Thoughts, Prompted

granted, i DO prefer a world that slaps "melancholic" on in place of "depression" or "post-birth hyper-grief parental syndrome" onto postpartum depression or whatever, as opposed to just calling everything depression and schizophrenia and ASPD, as if our own western psychiatric words are the """correct""" ones and would logically be emulated by the whole of any other universe.

However.

i think it is MORE useful to think FIRST about your fictional society's values. and the power structures in play, or lack thereof. and how elements like religion and spirituality and magic and sci-fi tech shape and influence everyday life.

mental disorders and neurodivergences are things that mark a person "other" from someone who is the """expected""" product of their environment. crucially, in our own western conceptions of mental health, there is a STORIED history of people being labeled Other because they did not cooperate with the oppressive social norms of the time. see: insane asylums, lobotomies, drapetomania. etc.

how does your fictional society treat people who are Other? is mental health treatment more focused on compliance and the erasure of symptoms, or on self-acceptance and accommodation? is there a taboo against being labeled Other? what is the history of self-advocacy and human rights for people in these groups?

you don't Have to go the pessimist route and write in, like, horrific atrocities as a backdrop for your story. especially if you are not a horror writer like me. LOL.

but i do think it's disingenuous not to think about these things on a structural level.

what would these people consider a mental health disorder / neurodivergence, and why? what thoughts or behaviors cause that to be labeled a mental health disorder?

how are neurodivergent people in this world supported or unsupported?

what are the consequences for having an untreated mental health issue in this world? are there reasons someone might hide their mental health issue, or is there a baseline of trust socially?

if there IS an automatic baseline of trust, what social norms enforce that trust? what are the expectations of conduct for both the mentally ill and those helping them? what happens if that trust is broken by a mental health professional or carer -- what recourse does the mentally ill person have?

are there any Pretty Shitty social norms that would be reflected or encouraged in the mental health system?

sources: l.e.s. by donald glover // this year by the mountain goats // maya hornbacher, madness // watchisjawdrop on tumblr // wuntrum on tumblr // kim kardashian // unknown // godblessryankent on tiktok // nayyirah waheed // unknown // lev st. valentine

"i swear, next time i see you i'll be funny" from in a dream you saw a way to survive by clementine von radics via pinterest // urban dictionary via pinterest // @/echoesofsaturn via tumblr // twin size mattress by the front bottoms via pinterest // @/daisycalloway via pinterest // anywhere with you by maggie rogers via genius // gawdland via tumblr // "for m" from let the world have you by mikko harvey via goodreads

yes, i know that love is like ghosts / and what ain't living can never really die.

web weave about living, still

The house seems to circle around you slowly. I circle around you, a wild animal near a fire.

i love you all and i need you to stop writing trauma as a single breakdown scene in the rain after which the character is Healed and Ready to Love Again. that is NOT trauma :(

⊹ Trauma doesn't announce itself. it shows up as your character suddenly not being able to eat a specific food, or going very quiet in a loud room, or laughing at the wrong moment because their nervous system decided that was the appropriate response. it's mundane and weird and it makes no sense from the outside. the dramatic flashback sequence is the least realistic part. the most realistic part is your character suddenly needing to leave a grocery store for a reason they can't articulate.

⊹ The body keeps score and it keeps it in the strangest places. a particular smell. the quality of light at a certain time of day. a tone of voice that sounds like someone who hurt them. your traumatised character doesn't think "this reminds me of the bad thing." their heart rate spikes and they don't know why. they feel wrong and they can't locate the feeling. they're irritable for three days and only later, if ever, do they make the connection. write the disconnection. it's more honest.

⊹ trauma also does not make people universally sympathetic and wise. it makes some people controlling. some people funny at inappropriate times. some people very good in a crisis and completely unable to handle a normal day. some people are generously kind to strangers and absolutely terrible to people they love. trauma shapes behaviour in contradictory, inconvenient ways that don't resolve into a lesson. your traumatised character can be difficult to like. that's not a flaw in the writing. that's the WRITING.