Mental illness+disability in OCs discussion

i honestly think it’s fine as long as you don’t slap them on just to make them more “special and different uwu” 

Ah, I'm so glad you made this! I had been thinking of doing it myself for some time, but I was too shy and also worried about finding time to moderate it aha ^^;; This is great~!   

Would it be okay if we posted a summary of topics we have experience with in case it encourages people to ask questions? I'm always eager to get info into the hands of creators in any way I can help with! It's not as fun having to make all the disabled characters myself haha. I don't want to hijack your thread though.

Either way, as long as people are willing to handle it with compassion (and an ear open for the opinions of people who are actually disabled or struggling with mental health if the writer themselves does not have that experience) I love it when people make these kinds of characters! We always need more (good) representation~   

yenndou I agree consulting real people is a must! You worded it much better than me! aha.

I thought people might feel more confident asking questions if they know someone is around who has relevant experience who can see it, and then they could also send PMs instead if they were feeling shy or maybe wanted to have someone beta-read something or that kind of thing. I'm not really sure if it would be any more help than the thread itself, but I figure it doesn't hurt! (but that could also be another thread in itself so if that's not what OP wanted for this thread, that's totally okay!)

Nonnavlis

(this is op's main acc)

you can go ahead if you want to ^^! i made the thread with open-endedness in mind so as long as it's on the topic in the thread title it's cool   

zinnia Thanks! ^^ (Also you should probably put that this is the account you socialize on/watch the thread with in the OP? I mean I'm hoping you won't have to step in to moderate too much and everyone will be civil, but... it is the internet ^^;; )

Anyway, I’m an ambulatory wheelchair user (ambulatory means still having some ability to walk, which most wheelchair users still do! In my case I’m still able to walk fairly well but it’s often not feasible due to pain and fatigue. I also have very unusual looking walking gaits XD). I have experience with both manual chairs (my main), power chairs, and also rollators (which are walkers with wheels!), and have all three on hand so I'm happy to provide reference images of how certain things work if anyone hasn't been able to find a certain minute bit of info. If anyone would like to discuss mobility aids, I’m always game! Wheelchairs in particular are a special interest for me (hello autism haha) and I love helping other people out with wheelchair facts! ^^ (this goes for real life wheelchair stuff too if any other users/soon-to-be users want to swap tips!).

My wheelchair use is motivated by two things, the first being a combination of skeletal deformities (and the associated problems with unbalanced muscle development), both a difference in the length of my legs (formally called Leg Length Discrepancy or LLD) and something called Lumbardosis, which is when the lower curve of your spine is too tight (I can’t stand up fully straight for more than a minute or two. I have to always be slightly bent forward if I’m upright). The second reason is as-of-yet undiagnosed chronic problems that may actually be the result of prolonged allergic reaction to a prescription drug (and thus undiagnosable). That in itself isn't so useful, but the main symptoms are chronic and extreme fatigue, brain fog and memory loss, and the heart problems of tachycardia and arrhythmia, so I can talk about that as well (I've been through LOTS of tests and diagnostics for the heart problems so I'm also familiar with that side of it if anyone wants to know about the testing). I have plenty of experience with being housebound/bed-ridden levels of ill because of it, as well, and I've also been a regular at our local hospital's Emergency department (in Canada) and have experience with calling 911 and with ambulances~

I do have an ADHD diagnosis as well, on the mental side of things.

Basically I'm a mess! hahaha. But in a way that might at least be helpful to someone, hopefully! I'll be watching the thread for relevant questions and I'm also open to PMs anytime ^^   

zinnia I realize you may have meant the thread only for mental illnesses and mental "disabilities" and not mental illness and disability and that intersection at large, so if you want this taken out of the thread let me know! That's totally okay with me haha

Nonnavlis

oh no ohcourse i meant both :0! im also in the boat of bein mentally ill & physically disabled so all's good   we're all in this party together

gravesight

GOD YEA BIG AGREE to literally everything you said

iirc i was gonna make the first post be smthng like 'i just wanna see more ocs with psychosis and/or bipolar who arent Evile please sent tweet' but then i ended up forgetting. i am just. so tired :(

zinnia Nice and highly valid   I don't really identify as mentally ill since I'm just ADHD/Autistic and it doesn't cause me too much trouble but a lot of my friends are disabled and have mood and anxiety disorders (is mood disorder the right category for depression? I get a little confused with psychology words because I'm not as fully aware of which ones are nice to say or not as I am with physical disability stuff, especially as psychology is still so rapidly progressing) and oh boy definitely a "fun" mood that is highly misunderstood by people outside of that experience ^^;;

I think it's fine to add mental health issues and whatever - anything - to a character as long as you don't make a mockery of it. But heck, we all make mistakes and don't get everything perfect, plus everybody's experience is completely different to the next so we can never say "You're doing it wrong!". It's always best not to jump to the conclusion that someone is bad or making a mockery of an illness because they write it wrong. It could just be the lack of knowledge in the end. 

Issue lies when people use it to be 'zany', call their OC 'insane' (as an actual thing rather than "yea he's insane" as a joke) or just use it to make them seem 'cooler' (yikes).

I have issues myself as do so many others and I often give my characters an illness because it's just how I am and in that way I can vent, relate, or just feel better about it all.

However I do have a muse, Jax, who has issues of which I do not personally have myself and I have read up a lot on what he has so try to be concise and get it right. In the end I don't have what he has; we only share some similarities, so I have to rely on information over the internet to try and get it all down right, which is hard work. But yea, I have had someone approach me saying "Schizophrenia isn't just voices" and I understood where they were coming from - They felt concerned I was going cliche. Truth was that I hadn't written down everything of what Jax suffers so they were misunderstanding my intentions. Which can happen. 

I find it interesting in the end, mental health wise, to write somebody with issues I don't have. Mental health is just interesting to me and I learn something new every day via research on Jax's disorders and even through discovering new things about myself. 

I think it's really dependent. There are certain types of mental illness I default to kind of uncomfortable about seeing being used with characters. Usually this is because it's used as either a 'fear factor' or plot point. Anything with psychosis, for instance, I get worried when I see often enough. It's so often used terribly in general media there is no wonder that individuals sort of use it the same way. Really it's just a lack of understanding or awareness - but treating it as some sort of 'spooky' thing or 'random quirk wow how strange and weird' is terrible to see. The same can really be said about other mental illness, though I see it done in a less gratuitous way than psychosis usually.

I have characters with mental illness, personality disorders or who are simply not neurotypical. Usually I don't make a huge point to just write this out in extensive detail though, I guess? Not that that's the best way to do it - it's just personally more comfortable for me to not have a huge list of stuff. Most of these things I have some personal experience with, though. Either it's something I deal with heavily or have had someone close to me has. I personally wouldn't be comfy simply estimating/hoping/assuming I'm writing something correct without speaking with someone when we're talking about mental illness.

There is a lot of variety in most mental illness - someone brought up anxiety disorders, for instance - and reading an explanation of how that works is vastly different than the experience of it. It varies from person to person heavily but almost ever depiction I see is rather cliche ('I have panic attacks that are hyperventilating', 'I'm scared of people/public stuff', etc.). Often you see a lack of nuance with how these mental illness are portrayed and it feels less 'realistic' and more tacked on, I suppose? This is certainly an issue with general media not just character creation/writing though!

Really seconding the point about mental illnesses not always manifesting the same way with people! Speaking from a personal experience, my panic attacks for example were not recognized as ones at first because I didn't hyperventilate, and it took me forever to even realize I have depression because mine, albeit bad, didn't manifest in the same way it so often does in fiction or in basic textbook examples. Even I downplayed the seriousness of it until my psych told me it's Pretty Darn Bad. I really wish people would pay more attention to those who are overachieving, because I can assure you not everyone who is depressed has low grades - I'd actually argue those who clearly overachieve should also be checked on. 

I also have a handful of characters who deal more with the physical conditions, but I often don't know what is considered "disabled enough", because I have come to notice even in terms of diagnoses this can vary from country to country. I have a lot of disabled relatives though who are pretty close to me and I occasionally use what I have seen and heard from them personally, but most of the time I tend to explore physical conditions from my own perspective (as in, things I live with), because they help me deal with them better. But like I said, I genuinely don't know where the line between disability and not-disability goes, because especially in my country it's almost exclusively used for a very specific group of people. 

Caine

@ your second point, the whole 'disabled enough' thing was actually an inner debate i had with myself for the longest time. there were points were i was bedbound for days but my brain was like 'hmmmm can i really call myself disabled :/' which is definitely a result of the same type of thing you mentioned (cultural/country terms) that i ended up internalizing

i'd say just go with your gut feeling? i feel like the whole 'disabled enough' idea is a concept by nondisabled people to measure who they consider Valid and Not Valid when disability is in fact, an extremely broad term that's not just X or Y. the dictionary definition is 'a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities' , so i'd say if the character falls under that you're good - but really it's up to your own judgement :0!

edit because i have More To Say:

i feel like this also ties to your first point in a way, too. people who don’t fit the textbook definition end up feeling confused / not X enough , which extends to both mental illness and disability . both have broad experiences for even one condition ! the way anxiety affects someone can be super broad, as can the way a certain condition affects someone physically

If I had to slim it down to a clear and easy to understand barometer, I would say one counts as "disabled" when some condition or combination of conditions/ailments/etc that they have both A: hinders them in daily life, and B: interferes with their ability to achieve a fulfilling life, like how many (all?) disabilities will interfere with peoples ability to attend and succeed at schooling, and/or have and hold a job, and/or achieve and manage their own need for socialization. I'm sure there's exceptions to this, but I feel like that's a good place to start from in considering "what is a disability" as it allows for many different conditions and isn't just assuming that one has to be visibly physically impaired in some way to be disabled.

Of course I also don't put any stock in the idea that one has to be disabled "enough". Like, if a person is struggling in some way and the identity helps or validates them, then by all means I should hope they feel welcome to it.