I'd be more than willing to help you in your research, as my girlfriend has schizophrenia and I'd love to counter all the poo that people write about it, but you need to be willing to help yourself. If you publish a book claiming that 'psychopathic delusions' and schizophrenia are the same thing, you'll have mental health charities crawling over it like ants on a jam sandwich.
i would be glad of any help that meant i didnt dig a grave and jump in it, because i dont want to upset anyone, unfortunately, i think, when i started this thread, i had no clue really on what i was trying to achieve with the character, and now i know where i am going, ill properly appreciate any help
You have no idea how glad I am to hear that If your books ever touch on schizophrenia, depression, PTSD, bipolar, or paranoia, I'll do everything I can to answer. I don't claim to be an expert-expert, but I do deal with the various disorders day-in, day-out, and can tell you a lot about them from first-hand experience.
Thank You, you dont realise how much i appreciate someone who will happily shed light on a subject i know little on... i need to get into the mind of the person who suffers with it, see how they think and react to different things... also how someone with schizophrenia reasons with themselves, i cant really make mistakes with that
You might want to check out the book The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness by Elyn Saks. She is a professor of both law and psychiatry who has schizophrenia.
What you are really looking for is sociopathic behavior. I could tell you all the clinical traits of someone like that, But the best thing I can tell you is to Write in your third person as if the characters perceptions were fact. Give your reader a lot of credit and believe that they will understand that you are writing through the eyes of the sociopath even from a third person perspective. This takes some practice, but it goes a LONG way. Example (not a published work): Evan Moroe looked through the window at one of the stores in the mall. He hated the different selections and prices. why couldn't they all just be the same? Equal? But they were not. None of these devices made him feel as though he would be a better person, nor did they make him think that they could make the world a better place. "Can I help you sir?" a shrill voice interrupted his thoughts. How dare someone be so inconsiderate? could she not see he was thinking to himself? That this was a very intimate debate he was having within his own mind? "sir?" "oh! no! thank you so much! I am just looking around thank you!" "well just tell me if you have any questions and I will try to do my best okay?" It was at that moment He really noticed her. Her fingers were...PERFECT. In shape, in length and in color. Olive brown skin at its most delicate, and she was nice. He then had a sudden NEED for a new phone. Yes! even the $550 model. If it made her speak to him again, he would do it. "ma'am, could you-" "-one second sir I will be with you in a second." how DARE she? How DARE she make a promise as she did and not follow through. He waited and waited and finally Turned around and walked away. He could not do what needed to be done in a crowded area like this. But he was a patient man. He would wait. She would pay.
I don't see where Chaos has indicated his character is a sociopath. Sociopaths don't generally suffer from delusions, other than their own self-importance, but true delusions aren't a part of it. A sociopath could have schizophrenia, but that's another issue. For information on sociopaths, you might want to check out Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas, who is a diagnosed sociopath, and The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson.
Thank you Chica, i was actually wondering this, but any info on anything like that is useful, i can use it elsewhere if the need arises
