[OOC: "Real Life" Patient File]
Real Life File
Name: Michaels, Bryan
Sex: Male
Age: 24
D.O.B.: September 27
Blood Type: AB-
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg)
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown
Birthplace: Brampton, ON
Nationality: Canadian
Family History: Lee Michaels (father), Sarah Michaels (mother), Raleigh Michaels (younger sister), Conrad Michaels (younger brother)
Life History: Bryan had a normal and healthy upbringing at home and school with no signs of trouble until high school, when the Michaels family moved from Brampton to Toronto. Bryan left a girlfriend behind, Alison, with whom he had been very close. Not only that, but he had been too scared to tell her that he would be leaving; Alison had to find out about it second-hand from a friend, which hurt her and in turn made Bryan feel very guilty.
After the move, he immersed himself in video games, comic books, and other media to take his mind off things. He had always been nerdy, but this was the tipping point at which he really stepped things up, devoting more and more of his life to fannish pursuits through the rest of high school and beyond. His parents didn't worry so much so long as he was still passing his classes, but they did try to encourage him to get out of the house more (to mostly no avail).
College was a little more normal for a while; Bryan thought he was supposed to try and "grow up" a little now that he wasn't living with his parents anymore. He got new friends, helped form a band, and took a second shot at a relationship with a fellow nerd girl, Emily. However, habits from high school took hold soon enough. Video games, comic books, movies, anime, more video games, more comics - as stress from college mounted and differences emerged between himself and Emily, he fell back on escapism hard, like a drug addict. The only reason he didn't experiment more with actual drugs or alcohol, ironically, was a fear of losing control of his mind (though, he did drink sometimes, despite what "Scott" will tell you). He didn't see a problem with things, since he was having fun, even though his friendships suffered and his grades plummeted.
On New Year's Eve of Bryan's second year of college, things really blew up. Emily called Bryan out for being a hopeless shut-in and for not supporting her musical endeavours enough. The two had a huge fight resulting in a break-up and in Bryan's ultimate turn inside himself. He dropped out of college, move into a crappy place with a former classmate (Chris), and became essentially the North American equivalent of a hikikomori.
Over the course of a year, Bryan managed to delude himself into thinking that his life was awesome and happening, and not totally pathetic. His roommate was cool and gay, not a boring average joe who worked in telemarketing. His friends still wanted to be in a band with him, despite them only visiting to play the occasional round of Bomberman. The adorable Chinese girl he saw on the bus sometimes when Chris forced him to go out and get groceries? Yeah, they totally dated for a while; she probably had a completely awesome name too, like Knives or something. Eventually, in his dreams and daytime imaginings, he created yet another girl for himself, Ramona Flowers, cobbled together from a couple of the scene girls who lived in the neighbourhood and various video game and anime girls. Ramona never existed, but to Bryan, she became more real to him all the time.
Lastly, Bryan himself changed in his own mind, becoming the geek hero Scott Pilgrim (name drawn from a song he remembered from high school). Scott was similar to Bryan in most respects, having hit most of the same major waypoints in life minus everything bad that might possibly have been his own fault. He had started his relationship with his high school sweetheart by saving her from ruthless River City Ransom-style thugs with his unmatched fighting skills, and they had eventually been forced to say a sad goodbye to one another on the playground at night before he left for Toronto. His college girlfriend started out as a good girl, but tragically morphed into some kind of evil villainess, transformed by fashion, fame, and cigarettes - totally outside his own control. And the mysterious Ramona would only be his if he completed an epic quest to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends, just like in some awesome video game or whatever.
Bryan was eventually taken in to see professional help after he spotted a girl with blue hair on the bus one day and tried to punch out the girl she had been sitting with, yelling something about half-ninjas and lesbian ex-boyfriends.
Medical History: No history of major childhood illness, and no recent major diseases. Suffered some hockey-related injuries at age 7 (a broken bone being the worst). Took some martial arts in junior high school. Currently gets decent exercise, mainly by way of activity-based video games. Has a history of short-term and long-term memory problems. Mental degradation largely due to stress, a fantasy-prone personality, feelings of being ill-equipped to handle an adult life, and lack of a stable relationship or close friendships.
Current Status: Since being admitted, Bryan has suffered three injuries. A fall from bed resulted in a bad bump on the back of the head. Disorientation from the bump lead him to fall down in his closet and injure his leg (a crutch was required for a few days following). Further disorientation lead to his shoulder taking a bad hit on a bedpost. Bryan has since recovered enough from his injuries to walk and move normally.
Bryan has also shown a tendency to confuse other patients for characters from various media he is familiar with. On his first day, he treated his experience like he would a video game, interacting with patients and staff as if they were game sprites meant to help him achieve a goal. Progress has been made in that he has never shown delusions of this level on any other day, but no progress has been made in stepping away from his "Scott Pilgrim" persona.
Has frequently mentioned one game in particular over the bulletin board called "Mental Quest." Possibly engage him about this game once therapy begins; find out if it carries a special significance.
Name: Michaels, Bryan
Sex: Male
Age: 24
D.O.B.: September 27
Blood Type: AB-
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg)
Eyes: Hazel
Hair: Brown
Birthplace: Brampton, ON
Nationality: Canadian
Family History: Lee Michaels (father), Sarah Michaels (mother), Raleigh Michaels (younger sister), Conrad Michaels (younger brother)
Life History: Bryan had a normal and healthy upbringing at home and school with no signs of trouble until high school, when the Michaels family moved from Brampton to Toronto. Bryan left a girlfriend behind, Alison, with whom he had been very close. Not only that, but he had been too scared to tell her that he would be leaving; Alison had to find out about it second-hand from a friend, which hurt her and in turn made Bryan feel very guilty.
After the move, he immersed himself in video games, comic books, and other media to take his mind off things. He had always been nerdy, but this was the tipping point at which he really stepped things up, devoting more and more of his life to fannish pursuits through the rest of high school and beyond. His parents didn't worry so much so long as he was still passing his classes, but they did try to encourage him to get out of the house more (to mostly no avail).
College was a little more normal for a while; Bryan thought he was supposed to try and "grow up" a little now that he wasn't living with his parents anymore. He got new friends, helped form a band, and took a second shot at a relationship with a fellow nerd girl, Emily. However, habits from high school took hold soon enough. Video games, comic books, movies, anime, more video games, more comics - as stress from college mounted and differences emerged between himself and Emily, he fell back on escapism hard, like a drug addict. The only reason he didn't experiment more with actual drugs or alcohol, ironically, was a fear of losing control of his mind (though, he did drink sometimes, despite what "Scott" will tell you). He didn't see a problem with things, since he was having fun, even though his friendships suffered and his grades plummeted.
On New Year's Eve of Bryan's second year of college, things really blew up. Emily called Bryan out for being a hopeless shut-in and for not supporting her musical endeavours enough. The two had a huge fight resulting in a break-up and in Bryan's ultimate turn inside himself. He dropped out of college, move into a crappy place with a former classmate (Chris), and became essentially the North American equivalent of a hikikomori.
Over the course of a year, Bryan managed to delude himself into thinking that his life was awesome and happening, and not totally pathetic. His roommate was cool and gay, not a boring average joe who worked in telemarketing. His friends still wanted to be in a band with him, despite them only visiting to play the occasional round of Bomberman. The adorable Chinese girl he saw on the bus sometimes when Chris forced him to go out and get groceries? Yeah, they totally dated for a while; she probably had a completely awesome name too, like Knives or something. Eventually, in his dreams and daytime imaginings, he created yet another girl for himself, Ramona Flowers, cobbled together from a couple of the scene girls who lived in the neighbourhood and various video game and anime girls. Ramona never existed, but to Bryan, she became more real to him all the time.
Lastly, Bryan himself changed in his own mind, becoming the geek hero Scott Pilgrim (name drawn from a song he remembered from high school). Scott was similar to Bryan in most respects, having hit most of the same major waypoints in life minus everything bad that might possibly have been his own fault. He had started his relationship with his high school sweetheart by saving her from ruthless River City Ransom-style thugs with his unmatched fighting skills, and they had eventually been forced to say a sad goodbye to one another on the playground at night before he left for Toronto. His college girlfriend started out as a good girl, but tragically morphed into some kind of evil villainess, transformed by fashion, fame, and cigarettes - totally outside his own control. And the mysterious Ramona would only be his if he completed an epic quest to defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends, just like in some awesome video game or whatever.
Bryan was eventually taken in to see professional help after he spotted a girl with blue hair on the bus one day and tried to punch out the girl she had been sitting with, yelling something about half-ninjas and lesbian ex-boyfriends.
Medical History: No history of major childhood illness, and no recent major diseases. Suffered some hockey-related injuries at age 7 (a broken bone being the worst). Took some martial arts in junior high school. Currently gets decent exercise, mainly by way of activity-based video games. Has a history of short-term and long-term memory problems. Mental degradation largely due to stress, a fantasy-prone personality, feelings of being ill-equipped to handle an adult life, and lack of a stable relationship or close friendships.
Current Status: Since being admitted, Bryan has suffered three injuries. A fall from bed resulted in a bad bump on the back of the head. Disorientation from the bump lead him to fall down in his closet and injure his leg (a crutch was required for a few days following). Further disorientation lead to his shoulder taking a bad hit on a bedpost. Bryan has since recovered enough from his injuries to walk and move normally.
Bryan has also shown a tendency to confuse other patients for characters from various media he is familiar with. On his first day, he treated his experience like he would a video game, interacting with patients and staff as if they were game sprites meant to help him achieve a goal. Progress has been made in that he has never shown delusions of this level on any other day, but no progress has been made in stepping away from his "Scott Pilgrim" persona.
Has frequently mentioned one game in particular over the bulletin board called "Mental Quest." Possibly engage him about this game once therapy begins; find out if it carries a special significance.