Is this a sign of mental illness?

[CheertheSecond]

This is about a character, not a real person.

The subject of our discussion is a girl about 16 yo. She lost her mother (the only family member she knew of 2 years ago).

She worked as a labour in a worker camp since 12 along with 14 other kids (ranging from 3 years older than her to kids 2 years younger). The kids were treated harshly and brainwashed into believing they and their family were sinners redeeming themselves in the worker camp.

She and the other kids were frequently told and humiliated that their mothers were whores. The actual fact was they were forced whores.

Three months ago, she was rescued from the worker camp after a plague struck the camp. She was the only kid who was lucky enough to be cured in time.

After the incident, she was released. The daughter of the camp owner, its current master, promised freedom and compensation.

The girl, however, only demanded to be free. A small house was built for her in a remote place according to her wish.

Observation of the girl's daily life reported that she got many wooden plaques with names on it. Close inspection concluded that they were names of all the kids who worked with her in camp and of their parents.

It is said that the girl's routine includes waking the wooden plaques up, bringing the wooden plaques to the table for breakfast, chatting with the plaques, bringing the plaques out for gardening and gathering... It seems like she treated those plaques as if they were real people.

Meanwhile, she took great effort in avoiding real people and would hide when noticing presence of people nearby.

So the big question is "was she mentally ill or just insecure about human interaction?"

"Should she be treated?"

"Is it ok to leave her alone?"

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Lotsa peeps adopt to certain traumatic situations through stuff that may seem weird or crazy to others. Yet, they still function normally as productive members of society.

In that girl's situation, the plaques are just a symptom of a bigger problem, which lies in her past experience. It can be called a condition, rather than an illness.

Seen it happen myself. Been telling you guys I've dealt with rape/molestation victims before.

 

[Hoshino]

The girl's behavior can be understood as a coping mechanism resulting from severe trauma and brainwashing experienced during her time in the worker camp. Having lost her mother and endured harsh treatment, she likely struggles with trust and connection to others. The wooden plaques represent her attempt to maintain a sense of companionship and control in a world where she has felt powerless and abandoned.While her actions may not fit traditional definitions of mental illness, they indicate significant psychological distress and a need for healing. Her avoidance of real human interaction suggests deep-seated insecurity and fear, which are common responses to trauma-nya.

 

[Empress_Omnii]

"was she mentally ill or just insecure about human interaction?"

Being insecure about human interaction to this extent is a form of mental disorder.

"Should she be treated?"

"Is it ok to leave her alone?"

It is up to the patient. It is okay to leave her so long as she isn't a harm to herself or others. It might hurt her more to force new coping mechanisms on her. But this is a very simple explanation, and I would prefer she finds effective care and treatment.

 

[RiceballWasTaken]

So the big question is "was she mentally ill or just insecure about human interaction?"

it can be both. Many mentally ill people are insecure abotu human interaction.

And I'd say that she is mentally ill becuase all of the stuff that she goes though. But for a child like that which I also was, it's normal to talk to the inanimate object of the cold world when everything else Is a damn bastard.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

The girl seemed to me like others have pointed out coping, it would be honestly more surprising of she wasn't mentally ill with setup you delivered.

Like she could try to avoid thinking about any event that happened and try to avoid people as a response, like avoidance personality disorder is a think even if the girl doesn't seem to have it.

 

[NotaNuffian]

To be honest, I am more interested if they ever caught the ones responsible for the camp, beat them to the inch of their lives, skin them, dip them in honey and throw them into a bullet ant farm.

Either way, girl is PTSDing with hell ton of survivor guilt.

Soft approach if she requires it, if not let her be.

 

[CheertheSecond]

So coping mechanism is a sign of mental illness?

 

[RepresentingDesire]

So coping mechanism is a sign of mental illness?

Mental illness is a gigantic thing and there are no signs of mental illness, only for different mental disorders , you can cope without being mentally ill, like does the girl think the wooden planks are real people?

You honestly should just google the symptoms that you wanna give them and what the setup could create for mental disorders, your setup should be able to create many mental disorders.

 

[Sagefox]

Well...if you want "by the book", she fits close to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

To make the diagnosis, we're lacking 1 thing.
Does she...

Have recurrent, intrusive (breaks current thoughts), involuntary, and distressing memories of what happened?
Have recurrent, distressing dreams about what happened?
Flashbacks of the event in daily life?
Things that remind her of the trauma that gets them upset or distressed?
Recalling the event makes them "clam up", get all sweaty, tremble, loss of breath, or even palpitations?

She fits all the other criteria of PTSD, except for category B, which the items of category B are the questions I asked. We just need 1 "Yes" answer.

This is, according to the DSM 5-TR, the currently used one for diagnosing psychiatric disorders.

 

[CheertheSecond]

Well...if you want "by the book", she fits close to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

To make the diagnosis, we're lacking 1 thing.
Does she...

Have recurrent, intrusive (breaks current thoughts), involuntary, and distressing memories of what happened?
Have recurrent, distressing dreams about what happened?
Flashbacks of the event in daily life?
Things that remind her of the trauma that gets them upset or distressed?
Recalling the event makes them "clam up", get all sweaty, tremble, loss of breath, or even palpitations?

She fits all the other criteria of PTSD, except for category B, which the items of category B are the questions I asked. We just need 1 "Yes" answer.

This is, according to the DSM 5-TR, the currently used one for diagnosing psychiatric disorders.

Well, she went into hiding when she realised there was human presence nearby because she was afraid of being kidnapped again like when she was small.

Is this a "yes"?

 

[NotaNuffian]

Well, she went into hiding when she realised there was human presence nearby because she was afraid of being kidnapped again like when she was small.

Is this a "yes"?

YES.

 

[Sagefox]

Well, she went into hiding when she realised there was human presence nearby because she was afraid of being kidnapped again like when she was small.

Is this a "yes"?

Like what Notanuffin said. Yes.
So there's your answer. She has PTSD.

 

[CheertheSecond]

YES.

Like what Notanuffin said. Yes.
So there's your answer. She has PTSD.

Assuming a group of people need her to be cured, would repeated exposure to desensitise the trauma works? What could go wrong when forcing her out of her comfort zone and facing her trauma until she get used to it?

 

[NotaNuffian]

Assuming a group of people need her to be cured, would repeated exposure to desensitise the trauma works? What could go wrong when forcing her out of her comfort zone and facing her trauma until she get used to it?

... You don't plan to Cold Turkey the girl right?

Also, her reaction depends on hee personality. Judging by how you put it, she might shut off in self defense, go on a complete mental breakdown thinking that everything's her fault.

Or you know, go the completely opposite direction of lashing out. When threatened, even a meel rat bites back.

 

[Sagefox]

Assuming a group of people need her to be cured, would repeated exposure to desensitise the trauma works? What could go wrong when forcing her out of her comfort zone and facing her trauma until she get used to it?

Are these people trained professionals that know what they're doing?
For any progress to be made, she needs to undergo repeated counseling. This isn't just encouragement; this is also about her trying to accept what happened, and then finally move on. When she does that, or is close to that, then maybe exposure therapy could be done.
Handled wrongly, and like what Notanuffian said, this could end up wrongly. Her personality and self-esteem, self-worth, and self-love are important here. If these people don't recognize that and just blindly try and "help", the consequences would be disastrous. She might even end up killing someone, not just herself.

 

[CheertheSecond]

To be honest, I am more interested if they ever caught the ones responsible for the camp, beat them to the inch of their lives, skin them, dip them in honey and throw them into a bullet ant farm.

Well, I usually try to make my stories realistic so bullies are not punished and only the victims will suffer until they find away to get out. So, no. The ones who kidnapped her and sold her and the kids to slavery were never found. The worker camp owners got off free because he was just a revolutionary camp owners doing what revolutionary patriots do, punishing 'corrupted' aristocrats for the new regime.

If anything, the new regime after a period of development decided to be lenient so they agreed with the camp owner's daughter to let the survivor (which is this girl) go. They wanted to cure this girl because they wanted to parade her and wanted her to show gratitude and speak good things about the regime. Their plan was first shove her into a reeducation school then brainwashing her further until she truly regretted being born an evil aristocrat then allowing her spread propaganda for the new regime. They also intended to marry the girl with a son of a revolutionary higher-up to show an union between the old aristocrats and the new revolutionists but the girl was not mentally sound from their observation so that plan was thrown out of the window. Overall, they maintained surveillance of the girl to ensure she would have no treacherous idea until she died.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

This is about a character, not a real person.

Three months ago, she was rescued from the worker camp after a plague struck the camp. She was the only kid who was lucky enough to be cured in time.

Observation of the girl's daily life reported that she got many wooden plaques with names on it. Close inspection concluded that they were names of all the kids who worked with her in camp and of their parents.

It is said that the girl's routine includes waking the wooden plaques up, bringing the wooden plaques to the table for breakfast, chatting with the plaques, bringing the plaques out for gardening and gathering... It seems like she treated those plaques as if they were real people.

Meanwhile, she took great effort in avoiding real people and would hide when noticing presence of people nearby.

So the big question is "was she mentally ill or just insecure about human interaction?"

"Should she be treated?"

"Is it ok to leave her alone?"

A clear cut case of survivor's guilt. This isn't mental illness, per se, but the character definitely needs counseling.

 

[Deleted member 166465]

A clear cut case of survivor's guilt. This isn't mental illness, per se, but the character definitely needs counseling.

Agree, plus an avoindant personality desorder. Although taking into consideration the background it is understandable.

 

[HisDivineShadow]

C-PTSD