#when in reality their “delusions” / “magical thinking” / “hallucinations”

[prettyciggy]

your schizo is showing are you doing okay?

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Heey, hope this finds you well! Can you make writing notes about psychoses? I'm really interested about writing about my OC's mental state, thanks!

Writing Notes: Psychosis

Defining "Psychosis"

Psychosis - a collection of symptoms that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality. During an episode of psychosis, a person’s thoughts and perceptions are disrupted and they may have difficulty recognizing what is real and what is not.

The 3 Main Symptoms of psychosis are:

hallucinations – where a person hears, sees and, in some cases, feels, smells or tastes things that do not exist outside their mind but can feel very real to the person affected by them; a common hallucination is hearing voices

delusions – where a person has strong beliefs that are not shared by others; a common delusion is someone believing there's a conspiracy to harm them

disordered thinking and speaking - a person's thoughts and ideas come very quickly, which can make their speech fast and confusing

The combination of hallucinations and delusional thinking can cause severe distress and a change in behaviour.

Experiencing the symptoms of psychosis is often referred to as having a psychotic episode.

Psychosis occurs when a person loses contact with reality. The person may:

Have false beliefs about what is taking place, or who one is (delusions)

See or hear things that are not there (hallucinations)

It is an abnormal mental state involving significant problems with reality testing.

Characterized by serious impairments or disruptions in the most fundamental higher brain functions:

perception,

cognition and cognitive processing, and

emotions or affect

as manifested in behavioral phenomena, such as:

delusions,

hallucinations, and

significantly disorganized speech

Psychosis is most likely to occur in young adults and is quite common.

Around 3 out of every 100 young people will experience a psychotic episode.

Most make a full recovery from the experience.

Psychosis can happen to anyone.

An episode of psychosis is treatable, and it is possible to recover.

It is widely accepted that the earlier people get help the better the outcome.

25% of people who develop psychosis will never have another episode, another 50% may have more than one episode but will be able to live normal lives.

Some people who develop psychosis may need ongoing support and treatment throughout their lives.

Historically: psychosis referred to any severe mental disorder that significantly interferes with functioning and ability to perform activities essential to daily living.

First Episode Psychosis

Refers to the first time someone experiences psychotic symptoms or a psychotic episode.

People experiencing a first episode may not understand what is happening.

The symptoms can be highly disturbing and unfamiliar, leaving the person confused and distressed.

Unfortunately, negative myths and stereotypes about mental illness and psychosis in particular are still common in the community.

A psychotic episode occurs in 3 phases. The length of each phase varies from person to person:

Phase 1: Prodome (psychosis syndrome)

The early signs may be vague and hardly noticeable. There may be changes in the way some people describe their feelings, thoughts and perceptions, which may become more difficult over time. Each person’s experience will differ and not everyone will experience all of the following "common signs":

Reduced concentration

Decreased motivation

Depressed mood

Sleep disturbance

Anxiety

Social withdrawal

Suspiciousness

Deterioration in functioning

Withdrawal from family and friends

Odd beliefs/magical thinking

[Magical thinking - the belief that events or the behavior of others can be influenced by one’s thoughts, wishes, or rituals. Magical thinking is typical of children up to 4 or 5 years of age, after which reality thinking begins to predominate.]

Phase 2: Acute

The acute phase is when the symptoms of psychosis begin to emerge.

It is also known as the "critical period."

Clear psychotic symptoms are experienced, such as hallucinations, delusions or confused thinking.

During this phase, the person experiencing psychosis can become extremely distressed by what is happening to them or behave in a manner that is so out of character that family members can become extremely concerned and may start to seek help. Before this stage the individual may have been experiencing a more gradual decline.

Phase 3: Recovery

With effective treatment most people will recover from their first episode of psychosis and may never have another episode.

It is important to remember that psychosis is a treatable condition and if help is sought early, an individual may never suffer another episode.

Initially, some of the symptoms that are apparent in the acute phase may linger in the recovery phase but with appropriate treatment most people successfully recover and return to their normal, everyday lives.

Some Symptoms of Psychosis

A person with psychosis may have any of the following:

Disorganized thought and speech

False beliefs that are not based on reality (delusions), especially unfounded fear or suspicion

Hearing, seeing, or feeling things that are not there (hallucinations)

Thoughts that "jump" between unrelated topics (disordered thinking)

What does psychosis look like? Responding to things, losing track of thoughts, appearing frightened or being very sure of things which don’t seem to be true, some people are more withdrawn, or their personality seems different. Big changes in behaviour and ability to do their usual activities.

Each person who experiences psychosis will have a unique experience and combination of symptoms, which may include:

Hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling or tasting things that other people don’t (sometimes called hallucinations)

Feeling unsafe and that people are working against you, or trying to harm you

Believing that you have special powers or abilities

Noticing patterns or feeling that things have a special significance for you (such as believing a famous song has been written about you or an event in the news has been caused by you)

Finding it hard to follow conversations, getting muddled in your thoughts or when speaking

Feeling that your thoughts have been removed or tampered with, or that someone else is in control of your body

Some people also become quite withdrawn and experience loss of motivation and emotions

When experiencing psychosis, people often struggle with their relationships, daily activities, school or work.

Some people, when told they have psychosis, worry that they might have a long-term mental illness like schizophrenia.

It’s important to know that psychosis can happen for all sorts of different reasons and having an episode doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have another or that you will have a long-term problem.

Psychotic symptoms typically include changes in thinking, mood and behavior. Symptoms vary from person to person and may change over time. Some of the more characteristic symptoms can be grouped into 5 categories:

Confused Thinking: Thoughts become muddled or confused. The person may not make sense when speaking. The person may have difficulty concentrating, following a conversation or remembering things. His or her mind may race or appear to be processing information in slow motion.

False Beliefs: False beliefs, known as delusions, are common. The person can be so convinced of the reality of their delusion that no amount of logical argument can dissuade them. For example, they may believe the police are watching them, or they might think they are receiving special messages from the television, radio or newspaper.

Hallucinations: In psychosis, the person sees, hears, feels, smells or tastes something that is not actually there. For example, they may hear voices which no one else can hear, or see things which aren’t there. Things may taste or smell as if they are bad or even poisoned.

Changed feelings: How someone feels may change for no apparent reason. They may feel strange and cut off from the world. Mood swings are common and they may feel unusually excited or depressed. A person’s emotions feel dampened and they may show less emotion to those around them.

Changed behavior: People with psychosis may behave differently from the way they usually do. They may be extremely active or lethargic. They may laugh inappropriately or become angry or upset without apparent cause. Often, changes in behavior are associated with the symptoms already described above. For example, a person believing they are in danger may call the police. Someone who believes he is Jesus Christ may spend the day preaching in the streets. A person may stop eating because they are concerned that the food is poisoned, or have trouble sleeping because they are scared.

The symptoms of psychosis are often categorized as either “positive” or “negative.”

Positive symptoms are those that add to or distort the person’s normal functioning. They include:

delusions (false beliefs that are firmly held and are out of keeping with the person’s culture)

hallucinations (hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling or feeling something that is not actually there)

disorganized speech, thoughts or behaviour (e.g., switching rapidly between subjects in speaking; finding it hard to concentrate or follow a conversation; being unable to complete everyday tasks).

Negative symptoms involve normal functioning becoming lost or reduced. They may include:

restricted emotional and facial expression

restricted speech and verbal fluency

difficulty with generating ideas or thoughts

reduced ability to begin tasks

reduced socialization and motivation.

Other symptoms may include:

cognitive symptoms, such as difficulties with attention, concentration and memory

mood changes

suicidal thoughts or behaviours

substance abuse

sleep disturbances.

Possible Causes of Psychosis

Medical problems that can cause psychosis include:

Alcohol and certain illegal drugs, both during use and during withdrawal

Brain diseases, such as Parkinson disease and Huntington disease

Brain tumors or cysts

Dementia (including Alzheimer disease)

HIV and other infections that affect the brain

Some prescription drugs, such as steroids and stimulants

Some types of epilepsy

Stroke

Psychosis may also be found in:

Most people with schizophrenia

Some people with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive) or severe depression

Some personality disorders

Assessment

Psychiatric evaluation and testing are used to diagnose the cause of the psychosis. Laboratory testing and brain scans may not be needed, but sometimes can help pinpoint the diagnosis. Tests may include:

Blood tests for abnormal electrolyte and hormone levels

Blood tests for syphilis and other infections

Drug screens

MRI of the brain

Clinician-Rated Dimensions of Psychosis Symptom Severity. The American Psychiatric Association is offering a number of “emerging measures” for further research and clinical evaluation.

These patient assessment measures were developed to be administered at the initial patient interview and to monitor treatment progress.

They should be used in research and evaluation as potentially useful tools to enhance clinical decision-making and not as the sole basis for making a clinical diagnosis.

Treatment

Depends on the cause of the psychosis.

Care in a hospital is often needed to ensure the person's safety.

Antipsychotic drugs, which reduce hallucinations and delusions and improve thinking and behavior, are helpful.

Psychosis can prevent people from functioning normally and caring for themselves.

Left untreated, people can sometimes harm themselves or others.

Prevention depends on the cause. For example, avoiding alcohol prevents psychosis caused by alcohol use.

Coordinated specialty care consists of multiple components:

Individual or group psychotherapy is tailored to a person’s recovery goals. Cognitive and behavioral therapies focus on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to build resilience and cope with aspects of psychosis while maintaining and achieving personal goals.

Family support and education programs teach family members about psychosis as well as coping, communication, and problem-solving skills. Family members who are informed and involved are more prepared to help loved ones through the recovery process.

Medication management (also called pharmacotherapy) means tailoring medication to a person’s specific needs by selecting the appropriate type and dose of medication to help reduce psychosis symptoms. Like all medications, antipsychotic medications have risks and benefits. People should talk with a health care provider about side effects, medication costs, and dosage preferences (daily pill or monthly injection).

Supported employment and education services focus on return to work or school, using the support of a coach to help people achieve their goals.

Case management provides opportunities for people with psychosis to work with a case manager to address practical problems and improve access to needed support services.

How well a person does depends on the cause of the psychosis.

If the cause can be corrected, the outlook is often good. In this case, treatment with antipsychotic medicine may be brief.

Some chronic conditions, such as schizophrenia, may need lifelong treatment with antipsychotic drugs to control symptoms.

Early Intervention

Research has found that early intervention is beneficial for patients and loved ones for the following reasons:

Less treatment resistance and lower risk of relapse

Reduced risk for suicide

Reduced disruptions to work or school attendance

Retention of social skills and support

Decreased need for hospitalization

More rapid recovery and better prognosis

Reduced family disruption and distress

A person will often show changes in their behavior before psychosis develops. Behavioral warning signs for psychosis include:

Suspiciousness, paranoid ideas, or uneasiness with others

Trouble thinking clearly and logically

Withdrawing socially and spending a lot more time alone

Unusual or overly intense ideas, strange feelings, or a lack of feelings

Decline in self-care or personal hygiene

Disruption of sleep, including difficulty falling asleep and reduced sleep time

Difficulty telling reality from fantasy

Confused speech or trouble communicating

Sudden drop in grades or job performance

Alongside these symptoms, a person with psychosis may also experience more general changes in behavior that include:

Emotional disruption

Anxiety

Lack of motivation

Difficulty functioning overall

In some cases, a person experiencing a psychotic episode may behave in confusing and unpredictable ways and may harm themselves or become threatening or violent toward others. The risk of violence and suicide decreases with treatment for psychosis, so it is important to seek help. If you find that you are experiencing these changes in behavior or notice them in a friend or family member and they begin to intensify or do not go away, reach out to a health care provider.

IN TEENS OR YOUNG ADULTS. Before having clear symptoms of psychosis, a teen or young adult often experiences distressing changes in thoughts and emotions. They might:

believe something odd is going on with them, or feel confused about what is real or imaginary

feel singled out, watched, or not fully in control of their thoughts

report changes in perception, such as their eyes or ears playing tricks, hearing jumbled, incomprehensible voices, or seeing shadows or figures in the corners of their eyes

ask for help in trying to make sense of unsettling experiences like these.

Programs specializing in psychosis risk aim to reach out to these individuals.

Recognizing the early signs of psychoses are important in order to get appropriate treatment as early as possible. Early symptoms of psychosis may include, but are not limited to:

odd or bizarre behavior

changes in thinking or speech

decrease in personal hygiene

social withdrawal

preoccupation with a particular topic

marked changes in emotion

Other, more obvious symptoms may include: 

extreme suspicion of others,

paranoia, 

auditory or visual hallucinations,

delusions and odd, irrational beliefs.

Psychosis is often stigmatized and misunderstood, which can get in the way of getting help. But research has shown that three-quarters of people who do get effective help early can experience relief from their symptoms.

For people who show signs of a possible psychosis, sometimes called "attenuated psychosis syndrome," only about one-third go on to develop a full-blown psychosis. However, they usually have symptoms of depression and anxiety, which can benefit from treatment.

Psychosis as a Symptom

A number of mental illnesses can include psychosis as a symptom, including:

Schizophrenia: A person has some psychotic symptoms for at least 6 months, with a significant decline in the ability to function.

Schizophreniform disorder: A person has some psychotic symptoms for more than one month and less than 6 months.

Bipolar disorder: With this type of illness, the symptoms of psychosis relate more to mood disturbance than to thought disturbance.

Schizoaffective disorder: A person will have symptoms of schizophrenia and, at some point in the course of illness, concurrent symptoms of a mood disturbance.

Depression with psychotic features: A person has severe depression and symptoms of psychosis without the mania associated with bipolar disorder.

Drug-induced psychosis: The use of drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, LSD, amphetamines and alcohol can sometimes cause psychotic symptoms.

Organic psychosis: Sometimes, symptoms of psychosis may appear as a result of a physical illness or a head injury.

Brief psychotic disorder: This type of psychosis usually lasts less than a month. It is sometimes triggered by a major stress in the person's life, such as a death in the family.

Delusional disorder: This type of psychosis consists of very strong, fixed beliefs in things that are not true, without the presence of hallucinations.

Psychotic Disorder - any of a number of severe mental disorders, regardless of etiology, characterized by gross impairment in reality testing. The accuracy of perceptions and thoughts is incorrectly evaluated, and incorrect inferences are made about external reality, even in the face of contrary evidence. Specific symptoms indicative of psychotic disorders are delusions, hallucinations, and markedly disorganized speech, thought, or behavior; individuals may have little or no insight into their symptoms. Some examples of psychotic disorders are schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder, and psychotic disorders due to a substance (see substance-induced psychotic disorder) or to a medical condition.

How to help someone else experiencing symptoms of psychosis:

Often, family and friends help identify someone who is struggling with psychosis, and suffering from their symptoms, so they're important to getting them in touch with professionals who can help.

Stressful life events, such as going off to college or breaking up with a significant other, can trigger psychosis. Further research is needed into why this is, but a low underlying "stress tolerance" level is often seen.

It's all right to mention to someone that you're worried about them, and open the door to discussing it at that point or later. You can find out if there's an early-psychosis clinic near you, and provide information or offer to contact them.

If you notice signs that they're harming themselves, that's the time to seek immediate help, often by starting with contacting suicide hotline or nearby psychiatric emergency room for advice. People with psychosis have 10 to 15 times the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors than others.

Treatment, support and how to help find answers for people struggling with psychosis:

Treatments for people showing potential signs of psychosis mostly focus on talk therapy, also called cognitive behavioral therapy. Family and group therapy are also important, and can be done virtually.

For people who show clear breaks with reality, antipsychotic medication can help greatly. The vast majority of people who receive these medicines experience improvement in their symptoms, but they may also experience side effects, so it's important to work with a trained professional to find the best fit.

Women who experienced postpartum psychosis after having a baby are at high risk of experiencing it again if they have another pregnancy, and should receive special attention during and after pregnancy.

A very small number of people with psychosis may be driven by their paranoia or hallucinations to act strangely in public or try to harm others. If you find yourself having to call the police because of such behaviors, make sure they understand and acknowledge that the person you're calling about has a mental health condition and needs help getting to appropriate care.

Just like many infectious diseases can cause a fever, psychosis is part of many mental health conditions – but what exactly causes it isn't well understood. That's why researchers needs people with psychosis to consider taking part in the studies they're running.

"Psychosis strikes in the years when people are just starting to be truly independent in life, work and school, which can make it especially devastating to the person and the family. The process of brain maturation depends on a lot of things going right inside our brains and if they don't, things can go askew. The longer they go untreated, the higher the chance they may experience damage to the brain and be worse off even when they get treatment." Stephan Taylor M.D., who leads a team at Michigan Medicine that specializes in early care for psychosis

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ Resources PDFs

Writing about Mental Health Conditions

Hi, here are some references. Choose which ones are most appropriate to incorporate in your story. If possible, it would also be valuable if you know person/s who experience psychosis & speaking with them about it (or if you have personal experiences you could draw from). There's a wide range, so narrowing your depiction down to model one specific life story (or borrowing from just a few) could make your writing more realistic. Do go through the sources linked above as well for more details I wasn't able to include here. Hope this helps with your writing!

[3liza]

I'm trying to figure out how to communicate instructions to other people about how I almost completely escaped my crippling adolescent body dysmorphia and anorexia but the thing is I don't really know how it happened. it was like one day I woke up and didn't care that much.

i still had all the central psychological dysfunctions but it was like I had decided to ignore them because I had finally internalized that I was acting crazy and acting crazy, unlike being crazy, is a choice. unless you're experiencing psychosis or delusions. and the body dysmorphia is a form of delusion certainly but it's a form you can still sample against reality and see that it's not matching up. you can't do this with actual hallucinations but you can do it with stuff like obsessive thoughts about how ugly you are and how everyone hates you and how ugly people have no value etc etc. that kind of stuff is observably false and integrating constant reality checking into your obsession loops will derail a lot of the delusional obsession. your brain will fight back with arguments like "it's fine for her to be ugly because of magical reason I made up but it's not fine for me because of another magical reason I made up" but these arguments can also be quickly reality checked into irrelevance even if you still *feel* they are true. you may FEEL that the obsessive delusions are true but you can, to a certain extent, make a decision to KNOW and more importantly to ACT as if they are not.

so the new thought loop could go something like: "I'm so fucking ugly. so what if I'm 'ugly'. it doesn't seem to matter when I look around and reality check my level of ugliness to the success and affection people uglier than I am seem to experience. there just be something else wrong with me. but that doesn't make sense because actually a lot of people do like me and care about me. i have proof of that in the form of messages and memories. I'm so fucking ugly. but I'm looking closely at this unfiltered Getty image in incredibly high resolution of a celebrity on the red carpet. and she has terrible skin. her skin looks just as bad as mine does in the brightly lit bathroom mirror because there are no filters on this brightly lit professional journalist's photograph. that's really interesting. i bet I can see the same level of ugliness in everyone else that I see in the mirror if I really look"

i don't think you can fix yourself to be not crazy. i don't think that's a thing that happens. i think most therapists are useless or MLM subscribers who want to try out their latest hype word MLM technique on your because they paid $3000 to be "certified" in Hidden Dream Cousin Interrogation Biodynamics, which will test 2% better than jingling keys in front of the control group in two papers on PubMed until crumbling to replication crisis in three years.

i think what you can actually do is add additional systems checks to deal with how fucking crazy you are and always will be until you stop being able to fuck up as much with it. like an airlock system basically. i think good therapists are able to show people how to do this and maybe get them meds that tamp down some of the nasty things the craziness constantly causes to happen. but they're so rare I've never actually met one lmao

[strawberyaurabya]

Do you think Belos convinced himself he “saved” Caleb by killing him?

Hello, @raptors-n-foxes!

Knowing his ideology, probably. From the early 1600s, Philip and his brother were raised in what was inferred to be a strict, Puritanical society with little to no regard for kindness towards those who were different from the optimal image of what was right in their religion’s eyes.

Puritans who had began immigration from Britain and other parts of Europe in that time period initially moved to North America (and what was soon to become the colonies) to pursue a more strict and taut practice of their interpretation of the Bible, since they began to view the churches of England as corrupt. So from there, we can already assume that the people of Gravesfield were already very self-righteous and difficult to subject to change. So putting two, vulnerable orphaned brothers in that society would probably lead them to be heavily indoctrinated and influenced, since it’s the only opportunity for survival and a chance at acceptance.

Since Caleb was revealed to be older, he would be less susceptible to conforming in order to be deemed “fit”, and we can see how he eventually overcame such unsavory discrimination when he befriended witches. Philip, being younger, would not. Children with less developed minds are likely to follow in the path of elders that they look up to… Even if their role models aren’t the most optimal ones. And as they grow older, they plunge deeper into the hatred and warped perception of those around them, with a harder chance to get out. Philip Wittebane is a victim of his time period, which later grows up to be a living example of the foolishness and out-dated standards of his time.

So when Caleb left that hole to find sanctum in the Boiling Isles, where he finally found his true home, Philip saw it as an act of betrayal. Not only towards him, but towards their dreams, their town’s ideals, and their future. My personal take of Philip’s thoughts is that he did not believe that his brother, which he had spent his entire life around, would throw their relationship away like that. He would rather believe that Caleb had spent so much time around witches and forbidden magic, that it had taken over his mind and corrupted him. Hence, came the idea of putting him out of his misery. We can see such parallels in King’s Tide (The scene in which he had captured Luz and was trying to convince her to join him in his return to Gravesfield), when Luz had called him a hypocrite; his exact words were…

“I do pity you. These monsters have warped your sense of reality. Perhaps it'd be merciful to put you out of your misery…”

So it’s either his sadism, or Belos is in so much denial that his way is the incorrect way, that he’d rather believe that Caleb and Luz been swept away by dark magic instead. And since he’s had 400 years to mingle upon those thoughts and convince himself he’s in the right, he would believe it. And it’s so twisted, that even hallucinations of his brother have only fed his delusions. In the episode, For the Future, even near his death bed, he replies:

“I tried to save your soul. It's your fault this all happened!”

Which verbally summarizes what his motivation is behind killing his brother. (Maybe he even believes that making grimwalkers of his brother gives him a certain chance at “redemption”; a chance to prove that he doesn’t have to be seduced by the charm of witches and their realm) (Oh, and also… In this clip, the hand that falls off is his right one, leaving him with only his left hand. Which is not only his predominant hand, but also the kind that Puritans were discouraged from using as it was associated with the Devil’s work. Not related to this question, I just thought it would be something interesting to share!)

So, in summary, yes. I do believe that Philip convinced himself that killing Caleb saved him in the long run. This is PART of what makes him evil compared to his older brother. It is his willful refusal to change, to accept the peace between magic and conformity.

[liesmyth]

my locked tomb hot take of the day is that the way Harrow’s symptoms are presented in HtN line up much more closely with religious OCD with poor insight and psychotic features than schizophrenia. She shows almost no signs of paranoia or delusions (G1deon really was trying to kill her! It’s absolutely true that the other houses would swoop in like vultures if they knew her house’s true position! Her sword and psyche were both actually haunted, to the point that Alecto could hitch a ride in her body. She is never shown in the text to hold a belief that is inconsistent with reality, IMO) and her only true psychotic symptom that we see is hallucinations, and she seems to most of the time have some idea that they aren’t real, which indicates a level of self awareness incompatible with schizophrenia. She also doesn’t seem to display many cognitive symptoms like thought block or disorganized speech and thinking. The rest of her behavior is highly obsessive (compulsive praying, wearing face paint even when nobody is around, obsessive studying, needing her food to be arranged on her plate a certain way) and is very in line with someone suffering from religious scrupulosity. As someone who has experienced both OCD and psychosis, and knows how the symptoms can overlap, this is is the hill I will die on.

I don't feel like I can contribute in any meaningful way to your points, so I'll just put this out into the world and say that I appreciate your insights!

Speaking from a #meta perspective: I know that around the time HtN came out, Tamsyn gave interviews talking about her own experiences being hospitalised for mental health reasons and implied that was what she was partly drawing on when writing HtN. I can't remember if she called Harrow schizophrenic or stated that it was her intention to write her as such, and the author is dead anyway. Plus, obviously, the fact that someone's writing was informed by irl experiences doesn't have to mean that said writing is a 1:1 parallel for those experiences, expecially in a sff setting where ghosts exists and in fact there's something that Harrow can see and nobody else can.

TO ME, the fact that people who experience psychotic episodes can recognise themselves in Harrow's internal monologue and experiences is more meaningful than whether Harrow “really” has a given specific disorder or she's just seeing ghosts. The point is that SHE feels a disconnect from reality and that she's delusional and cannot trust anything she remembers or reads. Nobody in-universe is ever going to diagnose her, you know? The series itself doesn't claim to be straight-up representation for any specific named issues — things like Cytherea's cancer or Harrow's mental state are left ambiguous and partly influenced by magic. I think the fact that readers can relate to some symptoms some characters experience is more meaningful than whether these symptoms all point to something that can be diagnosed unambiguously.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!

[homestuckreplay]

Maybe she's schizophrenic or on the schizo-spectrum? Or maybe she has some other disorder with psychosis? The way she explains her visions and stuff does look familiar to how the previously mentioned disorder make people have unexplainable (except for them) visions

that's a really interesting idea! I don't personally know much about schizophrenia or psychosis, so I'm doing a little research right now, and I gotta say the more I read about people's experiences the more I find this convincing. I've learned that in addition to hallucinations and delusions, people with schizophrenia can experience disordered thinking or urgent/scattered/racing thoughts, problems with memory, and behavior that would seem impulsive or haphazard to an observer but makes sense to the person experiencing it - all of which describes Jade.

Jade is a very outwardly happy person, and although this doesn't necessarily mean she's happy deep down, I was curious on if people had any positive experiences with schizophrenia, especially given that some negative parts of disability just come from society not being accommodating. Jade of course doesn't have to deal with things like employment or claiming disability benefits. I learned that many people view their schizophrenia as fully negative and making their lives harder, while other people do find some positive aspects, some of which can be linked to Jade.

some people find that delusions can keep them company and aid in loneliness - this could be Jade's relationship with Grandpa

some people report a strong sense of integrity or being 'kept honest' by delusions, as voices they hear will bully them if they go against their own values - again, Jade hears Grandpa telling her off if she leaves the house without enough guns

imagination and decreased chance of experiencing boredom, being able to retreat into a personal world for entertainment - Jade does this when she consults her reminders and is able to zoom in on John's ogre fight

some people discussed increased creativity, although as with other mental health issues this is controversial - but if there's truth to it, it could describe Jade's highly inventive gadget designs

hallucinations and delusions aren't always negative, they can be encouraging, and 'can feel like sudden wonderful realizations, revelations, or epiphanies' according to one person - this seems to describe Jade's visions

increased compassion, although conversely, a struggle to connect socially with others - Jade displays both of these, she has a lot of care for her friends, but often struggles to understand them or see their true feelings

a deeper understanding of why other people are religious, spiritual, or superstitious, reported by an atheist - there's a tie to gnosticism here and Jade definitely blends hard science with esoteric knowledge

a willingness to question the nature of reality and not just accept information as it's given - ties into Jade's regular breaking the fourth wall, her sylladex skills, and will likely help her out in Sburb

one person describes their experience as 'everything seems like a mystical magical game. everything is a puzzle with some hidden meaning' - this is a rare outlook for people with schizophrenia, but it definitely represents Jade

One person also described characters who have telepathy or see visions of the future or past as 'fictionalized schizophrenia' so other people have made this link too! If anyone else reading this has more knowledge or personal experience with schizophrenia or psychosis and would like to weigh in, that would be amazing, because this all just comes from some basic research!

[saederkrupps]

Hm So. Magic Systems(tm) amiright

The magic is "Astral Magic" so it's all star themed. Because that's sick. Astral energy can just manifest in the material world on its own but it usually needs to be drawn out and it's extremely hazardous to even touch. It's like radioactive? But maybe worse? If you touch Raw Astral, it would eat your entire arm like necrosis within seconds. Being near it is enough to cause physical pain and absolutely mental agony. Hallucinations, delusions, just making everything wack. Because it's the stars!

But also it just is like. Conflicting so hard with reality that reality can't take it. It's Not Suppose To Be There.

So most magic users are Astral Mages and how they're made is they are micro dosed on Astral. It can happen accidentally, like some Astral leaked into the world near your town. And if you, like, survived getting fucked up by a mage you could get infected.

I say infected because what is really happening here is you get Astral sickness. And it mostly kills you in a very slow, painful death. I think I described it in the scholar origin as your insides are being pulled out by an unknown force. And it's very bad on them mentally (Just from the magic itself and the fact that being in physical pain for such a long time would fuck anyone up.) For the people that survive, it can last to up to a month.

As I mentioned in the og post, younger people tend to survive more. Specifically children. Very young children. Many still die from it though. They usually start with kids at the age of 4. It starts being less viable when they hit the teen range. Also: Women tend to survive the mental strain more.

Getting the magic though just fundamentally changes your existence though. You are no longer consistent with reality. A lot of mages have a reputation for being very off putting, hard to get along with, they process information differently, Something is Just Off.

Do u see where i'm going with that, lol.

In addition to children surviving more often, it's also considered better to be infected as a kid because you won't mourn who you used to be as much.

I think some of this is probably heavy handed like Magic Mental Illness Inflicted On You By Someone. But whatever.

Oh also dying during the process also makes a huge mess. Your body disintegrates (as you die) and you can end up like, fucking up reality there for a bit. And your soul is stuck in the inbetween so we have a ghost problem

[seeinginthedark]

This is what I believe in my heart and in my soul . My heart and soul have synced in and the communication line between is clear . Same goes for my subconscious, after rigorous shadow self work. As for my mind , I’ve synced in my left and right brain hemispheres. I did this in 2022. So they are balanced and healthy . I am of sane mind . I won’t be gaslighted anymore by anyone , any man , any institution and not even gaslighted by myself .

Here we go, strap in .

If you’ve been reading my blogs , you will know that I’m on a mission. I have a psychosis but, as I keep reiterating, a psychosis means different things depending what culture your from. In Indigenous cultures(who are more closer to the Earth and nature) a psychosis is a ‘spiritual situation’ . In the western medicine world , it’s a mental illness. People get scared during a psychosis and don’t know how to handle it. I handle it. I don’t get scared or paranoid. I don’t have hallucinations or hear voices . I know the difference between a delusion and a sign , a message from the ancestors .

The videos I made in 2022, contain information that I didn’t understand at the time , suddenly now have become relevant. They were warning me of what to watch out for .

We are in a spiritual situation. A war. An attack on our souls . An ongoing oppression. Being drained of our humanity.

To be turned into something un-natural and mechanic. And we won’t allow this happen.

The ancestors that made it to the afterlife (instead of a reincarnation soul trap ) are building alliances with spirits of this Earth, of nature and of the inner Earth. I’m dead serious about this .

A lot of us today are souls of our ancestors who chose to leave the astral afterlife realm to come here in this modern world . They are Mother Earths army. We are at the front line now . The children of today have been absolutely bombarded with screens, technology and toxic social media . In an effort to neutralise us , make us forget who we are and forget what’s important in life . This wave of children , are born already spiritually activated and awake . They have immense spiritual potency and magic-like abilities. They are our salvation now .

A lot of people however , are getting confused thinking they a star seeds or thinking they were meant to be a different gender . These are trends and narratives that have been articulately planted on purpose for the reason to distract and confuse and cause social division . And self identity issues .

Please, if you have one of these special children , who are from magic bloodlines , please take care of them . Nurture them and their abilities. Do not crush their imagination- as it is one of their magical traits . Please limit the amount of screen time they are having. I know it’s hard and we are all busy trying to get by and have to work and have so many things on our plate but please don’t pacify them with iPads and tablets and phones . It inhibits their development. It inhibits their social skills . It socially programs them.

Get them outside in nature as much as possible . Listen to them. Let them have a voice . Let them express themselves creatively. Treasure them . Love them unconditionally. They are here to change the world. I don’t want to see any of these children grow up and be plugged into a permanent virtual reality . With microchips in their brains . With non -organic robotic add ons . Stuck in the simulation. Their souls recycled back into this system when they die . Their souls need to be free, as all of our souls should be .

We can beat this A.I take -over . Together . United . Strong . Keep your vibes high . Self care. Heal from your trauma. Be the powerful spiritual warrior you were born to be . For Earth. For our souls . This is it.

[theproperweirdo]

Ramblings and analysis [part 1]

Scarlet | The Arcane Shadow

My long time favourite character in AFK Arena since I started playing has been Scarlet ❤️ her backstory is killer and I feel like her design is detailed and enhances her personality even more using these details you really have to look into

To start, her past! Please skip the next two paragraphs if you know her story 👍

Scarlet’s mother (who I’ll call Ms. Laurence for convenience) raised her from a baby to around what I assume was preteen age. Their family carries a maternal “curse” of psychological torment and dark energy. Scarlet’s grandma had previously killed herself during an opera performance, after being driven insane by the voices she heard. Ms. Laurence wanted Scarlet to overcome this curse, and have her become a respectable woman like her own mom. Scarlet? Not so much. And although she loved her very much, Ms. Laurence didn’t get to see Scarlet’s future. She spiralled into insanity as well, and was taken to a mental institution.

Scarlet was taken to the Violet Orphanage afterwards, which could have a very long post on its own. 💀💀 While there, she tried and failed multiple times to escape. She felt like something was off about the strange people and weird tests they did. After having enough of her midnight missions, they started to amp up the tests in intensity and aggression, in either magical or physical ways. During one of these tests she passes out, and in the haze of her consciousness, she receives the last wishes from the spirit of her mother, before coming too. Once she’s awake, she makes her last attempt to escape— by burning the entire orphanage to the ground.

Her past is tragic. She’s stuck with a curse that’s taken both her mom and grandma, then used as a lab rat til she has a mental break. But there’s so much more to analyze! (Wowwww)

Her family’s curse is one described as one of “madness,” that blurs reality and fantasy. In a setting like this, it seems to be some kind of arcane affliction passed from mother to daughter.

However, there’s the obvious subliminal implication of her curse— that it’s a genetic mental illness. Although disorders are not often hereditary, they’re still most commonly seen in an individual when a direct family member has the same one. For Scarlet and her family, this sounds like a long line of women who have schizophrenia. Hearing voices like auditory hallucinations, erratic behaviour, and having extreme delusions, are the most prominent and aggressive symptoms. Scarlet’s grandma took her life after losing the ability to differentiate between real and imaginary. Scarlets mother became overwhelmed by her delusions. Before burning down the orphanage, Scarlet herself begins to hear voices and monsters. Now on her own, she doesn’t want to become what her mother and grandmother did.

She also possibly fights her own hallucinations better because she had to reassure her mother when she was young. She probably never met her grandma though.

As a violent and dangerous curse, it’s effective and seems to stem from some older power. But I think this reflection of mental illness in women is powerful and incredibly well written for a character in a mobile gacha RPG game.

Okay, that’s on her story! Now for an artist’s eye on her design… let’s move top to bottom.

Scarlet’s hair is visually more black with streaks of red highlights. But we know from the description of her mother, along with her 4koma-style comic, that she had a full head of red hair.

The red itself is said to be a sign of the curse in her story. Seeing that the black has come and overtaken it in her recent years, I think it’s meant to represent her own hold on her sanity. Scarlet’s mother still has (I assume) all her hair red when she’s taken away. The black in her hair might be her own control on the chaos magic, and how she’s managed to harness it.

Or, the black came through as an awakening of sorts. It comes in the climax of her grand escape, when she seemingly inherits the destructive power of the curse. If her mother didn’t manage to fully grasp any control over her own magic, maybe she never had the same moment of magic-puberty as scarlet. So maybe this magic changes her both mentally and physically, leaving a few remnants of the red, because even though she’s improving, the curse will never stop its assault on her. Either way, it’s a physical tell of how her magic has changed her.

Her clothes seem to be a personal choice for herself. At six years old, Scarlet rejected any kind of fancy teachings or proper dresses. She was likely just a young girl who had her own preferences and didn’t like the suffocating atmosphere of noble life. But her mother’s most sincere wish for her was to see her grow into a distinguished and elegant lady like her grandmother.

I imagine she had a lot of time to think and reflect on her memories in the Violet Orphanage. Her mother loved her genuinely and dearly, and they were separated in the end because of their shared curse. I imagine she would remember the one thing her mom wanted to see most in her. The dress and corset were probably picked out herself because she wants to fulfill the one thing her mom wanted. :( even though she hates dressing up, she wants to make her mom proud in this way. The makeup and heels are probably for the same reason.

Her armour and signature item are both made of this gold coloured metal, but her shoulder guards got some red by the edges.

The one other character with the same kind of armour is Morrow, the only other in game person who was a victim as the Violet Orphanage (aside from Isabella and Silvina).

They were kept there in different periods of time, but it’s obviously not a coincidence that they’re the only ones who share this design motif.

These are the Signature Item descriptions for both Morrow and Scarlet ⬇️⬇️

Both for controlling dark magic! However, the origin of Scarlet’s item says that it was formed during her destruction of the Violet Orphanage. Also the gold armour is on Morrow’s arms and not his book. Scarlet is the same, she’s got it on her shoulder guard, but not the stabilizer. My theory is that it’s either 1. A material they used in the orphanage to conduct experiments on the kids using dark magic, and they both now use to to chanel their own magic and cast spells. 2. It’s a normal kind of metal, but the red shading comes from use of dark magic. That would explain why both of their armour has it.

Either way, it’s a very cool detail! :) other things I’ve noticed are:

Her attacks have the possibility of hitting allied heros. I interpret it as her magic still being unstable and hard to control. She’s got her sanity and magic under control, but not completely.

There’s no clear distinction between “dark magic” and “hypogean magic” so it’s possible she controls some variation of void realm arcanum, or a hypogean cursed her bloodline and she now channels its energy instead of suffering from it.

She looks considerably older than Isabella. Makes sense considering the timeline, but makes me a lil sad.

Anyways, that’s the end of this long ass post. Hopefully more to come in the future (if I remember)

Til next time 🫣🫣

[ikamigami]

Something kinda sad is that whenever Sun does get angry, or does get power so people can't just push him over anymore, the other characters go "you're dangerous" or "you're like Eclipse" or act like Sun's going to hurt them, when though Sun has never raised a hand against anybody who wasn't a villain and actively trying to kill him, like both Bloodmoons or old Eclipse, the one time he lost control and caused serious damage was...While yes he did put himself in that situation to start with...because he wasn't trained so he wouldn't lose control of his magic and Eclipse was about to kill him with a sword, him losing control was a pure accident that he then learned from as he was much more careful with star power and only ever used these abilities sparingly exclusively on active threats, so I worry that if Sun does get powers that are used more frequently they'd start acting like he's going to bite their heads off, even though Sun never did such a thing even when at his angriest

This is so true, dear anon 😭

It's so sad and really unfair to Sun cause he isn't like that.. he's against murder all the time..

That one time when he went after Eclipse he had psychotic episode and was very detached from reality (at least in my eyes but it's dabatable and I understand if others don't see it like that).. but it was just one time..

Because when he killed Bloodmoon it was in self-defence.. it wasn't out of maliciousness or in cold blood..

Yeah.. I forgot that if Sun had powers especially associated with darkness other characters would be suspicious of him and it would take a toll on Sun's already bad mental state..

This is so sad.. but I think it's intentional.. like I said I think that Sun has depressive psychosis and delusions centered around guilt and unworthiness and believes himself to be evil.. so the way others immediately are suspicious of him when he gets angry and such fuell his delusions more.. and it's a good way to portray this struggle..

Or at least in my eyes it makes sense because of how true it seems for me because I struggle with delusions centered around guilt and unworthiness myself.. 😅

It might turn out to be untrue in canon.. but idk the way Sun blames himself and thinks that he could've done more and feels bad even for deaths of a killer who tormented him and his family.. and hallucinations that he had.. the things that these hallucinations told him.. it all feels relatable..

The way Sun accepts everything that happens to him out of guilt feels very real and relatable to me..

Hence why I wasn't surprised that Sun didn't yell at Old Moon or didn't completely cut Old Moon and New Moon out of his life.. because Sun feels responsible for how both of Moons turned out to be.. he feels responsible because he wasn't enough.. he wasn't good brother.. it's all his fault.. that's why he can't ask for anything better for himself than what he has..

Maybe my interpretation is wrong but look at how people were surprised that Sun didn't yell at Old Moon or that he's still scared..

To me it's not surprising at all because I know how Sun feels.. I understand this feeling.. so even if I'm wrong I'll continue to interpret Sun that he has depressive psychosis and delusions centered around guilt and unworthiness and believes himself to be evil because it fits in my eyes and canon didn't disprove my headcanon at all yet but continue to put Sun through the same shit over and over again.. "he's like Eclipse" "he's angry and he'll snap and kill someone"..

Sorry for this rambling but I don't see many people talking about that Sun is compared to Eclipse a lot or that his anger is seen as bad thing.. many people thinks (or thought) that maybe it means that Sun will turn evil.. but I doubt it (though who knows) so why it's like that then?

This is why I came up with this headcanon ^^

But I completely agree with you, dear anon. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this with me ^^

[vergess]

this is a personal af question that you do not need to answer publicly or at all esp. bc its for fanficish writing purposes but anyway so like how DO you, personally at least, deal with episodes of psychosis? because google tells me that the go to needs to be antipsychotics but 1. the context is a character who does not have regular access to them anyway 2. every one i have looked at has GOD AWFUL PERMANENT SIDE EFFECTS that seem to be almost guaranteed to happen? and my doctor oc would not subject that to anybody. the usual psychosis symptoms i write in my current rps are post-ictal and postpartum psychosis specifically because getting information about that from people who actually HAVE THE CONDITIONS is easy, and there seem to be other methods of dealing with them without antipsychotics (plus, you know, magic dnd for one, and pokemon psychic bs for the other) but finding information on how people with other forms of psychosis (in this case, schizotypal ftr) deal with it from their own perspective is almost impossible? it's ALL ableist bullshit from doctors which is why i am hesitant to trust the idea of "antipsychotics are the only way" :/ even reddit is not helpful here lol and i want to get this right? i know it's just tumblr rp/ao3 fanfic/discord rp that nobody important will read but me and my friends are trying to NOT be ableist shitbags on purpose you know?

Boy I really just don't answer tough asks over the winter months, huh.

I started keeping a closer eye on how media that I otherwise recommend depicts psychosis since getting this ask, and I'm disappointed to announce that over the last two months only two (2) pieces of media have been Normal About Psychosis.

So, the first thing to remember when writing a Psycho is: WE ARE WHOLE ASS ADULTS WITH ADULT BRAINS OKAY, we're not small children lost in a fantasy. We're not violent monsters out for blood. We are people who sometimes see, hear, etc things that aren't really there.

Writing a psychotic character competently isn't about curing them, or even about reducing their symptoms. It's about showing how they cope with those symptoms while carrying on with their daily lives.

I'm currently on the lowest possible dose of antipsychotic right now, and I will say two things about that. 1) the meds make reality checks and other coping skills MUCH more effective. 2) Even at a low dose, abstract and creative thinking are hindered. I don't feel hindered; but I have a 24 year long writing portfolio that says I sure as shit am hindered.

Whether a character will benefit from going on meds is going to be a balancing act. But since you aren't actually looking for meds advice, lets talk about those Other Coping Skills.

Broadly, I would split my skills into three categories: stuff for hallucinations, stuff for delusions, and stuff for dissociation.

So, first off, reality checking is my #1 go to for hallucinations.

You pick this skill up pretty quickly as a kid; everyone does. The difference being that where a non-psychotic person eventually gets to stop relying on others to tell them what is real, we get to keep on asking forever.

It's actually super exhausting to be in a crowded space because most of the nonverbal cues you come to rely on (eg, no one else flinched so that noise probably wasn't real) become INSTANTLY useless. Every noise, movement etc may of may not be real, and your only option is to either gauge other people's lack of reaction, or ask someone you trust for a reality check.

Sounds like an easy way for an abusive shit to control your entire life with no effort? It is!!

THAT'S WHY PSYCHOTIC PEOPLE ARE WAY MORE LIKELY TO BE ABUSED THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION.

Once you know if something is real or not, you can decide to ignore it. Like ignoring anything obtrusive, this is easier if you are in a good mood, physically comfortable, etc. An absurd amount of "coping with psychosis" is just constantly monitoring yourself and others to make sure you are reacting to the right things at the right volume.

Ignoring something that your brain insists is real and a threat is very tiring, so there's also a lot of sleeping.

Delusions are significantly harder to manage than hallucinations, IMO. Not just because, as a multiply marginalized person there are myriad ways that an ambiguous "them" is actually trying to ruin my life for real. Being on terror watchlists due to racism REALLY makes it IMPOSSIBLE to manage my paranoid delusions because some of the more insane shit is just real.

But there are other delusions that are easier to handle. Mostly, this comes down to self monitoring again. I can take an extra second to ask myself, "hang on, statistically speaking, how likely is it that this total stranger ACTUALLY wants to kill me?" The answer, of course, is "violent crime has been trending down for years, and everyone in this area thinks I'm white as long as I don't go outside during the summer, so I'm safe."

It's all about finding the information that helps keep you calm.

Because the absolute certainty that this is a murderer and you are walking into the slaughter will not go away. You just... take it on faith that this time will turn out as safely as the last 399 times.

It's just a shitload of observation, mimicry, and forcing myself to do things that feel dangerous by reminding myself that they aren't.

That shit sounds simple, but it's a CONSTANT fight; it never really gets easier, you just get used to it.

Which brings me back around to my meds again: I think I prefer it this way. My writing sucks, and I keep crying when I read it because it's wrong, it sounds like a field amputation. But god, I went to a cafe during the morning rush a few days ago, and the overload of noise and data only left me bedridden for ONE day. ONE!!! Not a WEEK!

Maybe losing my only art is okay in light of how much less bad things are.

Anyway, I can't remember the name of the 2014 short story about the One Person With Psychosis being wrongfully shunned by her colony because she doesn't feel affective empathy, in spite of her constant and perfectly reasoned moral code ensuring she is, if anything, the least dangerous person in town. I wish I could remember it!! It's a good example!!!

I haven't read it yet, but people I love and trust seem to generally agree that the psychosis in Harrow the Ninth is well written, too, so maybe check that out IDK

[drowninginredink]

Hi, it's the anon who headcanons the Chosen as higher needs autistic.

I just wanted to say that I'mactually thankful you educated me on your schizoprenic experience, because I didn't know any of that was even a thing! I'll take that with me going forward.

You're welcome! If you want proper schizo education, let's do it! Actually, a note first, because I'm going to be using the terms psychotic and schizophrenic a lot and you should know the difference. Psychosis is a symptom. It is basically just disconnect from reality, generally meaning delusions and often, but not always, hallucinations. Psychosis can happen because of pregnancy, medical conditions, other mental illnesses, or drugs (both legal/prescribed and illegal). Schizophrenia is chronic psychosis that cannot be attributed to any other cause. All schizophrenics are psychotic; not all psychotics are schizophrenic.

1. I know I already said it in the original post, but do not call 911 on someone in a mental health crisis. I will not share the details of what happens to psychotic people (and let's be clear here; it's almost always Black psychotic people) in police custody. And the "good" scenario is them ending up hospitalized, which really isn't much better. I work in nursing, but I will never, ever work in psychiatric nursing because the way psychotics get treated in psych hospitals? I could not see that every day. I could not be part of that system. And there's no way I'd have any leverage to change that system. Psychotics get forcibly medicated, restrained, treated like weirdos and pariahs by the other patients... And then thrown right back out. Why are there a bunch of homeless schizophrenics? Well obviously it's pretty damn impossible to hold a job when in active psychosis, but also, how are you supposed to keep getting your meds or get any lasting therapy when after you get out of the hospital, you're going right back to living on the streets?

2. If someone says stuff that seems delusional, do not fact check them (unless they explicitly ask you to). It will not work. It will just distress them and make them double down. The correct approach is to very slowly nudge them out of it until they realize for themselves what was a delusion, but that's not your job. That's for their therapist to do. Don't encourage them either, though. If you can change the subject, that's the best approach.

3. There's this image that all psychotics need to be medicated, because obviously therapy wouldn't work because they're completely irrational. Medication actually doesn't help 25% of schizophrenics, and therapy is generally way more effective. The problem with that being that you know who else thinks of psychosis as a "just throw drugs at it" issue? Lots and lots of psych professionals. And a whole bunch also just don't know what to do with us. Or they don't want to deal with us, because it's hard. As someone in the medical field Therapy is super useful, though. The standard approach is CBT for psychosis (which personally I had a terrible time with. DBT ended up being my magic bullet). Fun fact: my old psychiatrist is currently doing a study on controlling voice hearing yourself. Basically, you can stop hearing voices by telling them to shut up and fuck off. I'm unconventional as far as schizophrenia symptoms go, so I never really had much voice hearing, but I did for a brief period of time and that's how I got it to go away. Learning how to reality check yourself is the most effective way to deal with psychosis.

3. a. Back on meds, for me personally, anti psychotics did help with my dissociation, but did nothing for my hallucinations and delusions. I'm not on them anymore. We found that an ADHD med actually worked really well for my dissociation, interestingly enough. Anti psychotics also have awful side effects. Schizophrenia is not fun, but the worst thing I've ever experienced wasn't schizophrenia at all. It was akathisia, which is a side effect of anti psychotics. It's restlessness to the absolute maximum. You can't concentrate, you can't think, you can't sit still, you can't sleep. Your heart feels like it's burning a hole in your chest. It is hell.

4. Schizophrenia is actually neurodevelopmental. Our brains look different than other brains. I know personally, I have always had delusional thought processes. It's just that as a kid, I was fixating on, say, the fact that I just could not leave this party right now or that for some reason it was a huge deal that the teacher didn't call on me. So no one thought it was delusions. But now that I've been overtly delusional? The thought process is exactly the same. It's like you're wearing blinders. The world flattens out to 2D and you just can't see the truth. And then when you do realize it, you feel like an absolute idiot for letting it go on for so long. That's true now, and it was true when I was freaking out about dance recitals as a kid.

5. Let's talk about the absolute worst psychotic symptom you've never heard of: disorganized thinking. It's what it sounds like. It's like your brain and thoughts are a deck of cards that are constantly being shuffled. You lose your train of thought. You forget what it is you're doing. I know when my disorganized thinking was a lot worse (those ADHD meds have also helped a ton with that, thank God) I would just get trapped scrolling my phone because I couldn't keep a train of thought for long enough to decide to do something else. Or rather, I'd decide to do something, and then forget about it before I could, over and over. For people who aren't me, it will also manifest as disorganized speech, where you know what you're saying in your head but complete gibberish comes out of your mouth instead. A thing people do not talk about enough is how much schizophrenia absolutely destroys your ability to think. Between disorganized thinking and dissociation (and God, my dissociation is terrible... And this is with it medicated down to levels where I can actually function) sometimes my brain is just absolutely useless to me.

That's probably enough for now? I could keep going for hours, but I think that's a lot of really good information. Truly give me an inch and I'll run a mile

[nikshahxai]

5-HT2 Receptors in Psychosis, Hallucinations, and Antipsychotic Mechanisms by Nik Shah

Psychosis, a mental condition characterized by distorted thinking, hallucinations, and loss of touch with reality, is a major symptom of several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe depression. One of the key players in the pathophysiology of psychosis is the serotonin (5-HT) system, particularly the 5-HT2 receptor family. This group of receptors, which includes the 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C subtypes, has a crucial role in regulating mood, cognition, perception, and behavior. Dysfunction in these receptors can lead to the development of psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions.

Understanding how the 5-HT2 receptors influence psychosis and the mechanisms through which antipsychotic drugs target these receptors is essential for developing more effective treatments for psychotic disorders. In this article, we will explore the role of 5-HT2 receptors in psychosis, hallucinations, and antipsychotic mechanisms. Additionally, we will highlight insights from Nik Shah, a leading expert in serotonin research, whose work has significantly contributed to our understanding of the 5-HT2 receptor system and its therapeutic implications.

The Role of 5-HT2 Receptors in Psychosis

The 5-HT2 receptor family is a group of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that play a key role in the modulation of serotonin signaling in the brain. The 5-HT2A receptor, in particular, has been extensively studied for its involvement in the regulation of mood, cognition, and perception. Dysregulation of serotonin signaling through the 5-HT2A receptor has been implicated in a variety of psychiatric disorders, including psychosis.

In Mastering Serotonin: C₁₀H₁₂N₂O, Nik Shah explores the chemical properties of serotonin and its interaction with the 5-HT2 receptor family, particularly the 5-HT2A receptor. Shah emphasizes that serotonin's activation of the 5-HT2A receptor plays a significant role in emotional regulation, sensory perception, and cognition. Abnormalities in the function of this receptor are linked to hallucinations, delusions, and other symptoms of psychosis.

The 5-HT2A receptor is densely concentrated in the cerebral cortex, which is involved in higher cognitive functions such as thinking, planning, and perceiving reality. When serotonin binds to the 5-HT2A receptor, it triggers signaling cascades that influence neuronal activity, neurotransmitter release, and synaptic plasticity. Dysregulation in the activation of the 5-HT2A receptor can result in alterations in sensory perception, leading to hallucinations—a hallmark symptom of psychotic disorders.

Hallucinations and the 5-HT2A Receptor

Hallucinations, particularly visual and auditory, are a core symptom of psychosis and are thought to be mediated by alterations in serotonin signaling. The 5-HT2A receptor has a direct role in modulating sensory processing, which is crucial for the perception of reality. When serotonin binds to the 5-HT2A receptor, it affects sensory perception and can lead to the distortion of reality, resulting in hallucinations.

Hallucinogenic drugs like LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) and psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms) exert their effects primarily through the activation of the 5-HT2A receptor. These substances induce vivid hallucinations, altered thinking, and sensory distortions by overstimulating the 5-HT2A receptor. While these substances have therapeutic potential in certain contexts (e.g., for the treatment of depression), their ability to induce hallucinations underscores the importance of the 5-HT2A receptor in mediating perceptual disturbances associated with psychosis.

In Serotonin: From 5-HTP to Happiness, Nik Shah explains how serotonin is synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan and its subsequent effects on brain function, including its role in mood regulation and perception. Shah’s research sheds light on how the overstimulation or dysfunction of the 5-HT2A receptor can lead to the distortion of sensory input and contribute to the development of hallucinations.

Antipsychotic Mechanisms: Targeting 5-HT2 Receptors

Given the critical role of the 5-HT2A receptor in psychosis and hallucinations, it is not surprising that antipsychotic medications often target this receptor to alleviate symptoms. Antipsychotic drugs are primarily classified into two categories: typical (first-generation) and atypical (second-generation) antipsychotics. Atypical antipsychotics are known to have a more favorable side effect profile and are widely used in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Nik Shah discusses the mechanisms by which serotonin receptor agonists and antagonists influence serotonin signaling in Serotonin Receptor Agonist: Mastering Mood Regulation and Cognitive Performance. Shah highlights that many atypical antipsychotics act as antagonists at the 5-HT2A receptor, which helps reduce the hyperactivity of serotonin in certain brain regions. By blocking the 5-HT2A receptor, these drugs help restore the balance of serotonin signaling, preventing the overstimulation of sensory processing pathways and thereby alleviating hallucinations and other symptoms of psychosis.

The Role of 5-HT2C Receptors in Antipsychotic Drug Action

In addition to the 5-HT2A receptor, the 5-HT2C receptor also plays a significant role in the effectiveness of antipsychotic medications. The 5-HT2C receptor is involved in regulating serotonin levels in the brain, particularly in the hypothalamus, which controls appetite and satiety. Antipsychotic drugs that target the 5-HT2C receptor can help modulate serotonin signaling to reduce the side effects associated with other treatments.

Atypical antipsychotics often act as antagonists at the 5-HT2C receptor, which helps to regulate serotonin levels and reduce side effects like weight gain and metabolic disturbances. In Mastering L-Dopa and Tryptophan: Unlocking Dopamine and Serotonin Pathways for Mental Health and Performance, Nik Shah explores how the balance of serotonin and dopamine is crucial for regulating mood, cognition, and behavior. Shah discusses how the modulation of serotonin receptors, including 5-HT2C, can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of antipsychotic medications while minimizing adverse effects.

The Development of Novel Antipsychotic Drugs Targeting 5-HT2 Receptors

The growing understanding of the 5-HT2 receptor family’s role in psychosis has paved the way for the development of novel antipsychotic drugs that target these receptors more selectively. Traditional antipsychotic drugs often have significant side effects, including sedation, weight gain, and extrapyramidal symptoms (movement disorders). Newer antipsychotic medications that specifically target 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors hold promise for improving the efficacy and safety of psychotic disorder treatments.

In Serotonin Receptor Antagonist: Serotonin Blockers, Nik Shah provides an overview of how serotonin receptor antagonists can be utilized in treating conditions associated with serotonin dysfunction, including schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. By blocking the overactivation of serotonin receptors like 5-HT2A, these drugs help reduce symptoms of psychosis without causing the significant side effects seen with older medications.

Future Directions in 5-HT2 Receptor Research

The potential for 5-HT2 receptor modulation in the treatment of psychosis and other psychiatric disorders is vast. Ongoing research continues to explore new ways to target these receptors, not only to alleviate the core symptoms of psychosis but also to improve cognitive function and quality of life for individuals affected by these conditions. Nik Shah's research into serotonin signaling, including his work on serotonin pathways and receptor modulation, continues to provide valuable insights into the development of more effective and targeted therapies.

In Neuroscience Mastered: Harnessing Neuroplasticity, Serotonin, and Cognitive Advancement, Nik Shah discusses the broader implications of serotonin receptor modulation for improving cognitive function and promoting neuroplasticity. By understanding how the 5-HT2 receptors influence not only mood and behavior but also cognition, researchers can develop therapies that address a wide range of psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Conclusion: Enhancing Psychotic Disorder Treatments Through 5-HT2 Receptor Modulation

The 5-HT2 receptor family plays a critical role in the regulation of mood, cognition, and behavior, and dysfunction in these receptors is a major contributor to the development of psychosis and hallucinations. By targeting the 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors, antipsychotic medications can help restore serotonin balance, alleviate symptoms of psychosis, and improve overall mental health. Through the work of Nik Shah, our understanding of serotonin receptor modulation continues to grow, offering hope for more effective and targeted treatments for psychotic disorders.

As research into serotonin signaling and the role of the 5-HT2 receptors continues to evolve, we can expect new therapies that more precisely modulate these pathways, improving the quality of life for individuals with psychiatric conditions and enhancing the overall outcomes of psychotic disorder treatments.

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[elliscousland]

so here is a little rundown of my dragon age verses. they will be expanded on with the new carrd, but since i am trying to reach out & write with new partners i definitely want to put them somewhere accessible.

note: i have verses for other fandoms, this just covers his main timeline & aus within it. i will make a different post detailing potential au's to explore!

by default, ellis will be married to @softersinned's astoria, who is also the inquisitor in his world state. if i'm writing with another inquisitor or someone i'm shipping with / going to ship with, that will change!

highever. anything that happened before the fifth blight. ellis is the lively & hard headed secondborn son of bryce & eleanor cousland. he fills his head with stories & songs of legends past, rarely looking to his own future & what will come of it. during this chunk of time, he's betrothed to astoria & they spend their summers in highever together.

origins. decisions. ellis is one of the two wardens that survived loghain's betrayal at ostagar. his decisions are listed in the link above, but it's also worth mentioning that the events of kinolch / walking in the fade that way as a nonmagic user affects ellis like a bad mushroom trip. it leads to a lot of bad decisions regarding how he handles his relationships & decisions... not that he would ever admit that. i love, love dual warden verses w other HoF's!

origins. (au) if you are not a fan of dual warden verses, ellis can be found in lothering as a rogue companion!

ellis doesn't love magic bcs of the propaganda he grew up with. but he is stupid & impulsive so he drinky drinky the alchemical concoction to get warden powers

he & astoria hit a very rocky patch when he discovers she has been a mage & keeping that secret from him. they travel together, but things are tense & ellis takes her self-preservation as a personal spite.

he romances morrigan & partakes in the dark ritual. for years i have been saying that their love was rooted in survival & long-term, i think they would have had a lot of issues. he viewed her as a forward rejection of the values that had failed him. i think she fell in love w him in passing, on accident.

awakening. at the end of the blight, ellis is gifted the arling of amaranthine & is named hero of ferelden. however, he is not convinced it's over yet - which is true. the darkspawn aren't dispelling like they should & now he's obsessed w finding a way to keep them from causing any more damage than they already have. he hesitantly allies himself w the architect, thinking that together they might be able to find an end to the blight ( he's fucking delusional <3 )

witch hunt. ellis is obsessed with finding morrigan & getting the details of the dark ritual. he doesn't believe it when he finds her, not really. at this point in time it's not uncommon for him to be trapped in delusions, hallucinations, general steps out of reality. he doesn't believe that they have a son until she's already stepped through the eluvian & after that kieran becomes one of his best well-kept secrets. morrigan is no longer his priority, instead dreaming of his son. trying to find his son.

during this time he & astoria reconnect & he allows her to stay with the grey wardens to keep her out of reach of templars. during this time, they grow close & walk parallel journeys processing their traumas. they're drawn closer over those journeys & come clean about their feelings w new understanding of another & themselves from the blight & what's transpired since.

da 2 ( au ) following a few leads via avernus & the first warden, ellis leaves ferelden to follow leads relating to extending the lifespawn of blgithed individuals ( WIP )

in between. any time in between witch hunt & awakening. ellis is building the ferelden grey wardens back up, with an emphasis on ferelden. he'll take anyone from anywhere but tries to inspire loyalty to his home, to their home. he gets lost in the legends of what he did during the blight as well, killing the archdemon in what many thought must be glory. sometimes he thinks it might be glory too. then, he remembers all the blood. it's hard to remember the details between what he experienced & what people tell him.

it's during this period of time he also seeks out help / eventually becomes medicated for his emotions ( i want to rewrite my posts abt it w new perspective, but ellis is schizophrenic. he does deal w bpd. he also juggles ptsd & ocd related to it. )

he & astoria also get married during this time, following avvar traditions! " the groom kidnaps the bride from her home. if he does this without the permission of her / her family, or without her cooperation, he can be beaten to death by her or her family. she is also permitted to resist as much as she wants. she then ties knots into a cord and sings a hymn to the lady of the skies, and he unties the knots as she sings. the number of knots he's untied by the time her song finishes is the number of years they stay married " - from our chat abt it

inquisition ( main ) astoria is at the conclave & is eventually fashioned to be " the herald of andraste ", the inquisitor. he sets out to join her soon as he can, but with demons pouring out of the sky tavel isn't exactly easy. he arrives shortly after the fall of haven & thinks he is too late, finding astoria in the snow on the path to skyhold after fighting corypheus. he is in skyhold as the inquisitor's arm candy husband & advisor. he's also constantly got his eyes peeled for any threats directed at his wife & tries not to stray far. he hates god, god hates him so he thinks the cocnept of herald of andraste is the funniest thing he's ever heard, but admires his wife for utilizing it to serve her goals

morrigan drinks from the well & ellis is entrusted w more of kieran's safety. he gets to know his son during this era & caring about the outcome of the world again.

inquisition ( alt ) upon hearing the calling, distant & off tune, ellis knows something is wrong. his other wardens can't hear it, but he can & when they are summoned to orlais, he doesn't call. the orlesian wardens stop responding to his letters, the scouts he sends to investigate don't come back & he begins to worry. when the inquisition forms, ellis see's an opportunity to ally his remaining wardens with what is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful ( & potentially fanatical, depending on the approach ) military powers around. he offers the assistance of his wardens without disclosing why, though he eventually must come clean. if accepted, he acts as an advisor & potential companion to the inquisition!

in either version, ellis is probably causing more problems than he's solving. he's not politically suave & in the alt verse, he's got a personal agenda he is trying to serve.

if ellis & morrigan were to reconnect as friends or otherwise, it would likely be here in the timeline.

veilguard. ellis is brought in to advise the veilguard on archdemons, as he the only person to have ever killed one & survived. this, however, does very little good when every rule in the book has changed. he stays to protect the world his son will grow up in the best he can. his lifespawn was probably extended by blood magic / other measures taken to extend his life ( wip - still playing the game. )

[khetho-040517]

HOW SOCIAL SUPPORT BOOSTS MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Think of social support like a safety net that catches you when you fall. When you face challenges or feel down, having friends, family or a supportive community can make a big difference. They offer encouragement, help, and a sense of belonging, which help you feel stronger and more balanced. Am a 3rd-year Occupational therapy student and am going to discuss the role of social support, connecting it to how it can boost or help the mental health and well-being of people with mental disabilities.

People are social beings and having relationships with other people is part of our human nature. Having good relationships with people can help develop positive attitudes and behaviour. These can assist with reducing stress levels (Cohen &Wills, 1985), enhance resilience (Taylor,2011), better physical health (Uchino, 2006) and increase life satisfaction in that one can have a sense of purpose and feel valued by others. For example, I have noticed that patients who have good relationships with hospital staff and their families are always happy and are seldom found sad or angry, this is because there’s always someone there to comfort them in their time of need.

However, in patients with cognitive disabilities like schizophrenia, personality disorders, or bipolar disorder, it is a different story in that they may have delusions or hallucinations that might hinder the establishment of these relationships because of beliefs that they were bewitched or someone used dark magic on them, or they are sent by GOD to save people and that’s where Occupational therapy comes in to rebuild that support.

A patient that has dementia may have problems with memory and this will affect his/her social relationships because she might have a poor orientation to reality and not recognize her surroundings, her relatives, or friends who have come to give her support. Occupational therapy can intervene by helping the clients restore memory by engaging in reminiscence group therapy sessions or reality orientation programs.

 Occupational therapists can help the patients by engaging in group therapy which could teach about proper social behaviour and social skills which are building blocks of social support and maintaining relationships through role-playing as it was done in one of our group therapy sessions at Pixley Hospital. This was very helpful but, requires repetitions to reinforce the behaviour. Occupational therapists can adjust the living environment to support social interactions such as making space accessible and welcoming visitors (Cohen et al.,2014) and doing family education sessions by educating family members on effective communication and interaction strategies they can use with the client (Tremont et al,.2006).

They can also encourage the clients to engage in activities such as volunteer work, hobby groups or other meaningful activities that help build social connections (Hammel et al., 2008), for example: In the Sherwood training workshop Challenge the clients to work together when making earplugs thus developing social support through socialization.

In looking at the impact of social support on mental health, it’s clear to me that the connections are vital. Occupational therapy plays a big role in enhancing social support for mental health care, affirming that well-being is profoundly interconnected with the strength and quality of our social relationships and I highly encourage patients to build good relationships with families and friends so keep their mental health as fit as a fiddle.

REFERENCES

Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310–357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310

Taylor, S. E. (2011). Social support: A review. In M. S. Friedman (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of health psychology (pp. 189–214). Oxford University Press.

Uchino, B. N. (2006). Social support and health: A review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(4), 377-387. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-006-9056-5

Tremont, G., Davis, J. D., & Bishop, D. S. (2006). The unique contribution of family functioning in caregivers of patients with mild to moderate dementia. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 21(3), 170-174. https://doi.org/10.1159/000090631

Hammel, J., Magasi, S., Heinemann, A., Whiteneck, G., Bogner, J., & Rodriguez, E. (2008). What does participation mean? An insider perspective from people with disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 30(19), 1445-1460. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638280701625534

[deaneybabyinc]

im going insane and i feel like im not real rn so im gonna ramble about my object crushes and various proclivities of mine

im into like base level objectum stuff the eroticism of the machine and whatnot. i think my favorite object attractions are bulky pcs (this laptop does nothing for me i need her to be thick) and sharp objects, i especially love craft supplies that i've bonded with. me and my box cutter are best friends i use her for every project. romantically i really enjoy an object who is there for me and is somewhat diy or battered, something with history you know. i like to think about the life the object has lived and how it still functions despite it. i really have a fun bond with my car. she was my grandmothers car and she has a lot of life in her. shes a 2012 white prius and i care for her a lot. my favorite white girl <3 i also am really into a lot of mathematical concepts i dont know how to explain it but i just think about them and their perfection and i love them. especially shape math like geometry and trigonometry really fascinate me. trigonometry is so hot man like that retro video of the angles of the triangle.... the panties hit the floor.

i rarely develop crushes outside of my specific niches but i do that a thing going on with my among us plushie which is so fucked for me like why did my brain decide on the among us plushie to develop this relationship with kinda fucked up. but their name is mungus and theyre a mungus of the mungus species and i saw them in the store and literally was attached immediately like i was like "okay i have seen you on this shelf and now i love you forever" and theyve hung out with me ever since. we had kind of a sexual fling but i kept getting embarrassed when i remembered that uh. thats a crewmate from the hit game amongus available on all platforms. they're yellow and have a leaf on their head. i love you mungus

i feel like i have been a lot more accepting of thoughts and feelings like this recently. i used to have such a complex about being sane which i think is normal when you have an extensive history of delusions and hallucinations that are really distressing and negative. and because i was so scared of going back to that place i completely rejected everything that wasnt objective reality. but like thats not the person i am. and its so difficult having a heart that falls in love with computers and kins passionately and wants to believe in gods and spirits and past lives and magic and having a brain that is so so scared and cannot let that become true. and i kept yearning for the good parts of being actively delusional. when i wasn't convinced that my room is covered in invisible spiders and i was burning alive and everything smelled like fresh meat, i sometimes felt important and connected with everything and like i knew who i was. which is maybe the only thing that kept me from completely falling apart during these times. the world was agonizing me but its for a reason, and i am so many people but theyre all me. every part of me from the ugly to the beautiful had a special spot. and yes im romanticising it all but its hard not to

anyways it all kinda flipped after i was hospitalized the last time. i lost who i was to precious sanity and to give myself credit ive re-created myself pretty well. but i feel like theres a hole in it. the self crumbled and ive been picking up pieces and trying to throw pieces away that i didnt want to fit in but you cant throw them away they always stay. all that to say i have been trying to reincorporate whimsy and have been doing an admittedly kind of shitty job lol