Writing About Mental Disorders

I finally wrote Asperger's Syndrome though it wasn't my original plan. (And I don't think it's technically a mental disorder.) The character also has tendencies that lean toward OCD but I did not give him OCD.

86,400 Chances.

In You Writer, You Liar, Ryan has Bipolar disorder. He's suffering from both a mental break and mania.

(Brendon is not real in the story. Ryan created him.)

Roseh; needed:

I'd quite like to write a story about a charater with multiple personalities, in which each chapter is told by a different side of him/her. A little bit like Les Bohèmes in structure, but I might make each chapter slightly longer than a drabble.

I'm doing this now, in Concordi Discordia. It's really interesting to research and to write about, especially as I've also been researching police procedure and rape at the same time and trying to combine them.

I reckon I'll start doing alot more disorder stories. They're things I really love to investigate as a writer and you learn so, so much from the experience.

The Prettiest of Liars has Ryan self-medicating for Bipolar with drugs and then going on medication. It's never stated that it's Bipolar, however, just that he's on an anti-depressant. (He's also on a mood stabilizer, but that's also not stated.)

The doctor told me that I have Bipolar Disorder 1, Paranoid Schizophrenia, ADHD, Depression (Bipolar 1 is Manic Depression..), Borderline Personality Disorder, Dyspraxia, Separation Anxiety Disorder, and OCD.
I basically accepted the fact that I cannot ever be happy on my own.

There is a lot of stories on Mibba.com with many of those illnesses in them.
Though, since I have lived with them all, I know that a lot (not all) of those authors that write the stories have no idea what they are writing about.
I can't blame them, of course, there is no way for them to know. But...I really wish they'd do their research.
Bipolar isn't what many people believe it is. Moods don't switch every second. It takes weeks to months and maybe years.
Dyspraxia is not just an excuse for shitty handwriting skills, it is a real disorder.
Not every teenager with the blues has depression. I really think that people think it's "cool" to have Major Depression. It's not glamorous or fun, half of the teenagers that say they have it haven't really had the doctor tell them so. If they really had depression I swear to you they wouldn't be bragging about it like some do (Again..not everyone is this way...just those I have met).


Like I said, many authors portray those disorders wrongly. It's a pet peeve of mine.
If you want it to be realistic, do your research, please!

That is all.
Sorry for my rant..I know it probably isn't the correct place to say all of those things I just said...but, I felt it should be put out there.

I'm currently writing a story about a woman who gets manipulated by a boy in her dreams, without her knowledge, because she loves him. But he's not real. Is that considered a mental disorder?

@ Barrett
I can totally relate, love. I've been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and I'm due to be re-evaluated as things have become much more severe and my mother suspects that I might have Schizophrenia as it runs in the family and I've been...well, yeah. I hate when people just carelessly describe a disorder. It's not hard to do research or reach out to someone who has the disorder for information.

There is nothing glamorous at all about being depressed for weeks without knowing the reason why or hating yourself and wanting to kill yourself because you just can't shut off your head for one fucking second.

It's exhausting. I wouldn't wish it on anybody and if you're going to write about it, give the raw, honest truth about the disorder of your choice. That's all I'm saying. Take some time to really know and relate to what is really going on inside of that person's head.

@ Barrett
One of my friends actually wrote a story about a rapid cycler. It occurs way too much in stories with no explanation, but a small percentage of Bipolar individuals are rapid cyclers and their moods change much more often than a typical Bipolar person's does.

@ rhymes with circus.
It depends on other things, but it could be delusional disorder (if you want to give my story S/he a quick peek, it's written about that disorder and a demon the boy 'imagines'.) Or the boy could be a hallucinogenic manifestation from some other disorder.

I've never written about mental illness, but I wouldn't be opposed to it. I just think it's important to do a lot of research before writing it.