z

Young Writers Society


Paranoid Schizophrenia



User avatar
160 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 3925
Reviews: 160
Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:08 pm
Krupp says...



I've done minor research on the subject, but I don't wanna try and create a character suffering such a thing without completely knowing what I'm dealing with here. Does anybody have any experience with paranoid schizophrenia? Does anyone know someone who's suffered it? I could use any and all advice on writing such a character.
I'm advertising here: Rosetta...A Determinism of Morality...out May 25th...2010 album of the year, without question.
  





User avatar
102 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 2973
Reviews: 102
Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:10 pm
DakotaK says...



Hey Krupp!
Never heard of it. Sorry.


No, I'm joking, I'm not going to post simply to say that! Ok, ever heard of Wikipedia? Awesomeness!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoid_schizophrenia

Try this link, it's got all the need to know you could (hopefully) possibly need for your story. Sorry if it's no help. Good Luck!

~Dakota
What is important is to know fear and yet take a step forward.
Rosette Christopher

Looking for peeps to review my novel:)

novel.php?id=1142
  





User avatar
15 Reviews



Gender: None specified
Points: 2987
Reviews: 15
Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:17 pm
Lorrilrakest. says...



Don't know anything or experienced it myself.

But the only "experience", i suppose, is from watching Heroes.

There's a character(s) called Niki who has her dead sister in her persona, Jessica. Jessica is alot stronger (physically).
There's some great one-liners from their scenes, and seeing Ali Larter's portrayal will help alot understand the depression.
I know it's a television show and not a piece of writing, but it can still help i suppose.

Good Luck - i find schizophrenia intriguing.
"Who needs God when you've got me?"
- Jessica Sanders

"Didn't I throw you out a window?"
- Jessica Sanders

www.drizzlefilm.com
  





User avatar
46 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 891
Reviews: 46
Wed May 24, 2017 11:14 pm
View Likes
queenofscience says...



I can help. I have this disorder.
I am the science and science fiction guru.

The mind is beautiful, yet brilliant. You can think, create, and imagine so many things.

Eugenics= scientific racism.
  





User avatar
11 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 0
Reviews: 11
Thu May 25, 2017 12:41 am
MarianaChristena says...



Well, my mother has schizo-affective disorder. PM me with any questions you might have, and I'll do my best to answer them.
Rags to riches isn't a story anyone wants to hear until after it's done. -Adam Parrish
  





User avatar
1162 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 32055
Reviews: 1162
Thu May 25, 2017 1:16 am
View Likes
Carlito says...



Edit: just noticed the original post for this is from 2009, so I'm not sure if they're still looking for this type of information. But nevertheless, it's always good to have resources about mental illness in case others are looking.
---

I can help with diagnostic criteria-type things and general information about the disorder - I have a masters in clinical psychology (but I do not work with seriously mentally ill clients). But, the best way is to talk to real people with schizophrenia because only they can tell you what it's really like to have it. I think this is what you're trying to do which is great. Look for blogs or documentaries that feature individuals with schizophrenia - tagging @Rosendorn because I've seen her pass around an awesome link to a blog (I think) that has resources for writing about all types of mental illnesses and other things, but I can't remember what it is.

My best advice other than to do a ton of research is to not reduce the character to a stereotype/cliche/caricature. What I mean by this is that while paranoid schizophrenia is a very serious mental illness and often affects many areas of a person's life, there is so much more to a person than their mental illness. So think about what is going to shape this character in addition to the mental illness and then how the mental illness will affect those things. Maybe this character collects rocks and enjoys singing karaoke and their best friend is a dog. Cool. Then how does having paranoid schizophrenia impact those other things this person enjoys and does?

Also, I've seen people with paranoid schizophrenia portrayed time and time again as bad/evil/villains/dangerous in some way. I don't know if this is your plan for this character or not, but if this is a direction you're thinking of going, I'd invite you to consider how these stereotypes impact real people with schizophrenia. The vast majority of people with serious mental illnesses are not violent or dangerous and are way more likely to be victims of a crime than the perpetrator of a crime. Just some food for thought :)

Hit me up with any questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer or at least attempt to steer you in the right direction! :D
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

Ask a Therapist!
I want to beta read your novel!


Ask me anything. Talk to me about anything. Seriously. My PM box is always open <3
  





User avatar
1272 Reviews



Gender: Other
Points: 89625
Reviews: 1272
Thu May 25, 2017 1:35 am
View Likes
Rosendorn says...



I have a masterpost on a schizophrenic run blog, which, of course, links to the blog itself. And I have a link to posts specifically about paranoid schizophrenia on that same blog.

However, and this is a big however, these blogs do not exist for writers' consumption.

I do not actually know of any blog for writing that specifically discusses schizophrenia (I mostly link Writing With Colour, which is for PoC issues!), and the closest I know are guides like this, which I can't actually vet for accuracy because I am not schizophrenic.

But, back to my "big however."

Blogs about a person's life with a disability are not places to go for inspiration. Research, yes. Inspiration, no.

Allow me to differentiate.

Research is when you learn a whole lot about a group of people in order to inform your own choices about a character. So if you see a symptom cropping up in various ways for paranoid schizophrenics, chances are that's a symptom you should include— tailored to the character and impossible to pin back to any one source. It simply lines up with the schizophrenic experience because of your research.

Inspiration is when you read about schizophrenia and start to pick recognizable stories to inform your character. This one particular story looks good, so you take that one particular story and build it into your own. This is using a person (or people's) experiences for your own gain, without their consent.

It's different if the figure is in the news, a celebrity, or otherwise public. Once a story goes public far enough, taking it to build into your own character becomes less ethnically dodgy. However, it's still a little ethnically dodgy, so use caution and research to expand upon the experience. But private blogs are not for inspiration.

And after all that's said and done— get a sensitivity reader who is a member of the group you're writing about. Preferably, get two or three. This helps catch any glaring mistakes, but isn't perfect.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  








Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact.
— George Eliot