#Adhd autism ocd I don’t know which one this falls under or if it is just one of them

[sunnyxjarrus]

You know what is absolutely insane

the fact that I can’t clean my room/ make breakfast/drink water etc without being told multiple times

but I have zero restraints when it comes to placing my hand on a burner that I know is on

(Look this time I did it to prove a point okay think it was 5 seconds[my brother claimed that he was letting the intrusive thoughts win by taking the lid off of the food just because the steam kinda hurt])

@local-lover-boy @urlocalmanicpixiedreamboy

[mxmorbidmidnight]

⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹

𝑇𝐻𝐸

𝑆𝐻𝐴𝑃𝐸𝑆𝐻𝐼𝐹𝑇𝐸𝑅

ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ ᚺ ᚾ ᛁ ᛃ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛋ ᛗ ᛏ ᛜ ᛚ

I greet thee dear, welcome to my blog. I am The Shapeshifter, The Wizard Goose, Plague upon John of England *menacing honking*. I am a Witch and a feral beast. I spend these days in which I suspend casting runes, spitting tricksome prophecies and harassing the English monarchy. How I have come here I know not, but joyous I am to converse with thee. I hope thou may find a thing of sorts here, whether it be comfort, whimsy, disturbance or perhaps the cup of dice.

𓋹

𓋹

I am called many names. Shapeshifter. Versipellis, Gerstaltwandler, ilcruthach, Vormveranderaar. All words meaning Shapeshifter. As well as Werewolverine, Lovecat, Dracaena, She-wolf and Jackalope Hare. These names I did snatch into my claws while doing historical, mythological, folkloric and etymological research. If you wish to know the etymology and history of these names look upon this post

🕸️What art thou to call me? however you please. Choose one in the previous list or assign me thine own title. As long as it is done with respect I shalt answer. To be given a name is a great honour. 🕸️

⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹⛧𓋹⛧⛧𓋹

I fall under the definition of nonhuman, I take many forms. Most notably a goose. Much of the posting thou may see upon here is I, The Mighty Goose, Plague upon John of England violently honking or screeching in Shakespearean. I often find myself taking forms such as that of a siren, Dracaena, Wolverine, Harpy, Jaguar, Bin Chicken, Hyena and jackrabbit. The forms in which I might take are boundless as the ways of water across this sphere. For I am whatever I please.

ᛐᛜᚢᚦ

☾ I bear connection to mythological and folkloric shapeshifters, as to be they are ballads of myself or perhaps a close friend ☽

My gender is fluid. The pronouns I do favour art he/she/it, preferably alternating between the three as I cannot be confined by one singular. I am polyamorous and queer. OOooOooOh hOnK hOnK

As of now I am writing The Shapeshifter. A ballad describing my identity. Here you may find what of it has been released. For the past four years I have been crafting a novel series. It is influenced by folklore and mythology, containing queer, nonhuman and disabled characters.

𝑃𝑂𝐸𝑇𝑅𝑌 𝑆𝐴𝑀𝑃𝐿𝐸𝑆

The Shapeshifter's lament (part of the Shapeshifter)

The Shapeshifter

Vivamus Moriendium Est

Fight Dog

The Verdict

𝑀𝑌 𝑁𝑂𝑉𝐸𝐿

Lore

Character intro

I am disabled and neurodiverse. I have FND, tourettes and POTs and I am a cane user (in need of a wheelchair but unable to access). I have OCD, ADHD, sensory processing and likely autism. I will often post about disability advocacy on this blog. I am apart of the goth subculture (my favourite bands art The Cure, Inkubus Sukkubus, Sisters of mercy, Bauhaus, Scary Bitches, Coctaeu twins). I am interested in classical literature, History, Folklore, Paganism, vulture culture, Etymology, Shakespeare and gothic horror. I will on occasion post images of my goth makeup upon this platform. I art a minor, be freaky and thou shalt be CURSED I say! grime of a chicken hearted mutt upon thee for thou art liver bellied and foul as a cattle foot in a yew stump.

ReQUESTS (honk)

The Challenge of the goose, tis a challenge where I the tricksome goose shalt grant thee a riddle. Simply request for one in mine ask box or say "I call upon the challenge of the goose". I will trial thee with a riddle I have written, if thou does succeed I shalt grant thee an honorary goose title.

In addition if thou art curious about my writing, identity as a shapeshifter or wish to ask me any questions, do so. Tis no reason for shame, inquiry and curiosity about what we do not understand is a wonderful thing.

Boundaries:

I AM A MINOR!!!! I will not private message with adults, adults can interact with my blog but private messaging is off the table. DNI: perverts and bigots. I don’t mind images of dead animals as long as it isn’t a dead goose. Please don’t send me pictures of dead, injured or cooked geese.

Tags:

#the shapeshifter's riddles : my poems

#morbid lore : to do with my ongoing ye olde goose feud with the entirety of Britland.

#challenge of the goose: answering riddle requests

#morbid memes: memes I have made myself (as seen below, mostly to do with geese)

#morbid's gaggle : interactions with moots

#morbid midnight : I tend to tag all my posts under this tag.

#morbid Reblogs

And now I must return to unionising the cows under lesbianism against John of England. Upon thee I wish plentiful fruit, soft sun upon thine cheek, much bounty and many adventures to seek. May the skin of your palms be coarse to the Strike of a bramble. So says The Shapeshifter

[disassociation-culture-is]

Hey, I don’t know if you allow questions so feel free to delete this if not. But basically I’m a singlet who only recently connected the dots in my mind that all the dissociative disorders I’ve ever heard of are associated with plurality. Beforehand, I've always thought of them as two different things though. And now I’m curious because like dissociating is just the feeling of leaving your body where it’s like you’re viewing yourself from a third person perspective, right? So are there any disorders that cause someone to dissociate but they still only have one personality? Or are those two traits always interconnected? /gen

They are not always connected at all!!! Anon, I don't know where you got that information but it's not right- dissociation and plurality are Often not connected.You were right before, they are Definitely different things.

(The rest is under the cut- there was a Lot more information than I thought, sorry)

dissociating is just the feeling of leaving your body where it’s like you’re viewing yourself from a third person perspective, right?

That’s one way people can experience dissociation- different people will describe it different ways

Some disorders that are dissociative disorders but don’t cause systemhood would be Derealization-Depersonalization disorder (DPDR), Dissociative Amnesia and Fugue, Otherwise-Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD), Unspecified Dissociative Disorder (UDD), Dissociative Neurological Symptom Disorder, and trance disorders

In the DSM-V, DPDR, which describes a specific type of dissociation where the person experiences derealization and/or depersonalization to the point of being impaired or distressed.

The DSM-V describes dissociative amnesia and fugue as like an episode or episodes of a person being unable to recall important and basic life information, like name and age. In a dissociative fugue (which is in the same diagnosis but can occur separately), the person might assume a new identity but it’s not inherently indicative of plurality

OSDD also is not inherently indicative of plurality, and while many people with OSDD *are* systems, not all of them fall under that category. UDD is similar in this way too

The ICD-11 has Dissociative Neurological Symptom Disorder and trance disorders, which have no connection to plurality at all (of course, people can experience both, but they are not connected Inherently)

However, there are many other disorders that have dissociation as a *symptom*. I can list some, but I suggest you do research on your own (for these and the ones listed above!!)

Autism, ADHD, PTSD, C-PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia, OCD, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, general trauma response, honestly any mental health issue often can lead to or be connect to dissociation

Maladaptive daydreaming disorder isn’t an “official” disorder, but it is heavily linked to dissociation

Dissociation can also be a side effect of medication (going off or starting certain ones) or alcohol

Again, do your own research for sure!! I suggest this website- very easy to read imo, concise and goes over things well: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociation-overview

[justaratswriting]

Batfam and Mental Health

orOkay so I love Batman and all the things surrounding it. Like the idea of a random rich man who happens to be an orphan just suddenly adopting a ton of children is ridiculous, and thoroughly entertaining.

But I am also a big fan of psychology, and learning about the mind. So mental illness and related things are fascinating to me. 

I notice that like strangely there is very little stuff about the batfam having mental illnesses or dealing with psychology or therapy. Don’t get me wrong there is still a lot addressing these things, but still with the things the family experiences you would think it would be a lot more prevalent in the writing about them, and especially fan fiction about them.

Like I think showing mental health through  beloved characters would be really cool and could be a tool to destigmatize them. Like showing hero's with them would make really great representation, people could see them and think Oh I can still be a good person and helpful even if my mental disorder makes it hard and for things like depression or ADHD showing which misconceptions are harmful and don’t work. 

I can also see this in the physical aspect, like I wish a hero would have something like chronic pain or one of the many invisible illnesses. To give representation and show how pushing through the pain can shut a person down for days. 

The specific disorders I think would be really interesting of the top of my head is, depression, Anxiety, POTS, Fibromyalgia, Chronic pain, eating disorders, nerve damage, ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Chronic fatigue, PTSD, c-PTSD, Autism, Elhers Danlos syndrome, And the one I really think would be interesting DID. 

Like fore depression, showing how hard it is to get out of bed. Not showing constantly being sad but showing how it can be numbing. Acknowledging that in a disorder like this logic doesn’t always win even if you are the most logical person to live. 

For anxiety showing how debilitating it can be. Looking into their minds to show the thought process, the mind fight itself and logic. Knowing their fears are unreasonable but not being able to shake the feeling. Show how for different people different things cause anxiety. 

POTS or Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, (super simply put it is a circulation disorder where upon standing up blood rushes to extremities and can cause all sorts of problems like fainting, pain in your feet, Dizziness, poor temperature regulation, etc. Also I am assuming people know what depression and anxiety is.) would be fascinating to me. Like having a hero that is constantly sitting down or biting down and pushing through the pain even a hero that has to slowly stand up. So in the middle of a battle being shoved down having to slowly stand up or risk fainting or vision completely blacking out for a while. Showing a hero who has learned to fight with no sight because of that very thing. 

Or Fibromyalgia (This one I am a little less educated about but from what I understand, it is a disorder characterized by muscle pain and tenderness usually with no known cause, so from what I understand it usually is diagnosed after a ton of other disorders are eliminated and the pain is still occurring, often also has affect on sleep and memory/mood.) Like showing a hero having a particularly hard patrol and having to take a couple days off and constantly going places or trying things to help with the pain. 

Or Chronic pain ( from what I understand the main difference between Fibromyalgia and Chronic pain is chronic pain has to do with the nerves and Fibromyalgia has to do with muscles, also Fibromyalgia has other thins to go with it like energy levels and mental functions so memory/mood.) Like a hero having constant pain even if they didn’t have a big fight, maybe showing them icing, heating, or taking pain meds and the rest of the family or team being super confused as to why. Before they know showing them freak out and worry that they went on a mission without telling anyone. Showing how it is a constant battle, that sometimes treatments will work and other times, for seemingly no reason they won’t. 

I would also like to see eating disorders portrayed by the bat family. Showing how it’s not always a conscious choice, sometimes it is more along the lines of choosing something else over eating. Showing how people can use it for control or to punish themselves. Letting there be a male example, reminding people that they can happen to anyone. Allowing people to have representation. Show a recovery, how it is not impossible for anyone but not down playing how hard it is. It is a true and hard fight, and show how it can sneak up on you and drag you back. Not just one easy recovery, that recovery is a choice. You have to want it but you also need help, it is a long hard process and accessibility is everything. Show a family member making them food, show them sometimes eating it and others not. Also don’t only show under eating show how people can’t stop themselves from eating. Having cabinets locked to keep people out, for their own safety. 

Or nerve damage, showing how years of their work and fighting can really mess someone up. Show someone suddenly losing all feeling or sensation in certain parts of their body or constant pain or even pinched nerves. Show how confusing it can be to not know what you are feeling. Show how weird it can be when you realize you are fine or that nothing is touching you or taking it in the opposite direction and not realizing you are hurt or someone is trying to be your attention. I would also love to see the batfam explain any of these injuries to the hero community or to the public. Maybe show the hero community really starting to look into mental and general health services. 

ADHD or also ADD, showing how people can use it but also showing how hard it can be to control and fight. How much it can impede focusing and show situations it can put people in. Show a hero forgetting a huge part of their plan and falling but because of some random information from a hyper focus they still save the day. 

Bipolar, showing the wild swings and how confusing it can be. Feeling like a different person, struggling with identity and their own decisions. Show them accidently pushing people away but also how hard they work to maintain family and friends that despite how unpredictable they can be their friends still stick around. Or if their friends can’t handle it show them peacefully and respectfully stepping out of their life. Show how hard that can be to except but that the future can end up better than you could ever hope. 

OCD is really one I wish we saw in the hero's. Show their routines and things they do. Show the thought process, like if I don’t properly put the dishes away in fourteen seconds the joker will escape arkham. Show how terrifying the thoughts can be, but show how detail oriented it can make people and the beautiful art and amazing work that they can do. Show a person putting them selves at risk to comply with their routine. Like ignoring injuries to write a report. Show them and family or friends working to change the routine. Show how hard it is the moments they want to turn back and continue and how much they want to stop but show them not giving up and making the differences they want. Show them accomplishing things, show their compulsions actually keeping them safe.

Or even chronic fatigue, Show the fight each morning. Them saving energy, the disconnect between how exhausted you are mentally vs. physically. Show a hero that 50% of the time physically is too exhausted to be in the field so they offer technical support. Show a hero crashing, suddenly just not having enough energy to finish patrol or even get home. So someone has to come pick them up. Show them getting stuck in a fight and how hard it can be to do anything much less a fight. 

Let the characters have PTSD or c-PTSD, show flashbacks and being stuck in your head. All of the bat family has lived through horrors please show it affecting them. Show how they get help how they work through it show what can happen and how bad it can get if it is unaddressed.  

Show them having autism and how it is just a different way of life that there is nothing inherently wrong with it and how the ignorance that surrounds it and similar disorders can hurt and affect people. Show how it can be simple things that can show it or affect it. Try and look at it from their perspective and what things happen that should not just because they way someone is. 

Elhers Danlos syndrome, show the pain, the misdiagnosis, the process, the fight. Show how disabilities like this and several others including ones I have mentioned can cause a person to need medical equipment such as wheelchairs and braces. Show how not everyone using a wheelchair can’t walk. Show how limiting it can be and the precautions you have to take but don’t make everything about how hard it can be. Show how using a Wheelchair while not ideal can open up so many opportunities. Show them actually being able to go on family vacations and amusement parks because they have a wheelchair. Show how important it is to have ramps and accommodations for similar things so people can participate and so people can actually go places they want. Always show how hard people with disabilities and such work. Show them trying to get treatment and trying new treatments show how it isn’t as simple as getting a knee brace or two. 

And finally coming to one that absolutely fascinates me, DID or Dissociative Identity Disorder formerly known as multiple personality disorder. But don’t do this one completely uneducated, it is already a very stigmatized disorder. Show how Alters communicate. Show how they all work together and that they were made so the body and mind could survive. Make full characters just put them in one body. Show the confusion once they find out, show them slowly realizing and learning signs and what happened to them. Show each of the Alters having different friends and maybe understanding and knowing the family different. Show the different reasons and setups systems can have. Show system responsibility and each Alter working on themselves and to make a life for the system. Show the roles Alters will take. Show the horrible process of fragmenting and what things can cause it but also show healing and people supporting and accepting systems. 

Overall showing good parts of all the struggles people can have but not ignoring how hard they can be or glorifying them to people who don’t understand. Showing misconceptions and how support can affect these disorders. And most important in my mind, giving hope and a future to look forward to for the people with these disorders.

[iclimbtreestofeelalive]

ADHD vent, baby

i think neurotypical people don’t really get what living with ADHD means, partly because it’s often only portrayed with the Quirky Symptoms like having trouble sitting still and daydreaming, when the reality is that those are tiny pieces of a much larger whole. a lot of ADHD is emotional dysregulation, but it’s harder for people as a whole to empathize with an angry or depressed person than a hyperactive and funny one.

a good example of a misunderstanding i run into a lot when i’m trying to explain to friends or teachers what ADHD/slight OCD looks like is insomnia. for anybody struggling to understand just how much it affects daily life, imagine this:

you start getting ready for bed at around 11:30, well past the time your body should have told you to go to bed. you brush your teeth, change into pajamas, and take nearly double the recommended amount of melatonin. the room is dark, you have a weighted blanket, the window is open, and an audiobook is playing. you’ve spent the past half hour laying on the floor, cooling your body down so you’re at the ideal temperature for snoozetime. you climb into bed, letting the soothing voice of the Harry Potter narrator drift you off to dreamland. you close your eyes, relaxing your entire body. 

your shirt is bunched up wrong.

you shift, fixing it. now the sleeve is wrong. you can’t go to sleep if it’s pulling at your shoulder blade like this. you fix it again. you continue like this until the shirt is perfectly situated so that it doesn’t feel wrong. you’re a little frustrated, but you make yourself relax. no use worrying about it, you’ll get to sleep eventually. by now, your face is hot, and you have to shift the pillow so that you aren’t stewing in your own body heat. you close your eyes. 

your face is relaxed, and your eyes should be facing forward, but you’re so concentrated on relaxing that your eyes are crossing on their own. your eyelids are closed, but your eyes are crossed. you open them, recalibrating. it’s fine. you can still go to sleep. you continue like this, eyes crossing and uncrossing, until your head hurts and it’s past midnight. your chest is tight. you just want to go to sleep. you can’t get anything done tomorrow if you don’t sleep tonight. your whole body is warm from frustration, and this makes you more frustrated. you throw your leg outside of the covers (you’re far past being afraid of anything grabbing it, the anger is so all-consuming). your eyes keep crossing. by now, your shirt is wrong again. you fix it. your pillow is hot. your shirt is wrong. you flip the pillow, but your arm has been under it, so the other side is warm too. you focus on the audiobook, but you’re angry, and it’s not helping. you flip from your side to your back. your shirt is twisted now. the inside of the blankets is hot and gross. you’re so mad you could punch a wall. a lump forms in your throat, and you’re almost crying. why can’t you go to sleep? you’re still angry. everything is too hot.

you get out of bed. you go to the bathroom and take a shower. it’s 1:50. (we’re going to pretend that corona is over. you have school in the morning. four hours until you have to wake up. not even enough time for a shitty sleep cycle.) you get on the internet. you watch a video about a man with seven wives. it’s 3:10 when you fall asleep on the floor, and 6:30 when you hear your alarm. 

But trying to explain this to teachers or friends will, at best, prompt sympathy and advice about staying off of the internet, and at worst, you won’t explain it well (explaining things out loud and sleep deprived is difficult) and they’ll come away thinking you’re exaggerating. 

emotional dysregulation is tough. not enough people know about it in relation to ADHD/ADD, which can lead to confusion when friends see you struggling with it. it can make you feel crazy, or stupid, or weird, and those feelings themselves can spiral. I spent the better part of my childhood stuffing my feelings because they were too big or all-consuming, and i didn’t know how to deal with them. this is my shoutout to all my ADHD/ADD/autism spectrum peeps who are dealing with it and still doing amazing things <3 this one’s for you, random citizen

[queer-crusader]

So I’m hypersensitive. It’s a neurdivergent thing, which means it’s common among people with ADHD, autism, OCD or other, ya know, neurodivergencies. (I fall under the AD(H)D category.) I don’t think it’s necessarily that i’m more sensitive, but more that i struggle to filter out the stimulii. Touch is especially bad for me, with friction being my particular demon. I feel my bare arm lightly pressed against my shirt, like i do right now with the way i am sitting to type this? My sensitivity is triggered. I feel my thighs brush against each other as i walk when wearing shorts? Yup, that triggers it. It causes my palms to sweat, it’s all i can focus on, it tires me out.

For me, clothing is therefore a godsend. The fabric puts a layer between my skin and the outside world, and it pretty much stays in place rather than lightly brushing against me with every move. Long trousers (especially soft baggy ones like pyjama bottoms) are great, long sleeves are like a soothing balm.

So imagine how thrilled i am (note the sarcasm) at the fact that i’m in a house that is ALL WINDOWS (like a greenhouse), with no central air-con (bc this ain’t america), and it’s gonna be 35C for the next 2-3 days. Wearing long clothes will boil me alive, wearing short ones will set me off. This is gonna be fun :)))

[mental-health-lexicon]

How to talk to mental healthcare professionals and tell them what you need

Disclaimer: This is based on my own experiences in the U.S.

For years I saw various mental healthcare professionals about symptoms that were causing me trouble, and for years these professionals brushed me off and gave me waffly answers about how ‘diagnoses don’t really matter’. I’m finally diagnosed with ADHD and OCD, and I’m finally getting the help I need. If you’re also struggling to get professionals to help you, here is my advice:

1. Tell them the whole truth. If you are (mis)diagnosed with something, don’t limit yourself to explaining your experiences in terms of that diagnosis. Tell them how you really feel, and don’t leave things out. If it doesn’t fit, they can adjust the diagnosis.

2. If you bring something up as a possible explanation/diagnosis for something that is really affecting you and they tell you that you don’t have it and treat you like you are overreacting: ask them what they think could be going on instead of what you suggested. You could be wrong about the label for it, but you know you are struggling, so don’t just let the conversation end. Ask them what they think is going on, not just what is not.

3. Ask what your options are. Talk therapy and SSRIs are not the only type of treatment available. CBT and DBT focus on learning coping skills and regulating behavior. EMDR can help with trauma. ERP is what saved me from anxiety/ocd hell. There are different medication options, too, if you want to try that. The point is, there is more out there to help you than just counseling and prozac. Also, just because your therapist knows the basics of a specific type of therapy/treatment doesn’t necessarily mean they can treat you as well as a specialist, so if you have access to one, it is so worth having to start with someone new. 

4. Specialists are a million times better at helping you with specific disorders, but they are not great at diagnosing you or helping with things outside of their specific focus. They tend to kind of look for their specific disorders. Not to say they don’t or can’t diagnose correctly, just that in my experience, specialists might not take into account additional factors. For instance, I was diagnosed with ocd, which was great bc I got access to treatment for it, but what the ocd specialists didn’t see was that some of my ocd behaviors were an attempt to control my undiagnosed ADHD.

5. Think of psychiatrists like specialists for meds. Because of insurance and how the system is set up, psychiatrists don’t meet with patients that often compared to therapists. Their job is really just to prescribe medication, not to spend lots of time figuring out what is going on. This kind of sucks, because often they are the ones that need to refer you for specialized treatment. You might have to do your own research to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Psychiatrists sometimes have nurses you can call that can talk to you for longer and explain medication options or take down notes about things you wanted to discuss but didn’t have time for in your appointment. In my experience, it is up to the patient to schedule appointments with their psychiatrist, otherwise months could go by without word from them. Don't feel bad about scheduling lots of appointments! It is their job to help you!!

6. If you’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety for ages and no one seems to be able to really tell you why you struggle with those things (especially if you’re AFAB), look into ADHD and autism. AFAB people are way under diagnosed, and it could explain why you’ve always felt ‘different’ or constantly overwhelmed. If you do feel like you fit the criteria for ADHD or autism, research and come to your appointment prepared to insist on getting evaluated. If they refuse to evaluate you, try to find someone else who will.

The bottom line here is that if you are struggling, you deserve help, and you should push for that help as much as you are able to.

Note: The mental healthcare system in the U.S. is disjointed, and unfortunately most of the responsibility falls on the patient to push for what they need. This post is not about the shortcomings of the system, but about what you can do as a patient to get the help you need in the system we have.

[vortexofdeduction]

Dungeons, Dragons, and Neurodiversity

So it’s not surprising that D&D documentation says nothing in about mental illness. Of course, there’s nothing to stop you from giving your character a mental illness for roleplay reasons (whether that’s to experience mental illness or to show other people what your illness is like. Side note: I say mental illness here since most things I list fall into that category, but technically I mean any kind of neurodiversity). However, I’ve been thinking that it would be really interesting to add some game mechanics for various mental illnesses. Note: these are obviously not Adventurer’s League legal, but feel free to use them in your homebrew games (credit would be nice, especially if you share my rules somewhere else). I included several well-known mental illnesses that I thought would work well in D&D. When I could, I tried to strike a balance between positive and negative features so that nothing is too game-breaking. Feel free to tweak as needed, and please provide feedback if you have suggestions of what to change and/or what to add. Under the cut is a list of mental illnesses and their mechanics, as well as the mechanics of coping mechanisms.

Overall things to consider:

How did your character get their disorder? Some people are just born that way, others are affected by mental illness as the result of physical or psychological trauma. Trauma in the world of DnD could be like trauma in our world (abuse, survivor guilt, etc.), but there is also potential for DnD themed trauma (mind-controlled and forced to harm loved ones, trapped in a dungeon for an excruciatingly long time, etc).

How does the disorder affect their personality? For example, people with anxiety disorders may be more anxious and nervous in general, and people with autism may talk a lot about their special interests.

What are their coping mechanisms? Coping mechanisms can can help temporarily ease the negative effects of mental illness. Players and DMs must discuss what coping mechanisms are appropriate to the character but also keep the game balanced. A few examples of positive coping mechanisms:

Medicine: can be bought from most stores in between campaigns (or any time the character can go to a store). Each disorder has its own medicine that diminishes all effects of your illness (positive and negative-- sorry that’s how medicine works) for a certain amount of time (usually one day) until the next dose is needed. However, it’s quite expensive and working as a freelance adventurer probably means you don’t have insurance to cover it. Also, there may be side effects. To be extra realistic, include a withdrawal mechanism which means you just can’t go on and off medication whenever you feel like it.

Meditation: spend a few minutes calming yourself in order to diminish negative effects of your illness. This cannot be done during combat (kind of hard to meditate when you and your friends are being attacked)

Support from friends: have one or more of your party members make a persuasion or performance check as they attempt to cheer you up. On a natural 1, your symptoms temporarily worsen. On a successful check (DM determines DC), the negative effects of your illness are diminished.

Some coping mechanisms are negative and thus have unpleasant side effects in addition to diminishing the negative effects of your illness. For example:

Self harm: make an attack roll against yourself using a melee weapon and take the damage you roll.

How do they feel about their mental illness? Do they hate it, have they gotten used to it and just come to accept it, do they think it makes them stronger, etc.

Do they have comorbid disorders? The more mental illnesses you add to one character, the more complicated it gets to keep track, so you probably don’t want more than 3. But hey, that’s between you and the DM.

OCD

The character may have one or more types of OCD permanently, and/or they may temporarily gain a type of OCD after certain situations. Suggested situations that may cause a character to have OCD: head trauma (waking up after being unconscious or dead), psychological trauma (e.g., watching a friend die), taking psychic damage. However it happens, the character gets an OCD type from the following list. The character may choose to make a wisdom save to try to resist. The first time it is DC 20. The DC decreases by 5 with each successful save and increases by 5 with each refusal to try to resist. (Players can decide whether their character is more likely to resist or to give in and whether the character knows what will be the effect of trying to resist.) The character no longer has that OCD type after the save DC is 0. If the save DC raises to something practically impossible (e.g., 35), the character may permananently have OCD, or the player may need to work with the DM to determine what can reduce the DC (perhaps look at the Coping Mechanisms section)

OCD types

Second-guessing: for every ability check, the player must make two rolls and take the second roll. This doesn’t apply in cases where the player has advantage or disadvantage.

Cleanliness: each time the character takes damage, they must spend their next turn in combat (or the next 5 minutes out of combat) cleaning themselves. No action, movement, or bonus action may be taken. The character also has advantage on perception or investigation checks related to "dirty" things (dirt, slime, blood, etc.)

Scrupulosity: the character is obsessively concerned with morality. The character switches to lawful alignment (good/neutral/evil stays the same) and must act according to a strict set of moral/religious rules. Clerics, paladins, and any other characters bound to an oath or a deity may become so concerned with upsetting their god or breaking their oath that their abilities related to their god or their oath (e.g., a cleric’s spells) may be less effective

Need to tell: the character has disadvantage on any deception checks and has a chance of blurting out information that should be kept secret.

Repeating: the character is compelled to repeat certain actions (DM determines which actions this affects). For example, the character may cross a bridge, feel like once wasn’t enough, and go back to the other side and cross the bridge again. To determine how many times an action is repeated, roll a die (DM determines which dice type).

Lucky/Unlucky numbers: roll two d20 dice (reroll if the number is 1 or 20). The first number is the lucky number; any ability rolls of this number automatically succeed as long as success is not impossible (e.g., a lucky number would succeed a DC 30 check to unlock a door, but fail at an attempt to pick a lock that cannot be picked). The second number is the unlucky number; any ability rolls of this number automatically fail (treat the roll as a natural 1).

Hypochondria: the DM picks a disease. The character now believes they have this disease. The symptoms are psychosomatic, but they do exist. The disease is not contagious. The disease can be cured by several successful persuasion checks from other party member(s) (follow the same decreasing DC rules as stated earlier for OCD types, but don’t increase the DC at any point) or any spell or potion that can cure a disease.

Counting: every time the character sees something countable (treasure, creatures, etc.), they are compelled to count. This could be time consuming and inconvenient. However, the character is better (faster and more accurate) at counting than someone without this type of OCD.

Autism

Poor social skills: the character's charisma score can be no higher than 5 which means the modifier is -3. Note: this does mean those points can be used for other attributes. The character also has disadvantage on any checks involving reading people (e.g., an insight check to tell if someone is lying)

Special interests: the character gains the equivalent of the ranger features Favored Enemy, Natural Explorer, and Fighting Style. Basically, choose an enemy, a terrain, and a fighting style and you are especially good when dealing with these things. For rangers with autism, the DM and player should work together to figure out appropriate features, either different ranger features or different autism features.

ADHD

Attention deficit: to maintain any sustained action (concentration spells, rituals, etc), the player must make a DC 10 wisdom save each turn of combat (or every few minutes out of combat) or lose focus. For players who can cast concentration spells, this replaces the DC 10 constitution save for concentration checks.

Hyperfocus: 3 times per long rest, the player may choose to take take two actions instead of one during a round of combat. After a short rest, one charge of this ability is regained.

Fidgeting: all that fidgeting around has gained the character a permanent +2 increase to their dexterity score.

Phobia

Fear: the character is afraid of a certain type of enemy (e.g., goblins), object (e.g., traps), type of magic (e.g., necromancy), or fighting style (e.g., archery). Whenever possible, the character will avoid the feared enemy or object or anything/anybody using the feared magic school or fighting style. The character will have disadvantage interacting with (using, attacking, etc.) the subject of their fear.

Knowledge: the character has advantage on any ability checks related to the object of their fear. For example, if the character is trying to identify a creature’s tracks, the DM may make another roll in secret and take the higher roll because the tracks are of the feared enemy.

PTSD

Traumatic memories: the rules for PTSD are similar to Phobia, except that the fear comes from a specific traumatic memory rather than an irrational fear. Also, a character with PTSD may have up to 5 triggers (taken from the categories mentioned in the Phobia section).

Flashback: instead of having disadvantage on interacting with one of their triggers, each time the character interacts with one of their triggers, roll a d4. On a 1 or 2, the character has a flashback. In combat, this takes up their turn. Out of combat, this simply means the action is not performed. Flashbacks cause characters to lose concentration.

Hypervigilance: while conscious, the character cannot be surprised.

Bipolar disorder

Mania: at certain times (DM’s choice, player’s choice, random dice rolls, or predetermined triggers decide when and how long mania occurs. DM decides which of these methods to go by.), the character goes into a manic state. During this state, the character may complete every action twice as fast. This applies to actions in combat, any out of combat actions that take a significant amount of time (e.g., ritual casting), and sleep (better than a trance; no “quiet time” needed, they can get right back to work). The character also has an elevated mood, meaning they have advantage on any saves against psychic damage and/or being charmed. They also have advantage on any saves against attempts to be demoralized (e.g., if an enemy tries to intimidate them). However, they are more reckless and thus have disadvantage on any ability checks involving dexterity or relating to impulse restraint.

Depression: immediately after the mania ends, the character enters a depressive state for the same length of time as the mania was. The low mood means they have disadvantage on any saves against psychic damage and/or being charmed. They also have disadvantage on any saves against attempts to be demoralized (e.g., if an enemy tries to intimidate them). For every turn in combat, first roll a d4. On a 1, the character focuses on past regrets and thus misses their whole turn. Before making an ability check, the character or another party member must motivate the character by making a wisdom save or a persuasion check, respectively. On a failed save/check, the character’s self confidence is too low to carry out the action. The character also needs twice as long to sleep.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Alters: create several different (but significantly different) character sheets, one for each alter (note: it is helpful to pick 4, 6, or 8 alter. More than that is a lot. If you choose a different number, you may need to make a table in which some alters are represented by more than one number). At time intervals as determined by the DM, roll a die to see which alter surfaces. (Optional rule: instead of choosing at random, have the player and DM discuss ahead of time which alter should surface when.) Use that alter’s character sheet. Apply the xp and loot gained from each session to all alter.

Schizophrenia

Hallucinations: at certain times (DM’s choice, player’s choice, random dice rolls, or predetermined triggers), the character experiences a hallucination. The DM rolls on a random encounter table (can be a regular random encounter table, or a table full of encounters that that specific character is likely to hallucinate). The character believes the hallucination is real and acts accordingly until either the hallucination finishes (after a predetermined amount of time) or the character succeeds on several wisdom checks to determine it is a hallucination (following a decreasing DC mechanism like with OCD).

Delusions: the character is living under one or more false beliefs, or delusions. These delusions have a significant impact on the character’s way of life, despite the fact that they are not true. Any attempts to convince the character that they are delusional will fail. However, the character may sometimes be convinced to act in opposition to their delusions.

Disordered: the character’s thought and speech patterns are often disordered and may be confusing to other people. The character has disadvantage on ability checks relating to attempts to communicate with others (persuasion, intimidation, etc).

[pastelacrylics]

Shutdown/meltdown vs. sensory overload vs. panic attack?

I've struggled with this one too. Its weird and hard to decipher. I tend to categorize them based on cause, outward symptoms, and severity.Sensory overload (while miserable) is what I consider the least severe. Everything feels too much but you can still function enough to leave and/or get the input to stop. This generally comes before a meltdown or shutdown.Meltdowns/Shutdowns are like realllllly bad sensory overloads, plus a level of exhaustion from communication and other people. This is a double whammy when it comes to causes, and is generally unsolvable without stimming and waiting it out. This leads to acting out or being unable to interact. Panic attacks are from anxiety attacks (a sense of dread) that just won't go away. Once it's a panic attack and not an anxiety attack, you've hit the point that you think you are dying, you can't breathe, and it feels like a freaking heart attack. Anxiety attacks are similar, heart racing and pounding, difficult breathing, but you aren't quite calling 911 over them. They are caused mainly by internal stuff, no sensory input you can just shut down. These can also lead to meltdowns or shutdowns, if its from other people and communication exhaustion mixed with anxiety, which I know they sometimes can be. I hope this helps! 

So my sister has lots of things, one being autism, and when she has meltdowns, she hits her head. Now.. Okay, it wouldn't be so bad, but she has these plastic 'Yo-Kai Watches' (if you know what those are), and she hits her head with those, and has cracked them before. I'm really worried she might hurt herself, but any reasoning I try to give she doesn't understand. Any advice on what to do?? Because I really don't want her to hurt herself...

It sounds like she is stimming during these meltdowns! I know that redirecting one urge to do a dangerous, self injurious, or destructive stim into a less bad one can help her, and ease your anxiety. Next time she starts melting down, help guide her to a soft area like a couch or bed, and she can rock and hit that instead. You can also try finding stim toys or comfort items that she likes, and it will help her use other things to self regulate when coming down from a meltdown.

If you can figure out the cause of the meltdowns (usually noise/ lights/ other easily decipherable sensory input), getting rid of and preventing the cause will also help insure this happening less.

I'm newly diagnosed so I don't know much about my autism yet, but what do autistic burnout feel like? or what are their symptoms? because I'm not sure if this is what I'm experiencing or if it's something else...

((As a mod I would personally leave this question to someone else, but I really hate leaving things blank or without an attempt because I've had so many years of being taught not to, so I guess I'll try)

Autistic burnout is the feeling of exhaustion when it comes to having dealt with many social interactions and people. Generally for me its just a lethargic feeling, and I don't want to do anything and I enter a shutdown of sorts. A lot of the time I find it is personally accompanied by an anxious feeling.

Sorry if you've already gotten a question like this before but what are the main traits for diagnosing autism?

I dont personally know a lot about professional diagnosis's, but I know that for my self diagnosis I looked at loads of research that basically boiled down into three big groups, and one "other" group.

-Social issues         This could include issues with communication or eye contact, or general         misunderstandings and a lack of real friends and connections. -Sensory issues        This includes being sensitive to noise, light, touch, taste, textures in general,         or being so insensitive that you seek out anything to enrich your life with       new/different sensory experiences. -Self stimulatory behaviors       Stimming can mean lots of different things, but hand flapping is particularly      common, as is spinning, rocking, or other "fidgets" -An "Other" category        A need for routines, executive dysfunction, and other traits that are       attributed to your autism would fall into this category. I would google any       traits you are personally wondering about, along with "autism" and see if it      falls into this category.

What is the difference between autism, ADHD, and asbugers ( forgot how to spell that sorry)??

Aspergers is no longer considered a separate diagnosis from Autism anymore, as they both fall under "Autism Spectrum Disorder", the new label under the DSM5.

Because of that, I can't tell you much about the old differences between those two, but I know that Aspies were basically just "higher-functioning" (less obvious) Autistics.

ADHD and the similar ADD, OCD, and SPD are all cousin disorders of Autism, having many (but not all) of the same traits. With ADHD in particular, it means that there will be very few social issues in comparison. Mainly, the issues will be in compulsions, hyperactivity, need for routine, easily distracted, and social issues will be confusion over not following the whole conversation. ADHD is often times accompanied by executive dysfunction, or the inability to do certain tasks, and you generally won't even understand why.

what are some examples of autistic social difficulties?

-Not being able to make eye contact (or being uncomfortable at all with it) -hyperempathy (or being able to feel what others are feeling) -general confusion -sarcasm going over your head -taking things too literally -answering people out of turn or when they aren't expecting you to -not talking when you are expected to -talking too much/ not taking turns in conversation -talking about "uncomfortable" topics (such as being very observant and talking about things you weren't told by the person and them shifting away)

Is it possible to become/appear less autistic as you grow older?

As you develop more and more coping mechanisms and stims, and learn from others what is or is not "socially acceptable" you may appear less autistic. It is part of growing up autistic in a world that doesn't entirely fit to you. This is common, but not everyone goes through it. If you appear less autistic, it doesn't mean you've become less autistic, just that you've changed how you deal with the world around you.