Thread: Need help developing a mental illness in a character

I am writing a fake television series and the main character is in 10th grade and has had a pretty horrible past with abuse and an alcoholic mother too. I want him to develop some sort of disorder but I do not know which one. I was thinking Borderline Personality or Bipolar? I want to know when he should start showing signs of it and how he shows signs.Thanks

I might be wrong but question whether there’s any link between outside influences, like abuse, and personality disorders. I thought disorders to be inborn. You either have them or you don’t. Why not abandon this idea and write about something you know?

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

I might be wrong but question whether there’s any link between outside influences, like abuse, and personality disorders. I thought disorders to be inborn. You either have them or you don’t. Why not abandon this idea and write about something you know?

uh Bipolar can be both environmental and inborn same with personality disorders such as Multiple Personalities and different social anxiety problems. trust me I have done my research! I want help!

Google a few disorders. You'll find actual medical site which will have info.

gee thanks, hadn't thought of that.

of course I have done that already. I am really losing my patience!!!!!!!!!!!

Try depression. Severe abuse can lead to dissociative disorders. Mostly, you probably have anger management issues as the child grows up coping with the problem in the same way as the parents--avoidant, abusive, angry, prone to depression and substance abuse.

I am bipolar and my early experiences most certainly had an affect on my development of the illness. My experience may be of worth to you. Feel free to message me if you want any help. I have studied psychology too.

The book entitled, "Come here, Go Away" is a good shorter one on borderlines for research purposes.

Originally Posted by writerinCA

I am writing a fake television series and the main character is in 10th grade and has had a pretty horrible past with abuse and an alcoholic mother too. I want him to develop some sort of disorder but I do not know which one. I was thinking Borderline Personality or Bipolar? I want to know when he should start showing signs of it and how he shows signs.Thanks

I don't know the american grade system, but I am assuming that tenth grade is still fairly young, ie 13-16 range.

In terms of choosing which disorder to use, you have to figure out who your audience is, there is no point having a series about a disorder which the viewers are too young to comprehend. Is it the main driving force or just thrown in to jazz things up a bit?

If it's not the main storyline your going to have to deal with treatment and the like interfereing with the story itself so that will have impact depending on the main story line. It's no good if the main character is supposed to be going off on adventures as long as they're back for therapy/don't run out of meds/have to be put into an institution for a while.

As to symptoms it depends on how long you want it to last/draw it out. Do you want it caught quickly, to drag on so people just think he's weird, it also depends on how other characters see him/how observant they are, who spots the disorder first? does he tell someone about it? hide it? Does a teacher/guidance counsellor suspect it? does he have a social worker? how was his horrible past dealt with? has it been dealt with? how has he been reacting to it? striking out/being meek/shy etc etc

These are questions you need to answer before you can continue with the disorder. Of course because it is fiction you can create an amalgamation if you like and create your own disorder and just have everyone in the world accept it is in the same range as these disorders/treatments are similar.

You will also need to figure out how you want the character to react to the disorder and its diagnosis, is it a relief, does he go off the rails and start using drugs/drinking/sex

If you have done research on the disorders you should have a general idea of how they manifest, choose a few signs of the disorder and expand upon them, I would assume the more it progresses/the more severe it is, the more obvious and numerous the symptoms so go with that. if you want it to be obvious straight away have something big happening, if you want it subtle, have it small bits, like acting strange/reacting to things completely out of proportion, blacking out and the like.

A good book that may help is Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber, there is some controversy surrounding the facts of the case but it is an interesting read none the less. it does read a little like fiction but it would be a good read for multiple personality disorder.

Originally Posted by ProcrastinationStation

As to symptoms it depends on how long you want it to last/draw it out. Do you want it caught quickly, to drag on so people just think he's weird, it also depends on how other characters see him/how observant they are, who spots the disorder first? does he tell someone about it? hide it? Does a teacher/guidance counsellor suspect it? does he have a social worker? how was his horrible past dealt with? has it been dealt with? how has he been reacting to it? striking out/being meek/shy etc etc

These are questions you need to answer before you can continue with the disorder. Of course because it is fiction you can create an amalgamation if you like and create your own disorder and just have everyone in the world accept it is in the same range as these disorders/treatments are similar.

You will also need to figure out how you want the character to react to the disorder and its diagnosis, is it a relief, does he go off the rails and start using drugs/drinking/sex .

Thank you so much! I want him to act weird and then after he graduates he finally figures out what is going on. I want to make it Bipolar but I am not sure if I can make it work that way.

Originally Posted by writerinCA

uh Bipolar can be both environmental and inborn same with personality disorders such as Multiple Personalities and different social anxiety problems. trust me I have done my research! I want help!

It can be biology and environmental factors can be used as a 'trigger'

Originally Posted by writerinCA

gee thanks, hadn't thought of that.

of course I have done that already. I am really losing my patience!!!!!!!!!!!

Losing patience with who? Don't you realize we're all working on our own stories/books? Do the research. Do the work. Accept the help offered by those who are nice enough to offer it. But don't go around demanding that we do your work for you. That in itself is unreasonable and borderline "crazy."

Personally, I would recommend reactive attachment disorder. I see it a lot in abused kids. It seems to come and go, but it is always there unless treated, starting from a very young age, but gets worse at certain developmental stages. I'm not a medical professional, but in my experience, it has several spikes during a child's development, including a powerful one around the age of 9th-10th grade. It's a good one for a book/charcater because one can overcome the difficulties caused by it with a lot of work and therapy, but it can be quite disruptive of personal relationships if untreated.

Here's a good quick summary, in case you haven't read up on it:

Attachment Disorders & Reactive Attachment Disorder: Symptoms, Treatment & Hope for Children with Insecure Attachment

Originally Posted by alanmt

Personally, I would recommend reactive attachment disorder. I see it a lot in abused kids. It seems to come and go, but it is always there unless treated, starting from a very young age, but gets worse at certain developmental stages. I'm not a medical professional, but in my experience, it has several spikes during a child's development, including a powerful one around the age of 9th-10th grade. It's a good one for a book/charcater because one can overcome the difficulties caused by it with a lot of work and therapy, but it can be quite disruptive of personal relationships if untreated.

Here's a good quick summary, in case you haven't read up on it:

Attachment Disorders & Reactive Attachment Disorder: Symptoms, Treatment & Hope for Children with Insecure Attachment

This is the one I was thinking of.
Unlike slang RAD is not a good thing.
I would recomend looking at sights that deal with children of abuse and children of substance abusers. Look for mental conditions that are common with these kids.
The list of possibilities are endless.
When dealing with the mind no two people react the same way(mentally and physically) to the same incident.

Thank you so much! I was actually a victim of abuse myself and I have trust issues and possibly some other issues that I need to see a doctor/therapist for but I just want to hear from others, so thanks again!