# Mental Illnesses: Psychologists?



## reader5567 (Apr 26, 2016)

My story is about a school shooting, and I am taking an untraditional view by writing from the eyes of the shooter. I am looking for symptoms of PTSD, as well as any tips on how people with a mental illness would think. 

My character doesn't truly want to hurt anyone, but is forced to BY his mental illness. Are there any diagnosed mental illnesses that fit that, and if so, what are the symptoms?


----------



## InstituteMan (Apr 26, 2016)

I'm no psychologist, but it sounds like you may need to give your protagonist delusions that lead him to believe he has to perform the crime to avoid a greater tragedy (that exists only in his head). It could be that from his perspective he isn't even committing a mass shooting; maybe he thinks he's fighting off a terrorist cell or something. Schizophrenia is the mental illness that everyone knows than often features delusions, but I think there are others.


----------



## Miseo (May 11, 2016)

I am doing my PhD in psychology, although not in clinical psychology. PTSD probably isn't what you're looking for at a glance. Most violent criminals usually have some form of antisocial personality (psychopathy) but that doesn't seem to be the case here. Delusions seem to be your best bet. Psychotic spectrum disorders, like schizophrenia, feature delusions. They usually come as persecutory delusions (people are trying to hurt you when they actually aren't, like people in the TV screen) or delusions of grandeur ("I am God/Hitler/Napoleon/etc"). Delusional disorder is another candidate but it's delusions are usually less bizarre than those of psychotic conditions, i.e., you feel that people who say hi to you once are in love with you, or that your neighbors are trying to play tricks on you or buy things under your name. Paranoid personality disorder is a good candidate too. Basically, you would have unreasonable distrust and suspicions towards the motives of others.


----------



## Aquilo (May 11, 2016)

It could help to read this: Writer's Guide to Psychology. This lady worked with me on my series, and I just found out she passed away. Utterly gutting: she was such a talented lady... but her guide is a good read.


----------



## K.S. Crooks (May 13, 2016)

A person you can look at the history of is Charles Whitman. On August 1, 1966 he killed 14 people and injured dozens in shooting from the top of a tower on the campus of the University of Texas. Entire episode lasted 90 minutes before being killed by two police officers. He left a letter requesting his brain be examined after his death for a physical sign of mental illness.  A brain tumor was found and with his military history the combination may have been the cause of his murders. http://www.biography.com/people/charles-whitman-11495598#mass-murder, http://murderpedia.org/male.W/w/whitman-charles.htm


----------

