Quite The Character

An essential part to any film opening would be of course be the main protagonist. Since I do want to delve into the coming of age genre, I have decided to have the character be a 17 year old girl. As mentioned in earlier posts, I want to focus on a realistic portrayal of mental illnesses. Thus, in other to fully flesh out my protagonist, I must figure out what kind of disorder she would have. And it is important to note that different kinds of mental illnesses can have vastly different symptoms. The kind of disorder she has would be highly indicative in the way she is presented in film.

Bipolar Disorder

• Typically known for mood swings
• Has stages of high energy and low energy
• Was known as "manic depression"
• Symptoms will worsen if left untreated 
• Can be sometimes caused by medication
• Genetic, neurochemical, and environmental factors can cause it

Depression

• Simple daily tasks are difficult to accomplish
• Depression is a unique experience for every person
• High levels of anxiety as a child may be a cause
• Opposed to regular sadness, depression can last weeks to months to much longer
• Women are 2 to 3 times more likely to suffer from depression
• Can be treated with clinical help

Eating Disorders

• Three main types of eating disorders: anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder
• Anorexia involves starving yourself
• People with anorexia strongly believe that they are overweight
• Bulimia has to do with over eating known as"binging"
• Bulimics then "purge" by throwing up, excessive exercise, taking laxatives, or enemas
• Binge eating is usually done in secret and thus, symptoms can go unnoticed 

Schizophrenia

• Involves having hallucination whether it be auditory, olfactory, visual, or tactile
• People with schizophrenia have been historically ridiculed and exiled 
• Treatment often times involves lifetime medication
• There are different sub types
• Paranoid schizophrenia involves having delusional conspiracies and auditory hallucinations
• Isn't apparent to most people
• Is the most common sub type
• Disorganized schizophrenia have less active hallucinations
• Involves problems with emotional processing and communication

As for my character, I think she will have depression and possibly a form of disorganized schizophrenia. Because of this, my character will have anxiety problems and have issues with talking to others.

Bengston, M. (2016, July 17). Types of Schizophrenia. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/lib/types-of-schizophrenia/

Grohol, J. M. (2017, March 06). Schizophrenia | Symptoms & Treatment. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/schizophrenia/

Grohol, J. M. (2017, March 06). Depression Center | Symptoms & Treatment. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/depression/

Grohol, J. M. (2017, March 06). Eating Disorders | Symptoms & Treatments. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/eating-disorders/

Grohol, J. M. (2017, March 06). Bipolar Disorder: Symptoms & Treatment Guide. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/bipolar/

Medina, J. (2016, December 16). Bipolar Disorder Symptoms. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://psychcentral.com/disorders/bipolar/bipolar-disorder-symptoms/