It seems you've stumbled across this article. How pleasant for both of us. This article here, should you choose to read it, shall take you through what I've found to be the most comment mental illnesses found in Sonic fancharacters and how you should portray them as to not come across as an uneducated retard.

Mental illness and psychology is something I've been putting the past few years of my life into studying during my spare time, as I am quite passionate about finding out how people, mentally, work, about what makes us us, and what the differences are in someone considered 'mentally ill.' I am by no means a professional, but I do know a lot more in regards to this than your average teenager.

Anyway, the layout of this should be fairly easy to follow and hopefully, you enjoy reading this and perhaps you shall learn a little something about mental illnesses.

I hasten to add that these are only the most common disorders I find in this fandom, and this article is, by no means, a complete guide. However, if anyone would like me to add another particular disorder, then just drop a comment and I'll see what I can do.

Pretty much, this article is my plea; IF YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE A MENTALLY ILL CHARACTER, DO YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH.

>ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER (SOCIOPATHY/PSYCHOPATHY) AND CONDUCT PERSONALITY DISORDER

I've seen a lot of "Psychopath" characters that are, simply put, nothing more than mindless killing machines. All they want is bloodspatter and gore. This is completely inaccurate, and, as one diagnosed with Conduct Personality disorder, I do believe I may be able to give a rather unique insight into this so-called "disease".

First let me explain the following to you; the terms sociopath and psychopath are mostly interchangeable. Sociopaths and psychopaths have the same "problem," with the exception of one thing. A psychopath is genetic, they were born that way. A sociopath is caused through having an unstable, abusive, or otherwise bad childhood and upbringing.

To be diagnosed with Antisocial personality disorder, one must first be diagnosed with Conduct personality disorder by the age of 15. To be diagnosed, one must have caused harm to animals and/or other people, had compulsive lying, no empathy, and a general tendency to cause problems.

Because of this, a lot of sociopaths and psychopaths are not diagnosed as what they are. One in twenty-five people, perhaps more, has psychopathic tendencies. It is not an uncommon 'illness.'

Really, a sociopath is just someone who has/is the following.
-Superficial Charm
-Manipulative
-Grandiose Sense of Self
-Pathological Lying
-Lack of guilt
-Shallow Emotions
-Incapacity for Love
-Need for Stimulation
-Callousness/Lack of Empathy
-Poor Behavioral Controls/Impulsive Nature
-Early Behavior Problems/Juvenile Delinquency
-Irresponsibility/Unreliability
-Promiscuous Sexual Behavior/Infidelity
-Lack of Realistic Life Plan/Parasitic Lifestyle
-Criminal or Entrepreneurial Versatility

Which brings me to my main point- While a sociopath is characterized primarily for the incapacity for empathy, we are perfectly capable of emotion. Believe it or not, we feel just as much as you do, even if it's only for our own benefit.

Being a sociopath is NOT a bad thing, as many people seem to believe. I, for one, don't even consider it an illness; it's just a different, more logical way of seeing the world. While a psychopath may be a serial killer, they may also be your next President.

A sociopath can cut into a person's muscle to perform delicate surgery without feeling a thing. A sociopath can sit in a tree for many hours with a gun in their hands, ready to kill their target.

I've seen a lot of attention to sociopaths in the media, often saying 'if you know one, GET AWAY FROM THEM AND DON'T GO BACK,' which is completely fucking bullshit. Don't give us a reason to cause problems and you'll be just fine.

To summarize, just because your character is a sociopath, doesn't mean they're a psycho killer. Often sociopaths are charming, kind people; you can't pick them from a group unless you really know your stuff.

>EMPAPATHY

Keep in mind this is technically NOT a true disease, and like sociopathy, it is NOT 'bad'. It is mainly a term used among people for a person on the opposite side on the sliding scale of empathetic ability. Whilst a sociopath has little to no empathy with other people (really, sociopaths are just selfish gits) an empapath, on the other hand, is hyper-sensitive to other people emotions, often to a point where it's quite debilitating.

>SCHIZOPHRENIA

Why helllooooo, voices in my head.

Schizophrenics are not insane and I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop portraying them as such. Schizophrenia may cause hallucinations, the hearing of voices, and some violent tendencies, but guess what? There is medication for schizophrenia. They're just as normal as you are most of the time.

Again, schizophrenics are not serial killers (of at least, they usually aren't) so stop making out as if every single person with this disorder is one. That's just common fucking decency.

>DEPRESSION

I don't really think I need to explain this one much.

Stop treating depression as a fashion accessory. Depression is not cool. Depression doesn't always lead to self-harm or suicide, and more often than not, a depressed person will hide their depression from their loved ones as not to cause further issues.

Keep in mind also that depression, to the depressed, can become a comfort. Something they grow to love. They learn to love their hole, preferring to have it than be let down again. They become reliant on their own misery.

So just stop it. If you're going to have a depressed character, either just don't because they'll just end up coming across as a fucking emo-kid, or do it right. Depression shouldn't be made a feature of to every person in the world.

>PARANOIA

Hey, you. Yeah, you, with the tired eyes and messed-up hair, sitting by the light of your computer. Don't turn around. Trust me.

There are monsters in your closet, there are demons under your bed, there is a stranger at your bedroom door and everyone you know is out to get you. Everyone who claims to like you is only doing so out of pity, they're all going to turn on you, they're all going to use you when you're not looking and then leave you here, wasted and used and USELESS AND YOU ARE A TERRIBLE PERSON YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN YOU HORRIBLE FUCK. YOU'RE STUPID, EVERYONE HATES YOU. YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN.

After all, how could anyone ever, possibly, love someone as worthless as you?

So, my dear, what will you do about the monsters in your closet, the demons under your bed?

You will hide away from them. You can't ever let anyone know that you know that they think you're shit. If they knew they'd stop pretending, you can't possibly tell anyone about this because if they do then you'll just make faster their betrayal, their usage of you. But at the same time you need to protect yourself, to make them stop using you, to make them stop pretending to like you for their own personal gain.

So, my dear, what will you do about that?

You'll cut all ties with them. You won't socialize anymore. You don't need their help, you need them to get away from you because they're all just out to get you.

Your self-esteem is crushed. You can't do anything to help yourself anymore other than just staying here, in your tranquil piece of mind.

You're not going to give in, though.

Paranoia is a difficult feat to pull of realistically partially when making the paranoid interact with others. Keep in mind the above description, because that's the only thing I can offer you when it comes to paranoia. The paranoid are always there, hiding between us. Pretending they're okay.

But of course, we're still going to use them.

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Hope this helped in any way. As said, any questions or suggestions, or hell, even some opinions, are welcomed with open arms.