Q & A Archive

Psychosis and Schizophrenia

Leaving Delusions Behind: What is the motivation for a delusional person to get better when their delusional world is so much more pleasurable than their real one?
Catatonic Schizophrenia, Dismal Institutions, and Dreams: A catatonic patient dreams,and he believes these dreams are his real existence. Is this plausible?

What would it take to set off a killing spree in 2 angry teenage misfits? Would the more people they kill the more they go insane? Would their fractured mental state and loose view on morals be obvious?

What Exactly Makes Someone Decide to Commit Suicide?: What would it take to push a character into suicide? Would there necessarily be a final "straw that broke the camel's back," or would a person be likely to ruminate on his life and eventually decide that killing himself is simply the next right thing to do?

How Believing You're Insane Affects Behavior: Let's say my character really, really, really thinks he's insane. Would he be acting different, maybe becoming a little insane through the thought? And...how drastically different would he be?
My Character Has Just Realized He's a Ghost: What is his state of mind likely to be? I don't want to flat-out say "hey, you're dead" and I want to avoid a long dialogue during the scene.
The Normal "Split" Personality: Can a person have two completely opposite sides to their personalities, and still perform adequately? I am discovering my protagonist has two sides to him; he is able to separate them until he has a break through, or a break down, and is able to 'join' the two personalities. Is this feasible?