Can someone have autism and psychosis at once?

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03 Jun 2012, 8:51 pm

I am writing another story and I want to include autism as my character's diagnosis but... she also has psychosis because she loses touch with reality after falling into a 'wonderland state' where she believes that the wonderland characters are real but aren't. She also sees and hears ghosts as well. She also cuts herself and tries to commit suicide a few times as well. My character soon meets a boy but because of her psychosis, she can't tell if he is real or not when he falls for her.

Is it possible for someone to have autism and psychosis?

I think it could work pretty well in my story but I'm not really sure. I was just wondering if it could work and my story might actually be something I can commit to. I really can't write a story without having my characters being autistic-like. >< It just comes naturally considering I have an autistic disorder. x_x

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redrobin62
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03 Jun 2012, 9:47 pm

Go ahead and write the story. Should be interesting in 'A Beautiful Mind' kind of way.

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OddDuckNash99
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03 Jun 2012, 10:04 pm

It is most certainly possible. Just keep in mind that the autism symptoms would have been present from birth, but the psychosis wouldn't likely have shown itself until late adolescence/early adulthood. And are the suicide attempts related to depression/mood? If so, you may want to consider making the character be schizoaffective, depressive type or have psychotic unipolar depression rather than schizophrenia. It's good that you're asking questions and doing research to portray your character correctly, though. My main character I draw/write about is bipolar I, and the reason why I became an expert on bipolar disorder is largely because I did scads of research to portray her psychotic mania realistically, not stereotypically.

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iheartmegahitt
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03 Jun 2012, 10:07 pm

OddDuckNash99 wrote:

It is most certainly possible. Just keep in mind that the autism symptoms would have been present from birth, but the psychosis wouldn't likely have shown itself until late adolescence/early adulthood. And is the suicide attempts related to depression/mood? If so, you may want to consider making the character be schizoaffective, depressive type. It's good that you're asking questions and doing research to portray your character correctly, though. My main character I draw/write about is bipolar I, and the reason why I became an expert on bipolar disorder is largely because I did scads of research to portray her mania realistically, not stereotypically.

I just want to be able to get things right. I'm not one of those people who does anything cliche. >< As for her cutting and suicide, it's actually because her mother ignores her because she is a fashion diva or works a lot with fashion designing and all that and her father actually abuses her and takes everything out on her after a hard day at work. It's one of those things where she's misunderstood so the suicide and cutting is because of that. Plus the bullying at school.

OddDuckNash99
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03 Jun 2012, 10:13 pm

iheartmegahitt wrote:

I just want to be able to get things right. It's one of those things where she's misunderstood so the suicide and cutting is because of that. Plus the bullying at school.

It sounds a lot like psychotic depression/self-injury. A big misconception is that schizophrenia is the only type of psychosis. Some important things to consider are whether you want your character to be psychotic most of the time, not just while depressed (that would be schizoaffective), or if she only experiences psychosis while depressed/suicidal (psychotic depression).

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iheartmegahitt
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03 Jun 2012, 10:27 pm

OddDuckNash99 wrote:

iheartmegahitt wrote:

I just want to be able to get things right. It's one of those things where she's misunderstood so the suicide and cutting is because of that. Plus the bullying at school.

Well, she isn't diagnosed until her mother finally sees what is going on so I could use schizoaffective disorder. That would work a lot better.

OddDuckNash99
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03 Jun 2012, 10:40 pm

Well, if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. Your story/character sounds very interesting. I just wish more people would do the research you and I do when it comes to making a character with a mental illness. :roll:

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iheartmegahitt
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03 Jun 2012, 10:54 pm

OddDuckNash99 wrote:

I actually think Psychotic depression fits her a lot more than the other one does. So I think I will look up on psychotic depression.

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05 Jun 2012, 12:31 pm

Yuppers. I'm bipolar as well as an Aspie and have had hallucinations and feelings of depersonalization. Nothing as involved as a an entire dream world though.

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05 Jun 2012, 10:15 pm

Are you practically writing an autobiography, if you don't mind me asking?

iheartmegahitt
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06 Jun 2012, 3:27 pm

Mootoo wrote:

Are you practically writing an autobiography, if you don't mind me asking?

How could I be writing an autobiography when I don't even have psychosis myself? D: I'm writing a fictional story.

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