Acute Mental Illness Brought On By A Traumatic Event

[kingdmforahorse]

I have a character, I'll call her Elena for now, who I need to develop an acute mental break after witnessing one of her good friends being abducted for the slave trade and nearly being taken herself. The story roughly takes place in 16th century Poland and she's about 18 years old

Comments

[damagedmemoires]

this is just from partial personal understanding, and partially from what people have told me or described to me in past. i am no textbook, though, i have gotten alot of my understanding from people, so i am only slightly concerned with official titles. however,here is what i can offer. a number of things can develop as far as mental illness is concerned from shock or tauma, or even grief. the term 'mental illness' to a certain extent is broad. i think hallucinations may be taking it a bit far without delving into some specifics on triggering one of the mental illnesses such s schizophrenia. schizophrenia is being *really* sick, unfortunately, and less heal-able as far as i know, if that is something you want to consider. i know less about that than i do about how an individual can subsequently cope or fall apart after trauma. it also depends what the variables are, as some have mentioned-drugs,alcohol,etc. those can be triggering factors to a certain extent, or abetting in worsening a condition. obsession can do this to a certain degree as well - obsessive thought of the situation they have escaped, often unbidden and unwanted obsessive thoughts, can often create paranoia's, or at least, illusions of grandeur based on that focal point of fear, of reliving the past trauma over and over, with all their details splayed before them, which will physically affect an individual even through something as basic as the stress response. cortisol, adrenal glands, appetite, fatigue, restlessness, insomnia, digestive issues, depressive episodes, isolation, social behavioural changes, anxiety - the fight or flight normality may be upended, especially over time. high anxiety, depression, eating issues, digestive issues, addictions or escapism. trauma has a huge impact on a person long term, especially if incapably dealt with, or ignored. it can effect their future decisions, their way of perceiving things, themselves and others, often creating anxiety and depression with even basic every day motions. and depression can spiral, for any number of variables. catatonia could occur, if one was so shocked and their brain simply couldn't process what happened, it would just stutter and they would be still while it processes what to do and how to respond perhaps.... i don't know if it would be long term or not. no clue on that. or even *actual* catatonia...or merely a depersonalization to a certain degree where they are falling within themselves and closing up in order to figure out how to deal with what happened. if your character is hypersensitive and highly empathetic, their symptoms may be worse. anyway, there is a few thoughts.

[kingdmforahorse]

Thank you for the info! It's not in my plan to have her recover from the ordeal or mental illness. I thought it would be interesting if there was a disorder or mental illness that would still let her remember her family/friends or her mind would let her go back to happier times once in a while. Either way, her parents and husband will be taking care of her for the rest of her life. I had not considered everything that might appear as side effects, such as the possible development of eating disorders or addictions, so I appreciate the high level of detail! She is indeed highly sensitive and empathetic and I was thinking it would make everything especially hard on her, so it's good to know that I'm not too far off in my thinking.