define your character by their mental illness, or even worse, reduce them to their mental illness. 

I hope this blog on how to write and research mental illnesses will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.  

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and marketing tools for authors every Monday and Thursday. 

#writing community #haya's book blog #haya blogs #hayatheauthor #haya sameer #writing tools #creative writing #writing tag #writing tips and tricks #writing tips #writing tip #writing troubles #writing things #writing advice #writing resources #writing research #writing inspo #writing improvement #writing help #writing mental illness #writer community #writer things #writer tips #writer speaks #writer struggles #female writers #writer resources #writer advice #writer inspiration #writer tag

[merp-blerp]

#writing #writing mental illness #writing anxiety #writing panic attacks #writing tips #writing tip

[redd956]

Writing Characters with Varying Empathy, Sympathy, & Compassion

Prt.1 Empathy

First of all, let’s put down the elephant in the room. Lately online there has been a lot of misinformation over the factors of empathy, sympathy, and compassion. So first we need to define how these things differ from each other, and what exactly they are.

The Difference

There is a big difference between these three, made significant by how groups of people tend to overreact and get these terms mixed up, causing unnecessary drama. So...

Empathy

The ability to feel, share and/or understand someone else’s pain/emotions from their standpoint.

Sympathy

The ability to acknowledge and feel pity for someone else’s pain/emotions.

Compassion

Action in good faith deriving from thoughts and feelings from empathy and/or sympathy, to relieve someone else of a negative emotion/pain.

Examples

Character A is sad, because a family member of theirs passed away

Character B cries seeing Character A cry, thinking of their own family member, and imagining how tough it also must be for Character A. They go through the motions together that night, finding comfort in each other. -Usage of empathy

Character B frowns at the sight of Character A crying, knowing what had happened. They waltz into the room, readying a comforting pat. “I’m so sorry, Character A.”, They whisper, leaning up against them, and clasping their shaking hand. -Usage of sympathy

Character B sits beside Character A, a large bowl of their favorite ice cream in hand. “Hey Character A, I heard what happened and I just couldn’t stop thinking about how bad that must be. I brought you some ice cream, it could help with the sore throat from all this crying.” - Usage of Compassion

The Variation Aspect

It is important to note that having empathy doesn’t inherently make someone a better or good person, same goes to lacking empathy making people villainous. There are natural variations of empathy among people, and these do not dictate whether or not someone is more likely to follow what societal alignment or another.

People with high empathy can still be awful, just as those with low empathy can still be kind souls. Empathy levels are detached from morals and ideologies, which is an important notion to make when creating characters.

Average Empathy

Average empathy is being able to feel and express empathy of course at an average level. They have an easy time sharing their emotions, and feeling when someone is going through a particular emotion. They simply experiencing empathy as expected an as most due, and don’t share the same realities as those with heightened empathy, and lower empathy.

Heightened Empathy

Empaths or those with Hyper Empathy are people who have heightened empathy. Some people can be this way naturally, but more commonly hyper empathy can be a side effect to having mental illness, such as PTSD, BPD, or ADHD.

(BPD and ADHD can also have lack of empathy as a side effect)

Obviously, empaths feel more empathy than the average person, this leads to both pros and cons, one more than the other depending on which angle you look at it. Empaths share others’ emotions at a noticeable intensity compared the average. They can more easily spot emotional differences, unearth other people’s masks, and are sensitive to tiny changes in mood. They take the other person’s pain as their own very seriously, as others

Because of this crowds of people can be incredibly overwhelming. Human interaction is more emotionally draining, and they can get socially burnt out far quicker than the average person. Empaths have a difficult time setting boundaries with others. They are often labeled over emotional, and sensitive. With empathy having such positive connotations, many assume that empaths have it easier and live a whimsical life.

Lower Empathy

Those with empathy lower than the average don’t have it easy either, as just like empaths, it drastically affects life, especially socially. Different neurotypes, those with mental illnesses, head trauma, psychological trauma, and more can lead to lacking empathy in one way or another. More well known those with cluster B disorders infamously get their bad reputation due to low empathy.

Those with lower empathy have a difficult time taking on and sharing other people’s emotions. Because of this they can struggle to understand and relate to other’s experiences. They have harder time coping with emotional situations, and can easily misinterpret the emotions/emotional responses of others. Their emotions themselves can seem callus, and inappropriate to situations.

All of this leads to difficulty in decision making related to others, social struggles, and trouble fitting in with societal standards. Lack of empathy itself can range drastically. For many it makes them more susceptible to negative and potential dangerous behaviors, as well as a lack of healthy self-esteem. This has lead to people with low empathy being vilified, especially in media.

OH YEAH IM A WRITING BLOG-

When writing a character with varying empathy there’s definitely a lot to consider. Especially since their levels of compassion or sympathy can vary themselves, separate from empathy. 

You want to avoid

Using empathy related terms incorrectly, but especially disorder/medical terms related to these things incorrectly

Making a character evil solely because their empathy is low

Making a character a pure hero solely because their empathy is high

Things to consider about a character’s empathy

How a character reacts to situations based on a mixture of their empathy, compassion, and sympathy

If you’re character is lacking empathy, how are they handling sympathy

Are their reactions realistic

How a character’s morals and ideals differ from their empathy

Character dynamics formed by a difference or similarity in empathy

Characters in a group reacting differently based on their empathy, sympathy, and compassion

One character displaying empathy more, while another displays sympathy more

How the character feels about their own level of empathy

How their empathy affects them in their worldbuilding

Do proper research if you’ve decided you want a character with a level of empathy

To be continued, Hopefully here -> [ ] [ ]

Maybe, HeavenlySoup this is a sign of me trying to come up with writing refs for heroic and empathetic characters for those with low empathy to understand, maybe you my dear love, are my guinea pig?

#writing empathy #empathy #low empathy #high empathy #empath #lack of empathy #writing #writing mental illness #writing disability #cluster b

[eponastory]

I just got to catch up on After The Rain and wow. You write Azula so well and you make her mental illness feel real. As someone who struggles with panic attacks and disassociation, this feels so real. You stated that you also have struggles with trauma and abuse. That makes it so much more compelling when the writer understands the subject. You have definitely understood the assignment here. This chapter didn't make me cry but I got really emotional with it. Thank you for getting it right.

-🦊

Sorry I've been gone for a bit. I had a family member pass away.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Fox Anon. It's okay, I totally understand.

As for writing mental illness, it's something I actually learned from watching a lecture by the great Stephen King. He says make the details count. The details of mental illness are the high point to making it feel real. So, if someone is feeling anxious, they may constantly tap their foot or play with a piece of paper. These things are self soothing techniques that people with anxiety use. Getting these little things out in the open for a character makes it easy to build up tension or get across a particular feeling to the reader.

So details matter.

As for Azula and Kiyi, well, originally, I was going to have Azula go straight to Ursa. However, that would've been a really bad idea. So Kiyi was the best thing. What I didn't realize when writing this is another aspect of Azula coming out... perfection.

Or rather her imperfection.

Since Azula had her bending taken away by Tulok, she thinks of herself as imperfect. Imperfect is bad in her eyes so she hates herself for it. Then Kiyi, who is innocent, comes in. Now there is an internal struggle with Azula. She is jealous of Kiyi for a moment, which has Azula reflecting on her relationship with Ursa. By doing this, Azula realizes that Kiyi is as close to perfect as it can get because she is innocent. It opens up another internal struggle, this time with motherhood and her own child.

Anyway, that was a happy accident and it worked beautifully.

Thank you so much for the compliment and the ask.

#atla fanfiction #atla #avatar: the last airbender #azula #mental illness #writing mental illness

[greenapplebling]

Just to get something out of my chest:

If you read Mikayuu fanfic, you probably know which one I'm talking about since it's fairly popular, it's the one where Mika has (extreme) social anxiety and Yuu is a kleptomaniac playboy and they meet in a support group

So I've been putting off this read for a while for the exact same reason that I couldn't get past half the 1st chapter: as someone who struggles with social anxiety, the part of the support group felt really uncomfortable to read

A support group... for someone with extreme social anxiety?? That honestly felt like exposure therapy

Idk, I have no idea if it gets better (and by that I mean if Mika ever realizes that what he needs is 1 on 1 therapy, not a freaking support group) or if the author did any research on social anxiety (or if they have it themselves) and what their intention was

Obviously no shade to the author, I admit sometimes I go to hard on fanfic writers when they're just writing whatever they want for fun (whatever rocks your boat) and that's on me. But something that always bothered me is how much they want to explore mental health problems/conditions (which is good) while having absolutely no idea what they're talking about or how to deal with it (which is bad)

Honestly, this is the mildest case I have encountered bc the portrayal seems good, but unfortunately it hit too close to home for me

Anyway, if you're gonna write about mental health, please I am begging you, do your research or ask people who struggle with it. Just- be sensitive about it, ok?

#yami rants #talk about fanfiction #fanfiction #writers #mental health #writing mental illness #social anxiety #therapy #ao3 #mikayuu #yuumika #sote #ons #owari no seraph #seraph of the end

[silviawrites]

Writing characters with mental illnesses

As you can see from the title, I am going to be talking about writing characters with mental illnesses.

Do your research

Like in my previous post about writing characters with disabilities, you should also do your research about the mental illness(es) you are planning to write. The misconceptions people get about mental illnesses are way too much. For example, not all people with schizophrenia hallucinate. No, OCD is not "being a germaphobe" or "giving a lot of attention to cleanliness". And no, being depressed isn't just being "sad" and/or "lazy". If you have read my last post, then you know I have depression myself, so this stigma about depression hits especially hard for me.

2. Don't trivialize them

I am sick and I am tired of shows and books and other media trivializing symptoms of mental illness. And I know I'm not alone in this. For example, people who have eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa think that the symptoms they have aren't serious because it is shown as less severe than it really is on media.

So show the bitter truth about mental illnesses. You have no idea how happy we are when we see that people actually show what it's really like to live like we do. Do not sugarcoat anything when writing mental illnesses. You want to write mental illnesses? Do it right.

3. Make characters more than their mental illness(es)

Just like disabilities (this can be seen in my last post), you have to make characters more than their disabilities. Most of this about making characters more than their disabilities and everything is more elaborated again in my last post and this can also be applied to mental illnesses. Please don't make mental illness the only personality that the character has. This is not appreciated. This tip can also be applied to LGBTQIA+, mental illness, disability, race etc.

#writing #writer #writing advice #writer advice #creative writing #writing mental illness #writing tips #writing tumblr

[jennamoreci]

How to Write Trauma, PTSD, & CPTSD in Fiction

#writeblr #writerblr #am writing #writing mental illness #Jenna moreci #writing tips

[nikoadari]

Voices, Alone

Trigger Warning: Horror, semi body horror

The last remnants of the storm were a soft pitter-patter against full leaves and blades of grass. It filled the air with a deep petrichor and softened the world until it became a blur. In these times, Keir would usually be crushing up the final ingredients for a tincture while she struggled to keep her mind quiet.

She could listen to the rain better if her thoughts weren’t so loud.

Instead, she sat on the couch, arms wrapped around her knees and forehead pressed hard against them. Her chest felt heavy, like a snake had wrapped itself around her, trying to squeeze out her last breath. She let her chest rise and fall naturally and felt it squeeze tighter.

Just keep breathing, she thought to herself. It’s there but you can breathe. Let’s count to four.

The counting of each breath barely distracted her from the non-pain, but a little distraction was better than none. Her eyes were shut, but they were peaceful, like she was sleeping. She refused to squeeze them tight to fight the things she felt swarming her.

Her ears and nose were under attack, too – some clawing, others gnawing, one or two simply beating her, trying their hardest break into her skull. A few could slide in without the battery and squirmed through her head and down her throat, deep into the pits of her intestines.

She tensed, wanting to retch, and mentally slammed every filthy creature that would never stop invading her body. It worked…somewhat.

A few left. Most stayed.

Her head was beginning to ache. She took another deep breath and tried to empty herself of thoughts, focusing instead on a scan of her body. She unclenched her teeth and unfurrowed her brow, allowing the illusion of peace to take over. Her fists loosened as her arms slid down her legs and came to rest on her bare feet. She would not show them what affect they had on her.

Another deep breath.

She lifted her head and resisted opening her mouth to take in more oxygen; if she did, more would stuff her mouth and throat and there were already so many there that she felt the instinct to chew them like food. She had tried that once as a child, desperate to kill the things sliding down her throat. It hadn’t worked.

1…2…3…4…breathe in. 1…2…3…4…now breathe out.

She sat there, body relaxed and mind nearly empty. Was it a relief that her constantly rushing thoughts had been forced to slow? She could not think long enough to decide. Her head, buzzing then pounding then calming then imploding, bled into the world as it bled into her. Her eyes, a near breeding ground, were half-lidded yet unseeing. Her ears, covered in poisoned kisses and saliva, filled with whispers. And shrieks. And static.

She could barely understand any of it, this strange language they spoke to her, and she had long since stopped trying. It wouldn’t change anything anyway.

Eventually, she found her legs moving. Or was she making them move? She could not tell. She went to the kitchen, undecided about if her body was numb or if her footfalls were sending quicks bouts of sharp pain up her legs.

If it wasn’t her legs that hurt, something else probably did. It was difficult to tell which thing it was, though. Some parts of her never stuck around long enough for her to feel them properly, like her tail, and the parts that did stick around, like her hands, often didn’t send reliable information back to her brain on what they felt.

The water boiler was already filled so all she had to do was flick the switch. As it heated, she took her time in finding a mug and filling it with tea leaves and honey. Maybe she would add lemon for her throat. Did she really want to cut lemon, though? She didn’t want to do anything. But she had to care for herself. No one else could do that anymore.

She decided not to use the lemon.

The sound of rain wasn’t very comforting when accompanied by screams, so she probably turned on a TV show or some video essay, but she didn’t know which and she barely listened. As long as it wasn’t static.

She took a sip from her mug. The tea did little to soothe her throat, but at least it tasted familiar. She wanted to do something. Go outside and gather herbs, perhaps. Or maybe write a letter. Or talk to the trees. Something that would feel like progress. But she didn’t move to do any of that. She wouldn’t get far in this useless state anyway.

Be kind to yourself, she thought, gently chastising her inner critic. You don’t deserve to be thought useless. After everything, you deserve kindness more than screams.

She gulped more tea as something raked its claws through her hair and down her back. There would have been blood if the claws were physical. Blood that would seep into her clothes and hair and would ruin the couch.

She decided not to clean it, though, or tend to her wounds. Being wrapped in bandages would stop her from meeting with her fox friends tomorrow. The pain was already fading, though it would stay throughout the day. A light sting, then a burning throb she would ignore.

The sight of blood on her couch would last only a moment each time she looked at it before disappearing. Eventually, she wouldn’t see it at all. She would not pretend she couldn’t feel or see it like before, but she would pretend she didn’t care.

“Moo ahhhhh,” she sang vaguely, hoping to loosen her throat. Her voice sounded only a little shakier than normal. Her eyes barely blinked away entities who wanted to take hold, and cause pain, and steal.

At least, that’s what she assumed they wanted. It’s what they did to her on a daily basis, after all. She blinked more firmly and felt some entities falling away, dripping from her sockets like black sludge. She knew better than to try brushing it away.

“Taiii yaaaaa,” she continued singing. The spike of panic she would have felt hours – or had it been only a few minutes? – ago from opening her mouth was gone. She could do whatever she wanted. Whenever she wanted. Fear of what these creatures would do to her if she chose to speak or sing is what made her throat hurt in the first place.

“Soy yooooo.” She closed her eyes and let her head throb. “Fee beeeer. Ley naaaaat.” She did not try to truncate or make words out of the gibberish. Nothing about her was quick or succinct right now. Why should her singing be? She wasn’t doing it for anyone but herself.

Venomous whispers filled her ears and the image of them poisoning and spitting in her tea was forced into her mind’s eye. She ignored it, continuing to sing, and took a leisurely sip from her cup when she so desired, every motion more languid than the last.

“Reeeen. Ti ha li’fat. Ben daowwww weeen.”

She dragged the mug to her couch-side table before she fell asleep. Or at least, into the semi-drugged state she so often found herself in after an attack. It felt good. Like a victory rewarded with a good rest.

She settled the nearby throw blanket over her and grinned toothily at the dark figure hovering at the edge of the couch. She could never see its face, and whether it stared at her with hatred or with curiosity she couldn’t tell.

“Get outta my house, bitch.”

She laughed at the outraged and confused cries around her. Destroying all senses of mystique and power for these entities was a nice treat before she fell asleep. What reverence did monsters deserve here?

“You aren’t welcome here.”

Knowing they had not obeyed, she still allowed herself to drift, her ghoulish grin slipping into a serene, soft smile as she fell into darkness.

#horror #voices #mental illness #haunting #nikoadariwrites #black woman writer #black authors #black writer #schizo spectrum #schizoaffective #schizophrenia #psychosis #writing mental illness #autistic writer #austism #autistic author #did you know that being neurodivergent and traumatized at a young age can make you more likely to have hallucinations? #I didn't until the doctor who tested me for autism said so #that was unexpected

[deardragonbook]

Mental Health representation - The implied, and the stated

Mental health is important, it always has been, but now it is coming to the public’s attention, with it comes a lot of discussion about media representation. 

I remember when I was a teenager and the Big Bang Theory was all the rage, there was the constantly questioning of, “What is Sheldon?” And the public seemed to collectively agree he was autistic. 

The show runners at the time denied the statement, saying, “We don’t know what he is.” 

Arguments would later emerge, some people argued it was “bad” representation and din’t represent the community! While others saw themselves reflected in the character. 

And here’s the thing, no one character can ever present a community. Writing mental health requires a lot of research and if you’re going to say something by name, you better know what you’re talking about. So with that in mind, I think the show runners made the right choice, not confirming or denying the theories. 

However, there is the argument that the show “profits” of autism without ever offering true awareness... but it’s impossible to know if the creator of the character was aware of autism and had it in mind or it was merely coincidence. Also, are we really going to now allow media to represent a relatively general series of characteristics (or symptoms) just because we can perceive them as a mental disorder? 

The Big Bang Theory has plenty of issues, but still a number of people found Sheldon relatable and even though the name was never used, it still served the purpose of representation for them. 

So, should we represent mental health in our writing? And should we give it a name when doing so? 

I think the simple answer, and the one we’re all sick of hearing is: depends. 

If you want to write a story about mental health, obviously name it. And do A LOT of research. Talk to people with the disorder you wish to address. Acknowledge when you’re writing it in an author’s note because sometimes research and terminology changes and be ready to address that later on. 

But what if it’s not the focus but you have a character somewhere who suffers one of these disorders? 

The general rule I follow is if I am 100% confident in my ability to talk and represent this issue, I will not name it. In my own stories, depression, anxiety and PTSD are mentioned and talked about by name (or alternative names that are very clear in some fantasy settings). 

However, other disorders such as ADHD, autism or OCD are not. There may be characters who are intended to represent that collective but the disorder is not mentioned by name. 

But not being mentioned doesn’t mean they are ignored. I usually have characters address it at some point. Character’s speak openly about the symptoms, how they deal with them and the fact that somebody is different. 

They don’t pretend there just “weird”. Naming a mental disorder is just a tag at the end of the day, for a lot of people it’s very helpful, but it isn’t always necessary to close statements fully. 

This also leads into the bonus of when several disorders share symptoms it can be easier for people to feel represented when there is no tag than when there is one. 

Not to mention that many people live with these disorders without ever getting a diagnosis, and their experience is different. Not naming the disorders can lead into characters who are closer to that experience. 

Anyway, this is a reflection piece, it’s based of my experience and the experience of others I’ve talked to. But I’m not a therapist, psychologist or any kind of expert. So if you’ve had a different experience or a similar one and you’d like to add to this conversation, I’d love to hear from you! 

As usual, check out my book, stories I’ve written plus other social medias: here.

The ARC application form is open if you’d like to read my main series for free and before anybody else. I’ve recently made accessing my free stories more direct and hopefully comfortable. I’ve now got a newsletter you can sign up for. And if you need to reach out to me for anything (I don’t check Tumblr every day, I’m about to press add to queue and disappear into the abyss) there’s an email at the bottom! (all of this in the link above). 

Happy writing and reading! 

#writing #writer #writing adivce #writing tip #writing tips #writing trick #writing tricks #writing resource #writing mental health #writing mental disorder #writing mental illness

[selectivechaos]

writing sm - the worst things and what we need more of:

long post⚠️⚠️

🌹the worst things:

cured by love, adoration, or understanding at the end. we don’t need to be saved, thanks. my social anxiety isn’t gonna fizzle into non-existence once you hug me. 

“he didn’t reply” “once again, she didn’t speak” “they were silent”. we know they’re not going to speak. being mute isn’t their main Action, if that makes sense. they do other things, they may communicate in other ways (or may not be able to do this either). either way, describe it, add meaning to it; show their perspective and their presence, rather than implying they are Absent. 

quit making us cruel, uncaring, heartless or capable of huge violence. im just scared to thank the bus driver..

one-dimensional

forgetting the ‘situational’. if a character cannot speak in any situation, they don’t have sm. 

portraying being mute as an intrinsic burden or problem; it’s not. it’s the anxiety; it’s how they’re treated by others; it’s the overvaluation of verbal communication at the expense of other forms; it’s the difficulty they also have with other communication. 

pinning it down to trauma. there’s no evidence that people with sm are any more likely to have trauma. trauma can be a precipitating factor, and something that worsens it, but the strongest/more immediate ‘causal’ link is with anxiety.

🌹attributes we need more of:

oppositional and defiant, because this is a very real attribute that some people with sm have, and it can be tied to their experience of mutism (or not). 

facial expressions. while, for many people with sm, their nonvocal communication is also affected, but for others, it’s what they turn to and instrumentalise in lieu of speaking. we need more sm characters who use facial expressions in complex and active ways to communicate. it would be great to show this.

self-expression. while for some people with sm, their self-expression may waver because of low self-worth or depression (comorbidities are common when sm is left untreated). but there are ways of self-expression that may be important to a person with sm. art, writing, clothes, hair, books. self-expression and communication are linked in important and unusual ways i cant think about rn. 🌹🌹

#selective mutism #situational mutism #social anxiety disorder #mentalheathawareness #writing mental illness

[poetinprose]

Creating the characters for Bleeding City be like:

#memes i made instead of writing #the first thing I knew about my second main character was that he's ADHD lmao #my protagonist's mom has autism #and just now I was wondering why none of my ocs have anxiety so I decided to give that to my protagonist #askxjcjdkgkrl anybody else? #writing #writeblr #schreiblr #my wip #wip: bleeding city #writing memes #writing mental illness #my ocs #low effort meme

[redd956]

Writing PTSD: The Little Things

This is coming from my own experience... I’ve noticed a lot of writing and media that include characters portrayed with PTSD always show the dramatic symptoms and struggles that one faces. However the mental illness is incredibly complicated, and there is a lot of the little things that never ever appear.

It isn’t always merciless nightmares, or intense flashbacks. It can be, but it can also be...

-Mind trailing off into a heavy daydream thinking about the event

-Constantly searching for the possibility of the returning threat (staring at front doors, scanning crowds, listening for an iconic vehicle’s arrival)

-Not having a flashback, but still feeling some sensations of the event (Itching skin, goosebumps, invisible dampness)

I would add more but things will get into incredibly detailed and complex territory...

So instead I’ll add this notion

Each person experiences PTSD different. The events that cause it are also unique to each person too. Sometimes it isn’t the assailant, the enemy army, or the immediate threat that only becomes ingrained into the PTSD.

Sometimes it is also the temperature that night, the unfortunate location, their own hygiene, the song genre that happened to be playing, the type of clothes worn, anything...

#PTSD #writing ptsd #writing mental illness #be safe out there guys

[bitterpastries]

That moment when you accidentally give your OC Histrionic Personality Disorder. But fr, it’s actually pretty interesting when you’re writing a character and realize that their behavior fits a specific disorder, especially when the story you’re writing is all about exploring the various characters’ traumas and mental states.

#writers on tumblr #ocs #writing memes #writing mental illness #histrionic personality disorder #original character

[writeastorywhere]

I’m really glad to see more depictions of depression and intrusive thoughts in the stuff I read/watch/play/listen to, but I feel like it’s very common to portray these things as kind of alien and terrifying and very deeply affecting. And that’s true! It’s a perfectly fine way of portraying intrusive thoughts, and feels very accurate to how I processed mine... when I was first having them.

But  don’t see as much writing about people who are... I dunno, sort of used to it? Folks who are over the initial shock of oh my god, I am thinking these things and who can react to some of their intrusive thoughts with a “yeah, yeah, me slamming my head violently into the wall until my skull cracks, we’ve all seen it.” And I feel like there’s untapped potential in that character trait. Even when you’ve gotten used to your intrusive thoughts to some extent, the peril stops being your disgust at having the thoughts and more just how constant they are.

I can have intrusive thoughts about stabbing my friends or fucking random strangers and be relatively okay most of the time, because I know what they are and how to quickly process the feelings they provoke... when I’m already doing okay. But if I’m having a shit day already and THEN my brain says “now picture your suicide and the ensuing funeral in vivid detail,” that’s when it becomes unbearable. And the dramatic tension you could have by playing with that is really cool. I dunno, I just want to see some representations of mental illness after the initial burst of terror/confusion/grief.

#writing #writeblr #depression #cw intrusive thoughts #writing mental illness #cw suicide mention

[driftlesswanderer]

The System Who Lived

The war is over, and Voldemort is dead. And now that there isn’t a maniac trying to kill him, Harry has the time to realize there’s a bunch of people living in his head. 

So far, I have come up with a few alters. Freak, Celeste, Lucie, Poppy, Ray, and Osmond. Feel free to change their names, add new alters, or even remove some.

Freak/Boy is a three-year-old little and trauma-holder. Freak holds onto the trauma of the times when Uncle Vernon would physically abuse them.

Celeste is an age-slider (16-24) and a social protector. Because Harry was overwhelmed by paparazzis who constantly surrounded him with flashing cameras, and asking him so many questions, creating Celeste. She soaks up all the attention, and she acts as what people expect the Boy-Who-Lived to act like.

Lucie is a fragment. When the Dursley’s made Harry do chores, like cleaning and cooking, he was punished for doing them ‘wrong’. To protect him, Lucie was created to perform chores perfectly. Nevertheless, they continued to be abused by the Dursley’s.

Poppy is also an age-slider (32-39) and caretaker. From the lack of a motherly-figure, Poppy was created to take place as his mom.

Ray is an ex co-host and trauma-holder. Ray was a co-host during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and he is what people call ‘Caps-Lock Harry’. Ray was created after Harry witnessed Cedric’s death, and held on to Harry’s overwhelming rage and grief. Harry has hazy memories of Cedric’s death, but only feels sad that Cedric died.

Osmond is an immortal emotional protector. After Sirius’s death, Osmond was created. Osmond is an alter without any emotions. It’s not that he bottles them up, but he actually doesn’t have any.

Extra:

- The first alter who introduces themself to Harry is Poppy when they are both co-conscious. Harry, obviously, freaks out from hearing a woman’s voice in his head that he didn’t recognize, and goes to Hermione and Ron. They don’t think it’s anything serious, dismissing his worries. Since Harry’s eighth year is set in 1999, dissociative identity disorder wasn’t as researched as it is today. I don’t want Hermione and Ron to be bad friends, they just think it’s probably nothing to worry about.

- The first alter Draco meets is Freak. When they meet, Freak was suffering from a flashback or having a panic attack from being overwhelmed. Draco finds him and comforts him, despite being confused as to why ‘Harry’ is acting like a child. Draco refuses to call him Freak, and Freak says he can call him Boy instesd.

#fic idea #fanfic idea #fanfiction idea #dissociative identity disorder #did #writing mental illness #harry potter #draco x harry #drarry