If you're trying to find a health condition for your character I can try to help out.
Need help finding a mental condition?
I umm like your name heh heh
Your name very creative too.
Lol
Do you need help with your story?
Yeah I need to think of a rare mental condition for a female character
Copy/Pasted and slightly edited post of mine from another thread:
On writing people with mental illnesses
Firstly, don't rely on just my post, research into any unknown topic you want to write about is of critical importance. Find forums on the mental illness, ask people with the disorder questions, especially if you know anyone with the mental illness locally. This will help gain an understanding of the mental illness and what it involves. Disabled people often experience challenges or are unable to share the story, so it is important to note that what abled (or otherly disabled) write can and does affect perceptions of the particular disorder in wider society (For instance, fiction often portrays schizophrenia as having a split personality, but the actual disorder has nothing to do with this).
- Talk about the person, not the illness. People are defined by things like their expertise in an area, their hobbies, their relationships etc. It is very rare for someone with a mental disability to consider themselves defined by it (This does happen sometimes with physical disabilities, for different reasons, but that's another a subject).
- Mental illness does not automatically make a person violent or a serial killer. Mentally disabled people are actually more likely to be victims of injury or murder than abled people.
- Pop culture perceptions of psychiatry, especially "asylums" are outdated.
- Don't roleplay as this character. It is very difficult and often considered disrespectful to rp as someone with any mental illness if one does not have experience with the disorder.
- Don't use quick cure tropes. They present some things as instant cures and don't take into account that people may live a long time with their disorder. Especially the idea that a character will 'shed' their 'broken mentally ill self' and become healthy once they find love.
- DO NOT use the character for inspiration. You should be careful if any other main characters or side characters join your character because they're glad they're not him, they use his illness as motivation to reach goals or 'put life into perspective', they want to cure him etc.
Some other reading for writing characters with mental illnesses:
Some other reading for writing characters with mental illnesses:
- Writershq - Seven Tips For Writing About Mental Health
- Writersdigest - How to Treat Mentally Ill Characters When Writing a Novel
- StandOut Books - What to Consider When Writing Mental Illness (Also check the comments for additional info) (This website has other helpful information for writing people of different demographics, and general writing)
- Quora - How can I write a character with a mental illness?
- SparkPress - How to help debunk the stigma around mental illness with your story
- LadyGeekGirl at Wordpress - In Brightest Day: Mental Hospitals and Abuse in Pop Culture
I have posted a lot of sources here, but this is a very complex and sensitive issue that is often misinterpreted.
Links (For readers):
- https://writershq.co.uk/seven-tips-writing-fiction-mental-health/
- https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/treat-mentally-ill-characters-writing-novel
- https://www.standoutbooks.com/writing-mental-illness/
- https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-write-a-character-with-a-mental-illness
- https://gosparkpress.com/debunking-mental-illness-myths-story/
- https://ladygeekgirl.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/in-brightest-day-mental-hospitals-and-abuse-in-pop-culture/.
(Sorry for jumping on your post @Anonymous, I won't say anything else if you don't want me to)
Thank you
This is truly helpful, thank you @Mercury.
Yeah I need to think of a rare mental condition for a female character
What types of symptoms does this character have? What do you imagine the condition to be like?
She often spends time alone and doesn't like people. She loves art and imagines her creations as if they were real. She knows that they aren't but it's the only friends she has.
From the little information you gave me, Delusional Disorder is the closet thing I could find [at the moment]. If this is not the type of condition you want please layout more information.
For more information on Delusional Disorder: https://www.gomentor.com/articles/delusional-disorder
Thank you
group
I agree with Mercury's post, but I would actually say you should RP as that character to gain a sense of how they view the world. Just mention beforehand that you don't actually have that condition irl.
I wanted to put APD out there. Auditory Processing Disorder. It is where you have good hearing, but the processing gets mixed up in your brain. It also has memory loss or bad memory, and so it would be cool to write with. Plus, it would raise awareness of how people with it feel.