Accepted Issues

When creating your character, you are asked the question: Why are you here? Well, we've taken the guess work out of this for you! Below you will find the approved afflictions that your character may have before coming to St Christina's Institute. Note that patients are screened extensively to procure only the test subjects that the Institute needs for the drugs undergoing trial runs. Because of this, your character may have any 1 issue as a major problem, and up to three minor issues.

The reason for this list is to show you what afflictions are currently acceptable for character creation. The Institute screens out homicidal maniacs, sociopaths or the like. The reasons for this are quite simple. For one thing, the main pharmaceutical companies that are funding The Institute aren't currently testing any drugs on that demographic.

Secondly, The Institute requires a certain level of secrecy to accomplish its agenda. If The Institute were to open their doors to sociopathic patients, and the body count started rising, that would certainly raise suspicions and provide grounds for an investigation. Naturally, The Institute wouldn't want that because it would not only get everyone involved in a fiasco of trouble, it would also put an end to the testing they believe is vital to the success of our nation's youth.

So please, do not deviate from the accepted list of afflictions below. We are aware that some of them, by themselves, would not be reason enough to have a patient placed in The Institute. These minor afflictions aren't intended to be major issues, but instead minor issues caused by or supporting major problems. These issues are the same for both adult and adolescent patients, but try to keep the issues you pick in line with the ages of your characters.

Note: If an issue has a strikethrough, it indicates that at this time that issue is not currently being accepted. Issues are phased out and back in again when the influxes of certain types of characters die down or flair up. We also go through periods when we allow unapproved issues through a pleading of your case (a thread that happens once, sometimes twice, a year). Otherwise, you MUST stick to the list below. You will be notified when the issues change and when there is a new 'Plead Your Case'. In this way, we hope to keep the board fresh and allow people to play their dream characters.

001. Antisocial Behaviors
002. Depression/Suicide Risk
003. Drug Abuse/Addiction
004. Psychiatric Issues
005. Sexual Degeneracy
006. Limited Edition Issues

Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personalities are often hypersensitive to rejection and are unwilling to become involved with others unless they are sure of being liked. Excessive social discomfort, timidity, fear of criticism, avoidance of social or work activities that involve interpersonal contact are characteristic of the avoidant personality. They are fearful of saying something considered foolish by others; worry they will blush or cry in front of others; and are very hurt by any disapproval by others. People with avoidant personality disorder may have no close relationships outside of their family circle, although they would like to, and are upset at their inability to relate well to others.


Diogenes Syndrome
Diogenes syndrome is a disorder characterized by extreme self-neglect, domestic squalor, social withdrawal, apathy, compulsive hoarding of rubbish, and lack of shame.


Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Often anxiety gets generalized to other situations, and can then become overwhelming or associated with life in general. Typically GAD develops over a period of time and may not be noticed until it is significant enough to cause problems with functioning.

As its name implies, GAD is evidenced by general feelings of anxiety such as mild heart palpitations, dizziness, and excessive worry. The symptoms are difficult to control for the individual and are not related to a specific event (such as in PTSD) and are not as severe as those found with Panic Disorder.


Histrionic Personality Disorder
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness, usually beginning in early adulthood. These individuals are lively, dramatic, enthusiastic, and flirtatious.

They may be inappropriately sexually provocative, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and be easily influenced by others. Associated features may include egocentrism, self-indulgence, continuous longing for appreciation, and persistent manipulative behavior to achieve their own needs.


Intermittent Explosive Disorder
This disorder is apparently rare, with the majority of cases occurring when the individual is between late adolescence and late twenties. There is some evidence of that the neurotransmitter serotonin may play a role in this disorder.

This disorder is characterized by frequent and often unpredictable episodes of extreme anger or physical outbursts. Between episodes, there is typically no evidence of violence or physical threat.


Kleptomania
Kleptomania appears to be much more common in females, but little is understood about the etiology. There is also some association with other disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Kleptomania involves the failure to resist impulses to steal things that are not needed for either personal use or for their monetary value. There is typically anxiety prior to the act of theft and relief or gratification afterward. If the theft is related to vengeance or psychosis, kleptomania should not be diagnosed. (Kleptomania is quite rare, where common shoplifting is not).


Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy
Münchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP) is a label for a pattern of behavior in which caretakers deliberately exaggerate and/or fabricate and/or induce physical and/or psychological-behavioral-mental health problems in others. Münchausen syndrome by Proxy alludes to the motive of such behaviour, insisting that it is to gain attention, sympathy or other psychological benefit. Münchausen by proxy has been described by some as a form of extended child abuse. The motivation is to assume the sick role by proxy. It involves physical abuse and medical neglect.


Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Like most personality disorders, there are many factors that may contribute to the development of symptoms. Because the symptoms are long lasting, the idea that symptoms begin to emerge in childhood or at least adolescence is well accepted. The negative consequences of such symptoms, however, may not show themselves until adulthood.

The symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder revolve around a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and sense of entitlement. Often individuals feel overly important and will exaggerate achievements and will accept, and often demand, praise and admiration despite worthy achievements. They may be overwhelmed with fantasies involving unlimited success, power, love, or beauty and feel that they can only be understood by others who are, like them, superior in some aspect of life.

There is a sense of entitlement, of being more deserving than others based solely on their superiority. These symptoms, however, are a result of an underlying sense of inferiority and are often seen as overcompensation. Because of this, they are often envious and even angry of others who have more, receive more respect or attention, or otherwise steal away the spotlight.


Oppositional Defiant Disorder
An ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile and defiant behavior toward authority figures which goes beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior. People who have it may appear very stubborn. Common features of Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) include excessive, often persistent anger, frequent temper tantrums or angry outbursts, and disregard for authority. Children and adolescents with this disorder often annoy others on purpose, blame others for their mistakes, and are easily annoyed. In addition, these young people may appear resentful of others and when someone does something they don't like they often take revenge on them. In order for a child or adolescent to qualify for a diagnosis of ODD these behaviors must cause considerable distress for the family and/or interfere significantly with academic or social functioning. Interference might take the form of preventing the child or adolescent from learning school material, making friends, or placing them in harmful situations. These behaviors must also persist for at least six months.

Paranoid Personality Disorder
This is a psychiatric diagnosis characterized by paranoia and long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others. Those with the condition are hypersensitive, are easily slighted, and habitually relate to the world by vigilant scanning of the environment for clues or suggestions to validate their prejudicial ideas or biases. They tend to be guarded and suspicious and have quite constricted emotional lives. Their incapacity for meaningful emotional involvement and the general pattern of isolated withdrawal often lend a quality of schizoid isolation to their life experience.


Schizotypal Personality Disorder
People with schizotypal personality disorder are often described as odd or eccentric, and usually have few, if any, close relationships. They generally don't understand how relationships form, leading to severe anxiety and a tendency to turn inward in social situations.

In schizotypal personality disorder, people also exhibit odd behaviors, respond inappropriately to social cues and hold peculiar beliefs.

Major Depressive Disorder (Unipolar Depression)
Research has shown that depression is influenced by both biological and environmental factors. Studies show that first degree relatives of people with depression have a higher incidence of the illness, whether they are raised with this relative or not, supporting the influence of biological factors. Situational factors, if nothing else, can exacerbate a depressive disorder in significant ways. Examples of these factors would include lack of a support system, stress, illness in self or loved one, legal difficulties, financial struggles, and job problems. These factors can be cyclical in that they can worsen the symptoms and act as symptoms themselves.

Symptoms of depression include the following:
depressed mood (such as feelings of sadness or emptiness).
reduced interest in activities that used to be enjoyed, sleep disturbances (either not being able to sleep well or sleeping to much).
loss of energy or a significant reduction in energy level.
difficulty concentrating, holding a conversation, paying attention, or making decisions that used to be made fairly easily.
suicidal thoughts or intentions.


History of Abuse
Abuse comes in many forms. We will not go into detail about these because we believe the above information can cover all of this information. However, because an overuse of this issue in this category, when History of Abuse causes depression rather than violent tendencies, it is only considered a sub-issue.


Self-Injury
Self-injury and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. The most common form of self-harm is skin cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair pulling and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. The motivations for self-harm vary and may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness and a sense of failure or self-loathing. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse including emotional abuse, sexual abuse, drug dependence, eating disorders, or mental traits such as low self-esteem or perfectionism. There is also a positive statistical correlation between self-harm and emotional abuse. For the purposes of St Christina's, this is a sub-disorder.


Victim of Rape
A rape occurs every ten minutes in the United States, making it one of the most rapidly increasing crimes in our society. Whether this increase is due to more frequent occurrence or to greater awareness and more frequent reporting is not clear; however, only about one in ten rapes is reported.

Common responses to rape include but are not limited to: Repression, Suppression, Denial, Rationalization and Isolation.

Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse is sometimes referred to by the less specific term alcoholism. However, many definitions of alcoholism exist, and only some are compatible with alcohol abuse. Binge drinking is another form of alcohol abuse. Frequent binge drinking or getting severely drunk more than twice is classed as alcohol misuse.


Cocaine
Cocaine is presently the most abused major stimulant in America. It has recently become the drug most frequently involved in emergency department visits. It is not a new drug of abuse but is now considered the caviar of recreational drugs. Thus, this distinction is reflected in its description-champagne of drugs, gold dust, Cadillac of drugs, status stimulant, yuppie drug, and others. Street names for cocaine also reflect its appearance or method of use (such as flake, snow, toot, blow, nose candy, her, she, lady flake, liquid lady [a mixture of cocaine and alcohol], speedball [cocaine and heroin], crack, rock). And it can also express its method of preparation, such as freebase. It is more popularly known simply as coke.

Smoking or injecting cocaine results in nearly instantaneous effects. Rapid absorption through nasal tissues makes snorting cocaine nearly as fast-acting. Whatever the method of taking it in, cocaine quickly enters the bloodstream and travels to the brain.

Deep in the brain, cocaine interferes with the chemical messengers -- neurotransmitters -- that nerves use to communicate with each other. Cocaine blocks norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters from being reabsorbed. The resulting chemical buildup between nerves causes euphoria or feeling "high." Leaving the user with an increasing sense of energy and alertness, an extremely elevated mood and a feeling of supremacy.


Hallucinogen Abuse
LSD (Acid)
LSD, also known as acid, is non-addictive and is well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synesthesia, a sense of time distortion, ego death, and spiritual experiences. LSD's psychological effects (colloquially called a "trip") vary greatly from person to person, depending on factors such as previous experience, state of mind and environment, as well as dose strength. They also vary from one trip to another, and even as time passes during a single trip.

An LSD trip can have long-term psychoemotional effects; some users cite the LSD experience as causing significant changes in their personality and life perspective. Some psychological effects may include an experience of radiant colors and objects, and surfaces appearing to ripple or "breathe", colored patterns behind the eyes, a sense of time distorting (stretching, repeating itself, changing speed, or stopping), crawling geometric patterns overlaying walls and other objects, morphing objects, a sense that one's thoughts are spiraling into themselves, loss of a sense of identity or the ego (known as "ego death"), and other powerful psycho-physical reactions. Many users experience a dissolution between themselves and the outside world. If the user is in a hostile or otherwise unsettling environment, or is not mentally prepared for the powerful distortions in perception and thought that the drug causes, effects are more likely to be unpleasant than if he or she is in a comfortable environment and has a relaxed, balanced, and open mindset.

Please note that LSD is not physically addictive. It might have mental addiction in some cases where it's used as a crutch or distraction.

MDMA (Ecstasy)
MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic, psychoactive drug that is chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. MDMA produces feelings of increased energy euphoria, emotional warmth, and distortions in time perception and tactile experiences. Please note that MDMA is not physically addictive. It might have mental addiction in some cases where it's used as a crutch or distraction.[/s]

Mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms are non-addictive although they do create short term increases in tolerance of users. Oral ingestion can sometimes produce nausea, dizziness, and (more rarely) vomiting (usually at higher doses), though cannabis is often used to lessen this stomach discomfort. The greatest danger from recreational use is a "bad trip" which can cause severe emotional and psychological distress. Also, extremely poisonous wild picked mushrooms can be easily mistaken for psilocybin mushrooms. When psilocybin is ingested, it is broken down to produce psilocin, which is responsible for the hallucinogenic effects. As with many psychoactive substances, the effects of psychedelic mushrooms are subjective and unpredictable.


Pharmaceutical Abuse
Klonopin
A pharmaceutical drug containing clonazepam, used to treat seizure or panic disorders and involving chemical imbalances in the brain. Klonopin can increase the effects of alcohol and thus should not be taken with alcohol. Klonopin is a habit-forming drug, and is only sold as a prescription to avoid addictions.

Oxycontin
A pharmaceutical drug containing oxycodone, used for the relieving of moderate to severe pain. Brand names for Oxycontin are Endocodone, ETH-Oxydose, M-Oxy, OxyContin, Oxyfast, OxyIR, Percolone, Roxicodone, and Roxicodone Intensol. Because Oxycontin is a habit-forming drug, it is only sold as a prescription drug to avoid addictions. An overdose of Oxycontin can be fatal.

Vicodin
A pharmaceutical drug containing acetaminophen and hydrocodone. Vicodin brand names are Anexsia, Dolorex Forte, Hycet, Liquicet, Lorcet, Maxidone, Norco, Polygesic, Stagesic, Vicodin, Xodol, and Zydone. This drug is used to relieve moderate to severe pain, and should not be taken with alcohol. The hydrocodone in Vicodin can be habit-forming, and as such is only sold as a prescription to avoid addictions. An overdose of Vicodin can be fatal.

Body Dysmorphic Disorders/Eating Disorders
(anorexia nervosa, apotemnophilia, bigorexia, body dysmorphic disorder, bulimia nervosa, orthorexia nervosa)
Body Dysmorphic Disorders/Eating Disorders are disorders in which the person suffering believes that there is something wrong with their bodies and do everything that they can to fix their perceived flaws.

Anorexia Nervosa
Much research has been completed on this disorder, and results indicate a strong familial undercurrent. Many individuals with Anorexia come from over controlling families where nurturance is lacking. Studies suggest that sexual abuse survivors are more prone to the disorder, as are fraternal twins and first degree relatives of those who have anorexia, the latter suggesting a biological component as well.

Most often diagnosed in females (up to 90%), Anorexia is characterized by failure to maintain body weight of at least 85% of what is expected, fear of losing control over your weight or of becoming ‘fat.’ There is typically a distorted body image, where the individual sees themselves as overweight despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Apotemnophilia
Apotemnophilia is a neurological disorder in which otherwise sane and rational individuals express a strong and specific desire for the amputation of a healthy limb or limbs. It is due to hypothesized damage to the right parietal lobe, as the disorder has features in common with somatoparaphrenia. When experienced very strongly, some people with apotemnophilia come to feel discontented with their bodies and want to actually remove an otherwise healthy limb, a condition called body integrity identity disorder. Some apotemnophiles seek surgeons to perform an amputation or purposefully injure a limb in order to force emergency medical amputation.

Bigorexia
Muscle dysmorphia or bigorexia is a disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with the idea that he or she is not muscular enough.[1] Those who suffer from muscle dysmorphia tend to hold delusions that they are "skinny" or "too small" but are often above average in musculature. Sometimes referred to as reverse anorexia nervosa, or the Adonis Complex, muscle dysmorphia is a very specific type of body dysmorphic disorder.

In this disorder a person is preoccupied with thoughts concerning appearance, especially musculature. Muscle dysmorphia is strictly connected with selective attention: individuals selectively focus their attention on perceived defect (too skinny body, underweight etc.). They are hypervigilant to even small deviations from perceived ideal and they ignore information that their body image is not consistent with reality.

There is also a hypothesis that individuals repeat negative and distorted self-statements concerning their appearance to such extent that they become automatic. Muscle dysmorphia influences person's mood often causing depression or feelings of disgust. This is often connected with constant comparing of a person's body to unattainable ideal.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder
The specific cause of this disorder is not known. Some argue that it is itself a symptom of another psychiatric disorder such as those involving psychosis or delusional beliefs.

Preoccupation with a specific body part and the belief that this body part is deformed or defective. The preoccupation is significantly excessive and causes distress or significant impairment in functioning. It is not better explained by another disorder such as dissatisfaction with body shape in anorexia or delusions associated with a psychotic disorder.

Binge Eating Disorder
Binge-eating disorder is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food. Almost everyone overeats on occasion, such as having seconds or thirds of a holiday meal. But for some people, overeating crosses the line to binge-eating disorder and it becomes a regular occurrence, shrouded in secrecy.

When you have binge-eating disorder, you may be deeply embarrassed about gorging and vow to stop. But you feel such a compulsion that you can't resist the urges and continue binge eating.

Bulimia Nervosa
Many individuals with Bulimia come from over controlling families where nurturance is lacking. Studies suggest that sexual abuse survivors are more prone to the disorder, as are fraternal twins and first degree relatives of those who have anorexia, the latter suggesting a biological component as well.

The key characteristics of this disorder include bingeing (the intake of large quantities of food) and purging (elimination of the food through artificial means such as forced vomiting, excessive use of laxatives, periods of fasting, or excessive exercise).

Orthorexia Nervosa
Orthorexia nervosa (also known as orthorexia) is a term used to describe people who have developed a fixation with healthy or righteous eating and has been referred to as a mental disorder.

In rare cases, this focus may turn into a fixation so extreme that it can lead to severe malnutrition or even death. Even in less severe cases, the attempt to follow a diet that cannot provide adequate nourishment is said to lower self-esteem as the orthorexic blames themselves rather than their diet for their constant hunger and the resulting cravings for forbidden foods.


Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder has been broken down into two types: Bipolar I: For a diagnosis of Bipolar I disorder, a person must have at least one manic episode. Mania is sometimes referred to as the other extreme to depression. Mania is an intense high where the person feels euphoric, almost indestructible in areas such as personal finances, business dealings, or relationships. They may have an elevated self-esteem, be more talkative than usual, have flight of ideas, a reduced need for sleep, and be easily distracted. The high, although it may sound appealing, will often lead to severe difficulties in these areas, such as spending much more money than intended, making extremely rash business and personal decisions, involvement in dangerous sexual behavior, and/or the use of drugs or alcohol. Depression is often experienced as the high quickly fades and as the consequences of their activities becomes apparent, the depressive episode can be exacerbated.

Bipolar II: Similar to Bipolar I Disorder, there are periods of highs as described above and often followed by periods of depression. Bipolar II Disorder, however is different in that the highs are hypo manic, rather than manic. In other words, they have similar symptoms but they are not severe enough to cause marked impairment in social or occupational functioning and typically do not require hospitalization in order to assure the safety of the person.


Delusional Disorder
The cause of delusional disorder is not known. Some studies suggest a biological component due to increased prevalence in first degree relatives of individuals with the disorder.

Non-bizarre delusions including feelings of being followed, poisoned, infected, deceived or conspired against, or loved at a distance. Non-bizarre referred to real life situations which could be true, but are not or are greatly exaggerated. Bizarre delusions, which would rule out this disorder, are those such as believing that your stomach is missing or that aliens are seeking you out to be their leader. Delusional disorder can be subtyped into the following categories: erotomanic, grandiose, jealous, persecutory (most common), somatic, and mixed.

Erotomanic Type
Erotomanic Type (erotomania) are delusions that another person is in love with the individual, quite frequently a famous person. The individual may breech the law as he/she tries to obsessively make contact with the desired person.

Grandiose Type
Grandiose Type are delusions of inflated worth, power, knowledge, identity or believes himself/herself to be a famous person, claiming the actual person is an imposter or an impersonator.

Jealous Type
Jealous Type are delusions that the individual's sexual partner is unfaithful when it is untrue. The patient may follow the partner, check text messages, emails, phone calls etc. in an attempt to find "evidence" of the infidelity.

Persecutory Type
Persecutory Type are the most common of the delusions. They include the belief that the person (or someone to whom the person is close) is being malevolently treated in some way. The patient may believe that he/she has been drugged, spied-on, harassed and so on and may seek "justice" by making police reports, taking court action or even acting violent.

Somatic Type
Somatic Type are delusions that the person has some physical defect or general medical condition. (This can also be listed as Body Dysmorphic Disorder.)

Mixed Type
Mixed Type are delusions with characteristics of more than one of the above types but with no one theme predominating.


Dependent Personality Disorder
Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is one of a group of conditions called anxious personality disorders, which are marked by feelings of nervousness and fear. DPD also is marked by helplessness, submissiveness, a need to be taken care of and for constant reassurance, and an inability to make decisions.

People with DPD become emotionally dependent on other people and spend great effort trying to please others. People with DPD tend to display needy, passive, and clinging behavior, and have a fear of separation.


Depersonalization Disorder
Depersonalization Disorder (DPD) is a dissociative disorder in which the sufferer is affected by persistent or recurrent feelings of depersonalization and/or derealization. Diagnostic criteria include persistent or recurrent experiences of feeling detached from one's mental processes or body. The symptoms include a sense of automation, going through the motions of life but not experiencing it, feeling as though one is in a movie, feeling as though one is in a dream, feeling a disconnection from one's body; out-of-body experience, a detachment from one's body, environment and difficulty relating oneself to reality.


Dissociative Fugue
Dissociative Fugue is a rare psychiatric disorder characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality and other identifying characteristics of individuality. The state is usually short-lived (hours to days), but can last months or longer. Dissociative fugue usually involves unplanned travel or wandering, and is sometimes accompanied by the establishment of a new identity. After recovery from fugue, previous memories usually return intact, but there is complete amnesia for the fugue episode. Additionally, an episode is not characterized as a fugue if it can be related to the ingestion of psychotropic substances, to physical trauma, to a general medical condition, or to psychiatric conditions such as delirium, dementia, bipolar disorder or depression. Fugues are usually precipitated by a stressful episode, and upon recovery there may be amnesia for the original stressor.


Hypochondriasis
There are many who suggest that unconscious aggressive impulses are transferred to physical complaints and that individuals with this disorder are more likely to misinterpret these symptoms as representing a more serious condition. There is little research which substantiates any particular etiology, however.

Preoccupation with fears of having a serious disease based upon a misinterpretation of bodily sensations. The preoccupation exists despite assurance from a physician that the individual does not have a serious disease.


Münchausen Syndrome
Münchausen syndrome is a term for psychiatric disorders known as factitious disorders wherein those affected feign disease, illness, or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is also sometimes known as hospital addiction syndrome or hospital hopper syndrome. Nurses sometimes refer to them as frequent flyers, because they return to the hospital just like frequent flyers return to the airport.


Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Both biological and psychological causes have been found in OCD.

The key features of this disorder include obsessions (persistent, often irrational, and seemingly uncontrollable thoughts) and compulsions (actions which are used to neutralize the obsessions). A good example of this would be an individual who has thoughts that he is dirty, infected, or otherwise unclean which are persistent and uncontrollable. In order to feel better, he washes his hands numerous times throughout the day, gaining temporary relief from the thoughts each time. For these behaviors to constitute OCD, it must be disruptive to everyday functioning (such as compulsive checking before leaving the house making you extremely late for all or most appointments, washing to the point of excessive irritation of your skin, or inability to perform everyday functions like work or school because of the obsessions or compulsions).


Panic Disorder
Panic Disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurring severe panic attacks. It may also include significant behavioral change lasting at least a month and of ongoing worry about the implications or concern about having other attacks. The latter are called anticipatory attacks. Panic disorder is not the same as agoraphobia (fear of public places), although many with panic disorder also suffer from agoraphobia. Panic attacks cannot be predicted, therefore an individual may become stressed, anxious or worried wondering when the next panic attack will occur. There are other schools of thought that Panic disorder is differentiated as a medical condition, or chemical imbalance. The DSM-IV-TR describes Panic disorder and Anxiety differently. Panic attacks have a sudden or out-of-blue cause that lasts shorter with more intense symptoms, as opposed to Anxiety attacks having stressors that build to less severe reactions and can last for weeks or months. Panic attacks can occur in children, as well as adults. Panic in young people may be particularly distressing because the child has less insight about what is happening, and his/her parent is also likely to experience distress when attacks occur.


Phobias
A phobia is an irrational, intense and persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, animals, or people. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive and unreasonable desire to avoid the feared stimulus. When the fear is beyond one's control, and if the fear is interfering with daily life, then a diagnosis under one of the anxiety disorders can be made.

Please note that not all phobias will be placed in the Psychiatric Issues group. If the phobia involves people, it is likely that the patient will be placed under Antisocial Behaviors.


Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
By definition, PTSD always follows a traumatic event which causes intense fear and/or helplessness in an individual. Typically the symptoms develop shortly after the event, but may take years. The duration for symptoms is at least one month for this diagnosis.

Symptoms include re-experiencing the trauma through nightmares, obsessive thoughts, and flashbacks (feeling as if you are actually in the traumatic situation again). There is an avoidance component as well, where the individual avoids situations, people, and/or objects which remind him or her about the traumatic event (e.g., a person experiencing PTSD after a serious car accident might avoid driving or being a passenger in a car). Finally, there is increased anxiety in general, possibly with a heightened startle response (e.g., very jumpy, startle easy by noises).


Somatization Disorder
Somatization disorder is a psychiatric condition marked by multiple medically unexplained physical, or somatic, symptoms. In order to qualify for the diagnosis of somatization disorder, somatic complaints must be serious enough to interfere significantly with a person's ability to perform important activities, such as work, school or family and social responsibilities, or lead the person experiencing the symptoms to seek medical treatment.


Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims.

Hypersexuality
Hypersexuality is characterized by a highly elevated desire for sexual activity. It is only diagnosed when it reaches a problematic level of severity. In many cases it is linked to mania and manic swings caused by bipolar disorder.


Paraphilias
(acrotomophilia, agalmatophilia, asphyxiophilia, autassassinophilia, exhibitionism, fat fetishism, fetishism, frotteurism, hybristophilia, maiesiophilia, pictophilia, salirophilia, sexual masochism, sexual sadism, somnophilia, symphorophilia, transvesticism, voyeurism)
Paraphilias are sexual feelings or behaviors that may involve sexual partners that are not human, not consenting, or that involve suffering by one or both partners.
(Note: A person with a Paraphilia does not use these as 'kinks'. They must have their Paraphilia to achieve any form of sexual release.)

Acrotomophilia
Acrotomophilia refers to a paraphilia in which an individual expresses strong sexual interest in amputees.

Agalmatophilia
Agalmatophilia is a paraphilia concerned with the sexual attraction to a statue, doll, mannequin or other similar figurative object. The attraction may include the desire for actual sexual contact with the objects, a fantasy of having sexual (or non-sexual) encounters with the animate or inanimate instances of the preferred objects, the act of watching encounters between the objects themselves, or sexual pleasure gained from thoughts of being transformed or transforming another into the preferred object.

Asphyxiophilia
Erotic asphyxiation is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal. It is also called asphyxiophilia, autoerotic asphyxia, hypoxyphilia, or breath control play. Colloquially, a person engaging in the activity is sometimes called a gasper. Please note that people who have asphyxiophilia do not wish for death but for the 'rush' that occurs during climax due to the inability to breathe.

Autassassinophilia
Autassassinophilia is a paraphilia in which a person is sexually aroused by the risk of being killed. The fetish may overlap with some other fetishes that risk one's life, such as those involving drowning or choking.

Exhibitionism
Exhibitionism is the exposure of genitals to a nonconsenting stranger. In some cases, the individual may also engage in autoeroticism while exposing himself. Generally, no additional contact with the observer is sought; the individual is stimulated sexually by gaining the attention of and startling the observer.

Fat Fetishism
Fat fetishism is the strong or exclusive sexual attraction to overweight or obese people.[1] As well as traditional attraction, the topic also incorporates "feederism," where sexual gratification is obtained via the process of gaining body fat.

Fetishism
People with this disorder achieve sexual gratification with the use of objects, most commonly women's under-garments, shoes, stockings, or other clothing items.

Frotteurism
Individuals with this disorder are gratified by touching or rubbing a non-consenting person. This behavior often occurs in busy, crowded places, such as on busy streets or on crowded buses or subways.

Hybristophilia
Hybristophilia is a paraphilia involving being sexually aroused or attracted to people who have committed an outrage or a gruesome crime. In popular culture, this phenomenon is also known as "Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome".

Many high-profile criminals, particularly those who have committed atrocious crimes, receive "fan mail" in prison which is sometimes amorous or sexual, presumably as a result of this phenomenon. In some cases, admirers of these criminals have gone on to marry the object of their affections in prison.

Maiesiophilia
Pregnancy fetishism (also known as maiesiophilia) is a term used to describe the contexts in which pregnancy is seen by individuals and cultures as an erotic phenomenon. It may involve sexual attraction to women who are pregnant or appear pregnant, attraction to lactation, or attraction to particular stages of pregnancy such as impregnation or childbirth.

Pictophilia
Pictophilia is diagnosed when an individual engages in the overuse or abuse of pornography to the extent that they experience negative consequences. Pornography addiction is defined as a dependence upon pornography characterized by obsessive viewing, reading, and thinking about pornography and sexual themes to the detriment of other areas of life.

Salirophilia
Salirophilia is a sexual fetish or paraphilia that involves deriving erotic pleasure from soiling or disheveling the object of one's desire, usually an attractive person. It may involve tearing or damaging their clothing, covering them in mud or filth, or messing their hair or makeup. The fetish does not involve harming or injuring the subject, only their appearance.

It is related to wet and messy fetishism, bukkake, omorashi, mysophilia, urolagnia and coprophilia, but extends to other areas such a forcing the partner to wear torn or poorly fitting clothing and other actions which would render them normally unattractive.

Sexual Masochism
Masochism is a term applied to a specific sexual disorder but which also has a broader usage. The sexual disorder involves pleasure and excitement produced by pain, either inflicted by others or by oneself. It usually begins in childhood or adolescence and is chronic. An individual with this disorder achieves gratification by experiencing pain. Masochism is the only paraphilia in which any noticeable number of women participate— about 5% of masochists are female. The term comes from the name of a nineteenth-century Austrian writer, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose novels often included characters who were obsessed with the combination of sex and pain.

In the broader sense, masochism refers to any experience of receiving pleasure or satisfaction from suffering pain. The psychoanalytic view is that masochism is aggression turned inward, onto the self, when a person feels too guilty or is afraid to express it outwardly.

Sexual Sadism
A sadistic individual achieves sexual gratification by inflicting pain on another person.

In psychoanalytic theory, sadism is related to the fear of castration, while the behaviorist explanation of sadomasochism (the deviant sexual practice combining sadism and masochism) is that its constituent feelings are physiologically similar to sexual arousal. Separate but parallel descriptions are given for sexual sadism and sexual masochism in the DSM-IV-TR. The clinical diagnostic criteria for both are recurrence of the behavior over a period of at least six months, and significant distress or impairment of the ability to function as a result of the behavior or associated urges or fantasies. Either type of behavior may be limited to fantasies (sometimes while one is engaged in outwardly nondeviant sex) or acted out with a consenting partner, a non-consenting partner, or in the case of masochism, alone. Sadomasochism occurs in both males and females, and in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.

Somnophilia
Somnophilia is considered a marauding/predatory type paraphilia in which sexual arousal and/or orgasm are stimulated by intruding on and awakening a sleeping person with erotic caresses, and/or sex but done without force or violence.
For some Somnophiles, the eye-rolling before fainting may also cause arousal along with: rubbing against the body of or Fondling the sleeping person with Genitals/Breasts/Hands. The mode of achieving sexual excitation and gratification varies considerably, but it commonly involves kissing, fondling, rubbing or caressing the sleeping person. There is no literal term for the reciprocal paraphilic condition of being the recipient.

The DSM-IV-TR criteria for somnophilia are the presence, over a period of at least six months, of recurrent and intense urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving unconscious partners which are either acted upon or have been markedly distressing.

Symphorophilia
Symphorophilia is a paraphilia in which sexual arousal hinges on staging and watching a disaster such as a fire or traffic accidents.

Transvesticism
This disorder is characterized by heterosexual males who dress in women's clothing to achieve a sexual response. The activity may begin in adolescence, and in secret; later, as an adult, the man may dress as a woman completely and in public. Not all men who cross-dress are unhappy with their gender, but some are. In a small minority of men with transvestic fetishism, gender dysphoria (unhappiness with original gender) may emerge, and those men may eventually seek hormonal treatments or surgical sex reassignment to enable them to live permanently as women.

Voyeurism
Voyeurism is a paraphilia in which a person finds sexual excitement in watching unsuspecting people who are nude, undressing, or having sex. Voyeurs are almost always male, and the victims are usually strangers. A voyeur may fantasize about having sex with the victim but almost never actually pursues this. The voyeur may return to watch the same stranger repeatedly, but there is rarely any physical contact.

Voyeurs are popularly known as "peeping Toms," based on the eleventh-century legend of Lady Godiva. According to the story, Tom was a tailor who "peeped" at Lady Godiva as she rode naked through the streets of Coventry, England, in a sacrificial act to get her husband to lower taxes. Tom was struck with blindness for not looking away like everyone else.

The following issues are 'Limited Edition'. This means that we are only allowing a certain amount of these issues. You may app these characters without Mod Squad permission. However, it should be noted that these issues are going to be subject to a rigorous application process. While we're normally strict on applications, these are going to be even more harsh. Your application will have to show that you've done your research on the issue thoroughly, and that your character is solid and well thought out. Be aware.

Please note that these issues aren't your garden variety issues and you'll need to be creative to get those characters accepted. We're allowing this to happen without Mod Squad permission... but that is subject to change if that gets out of hand.

Note that when you post an application for a limited issue, you must write your application title in this way:

Patient: Firstname Lastname [LIMITED]

This helps the staff reviewing your application to make sure that you're specifically aiming for a limited and that you have read all of the information provided here. happy hunting!

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Pyromania
A type of impulse control disorder, pyromania is an impulse to deliberately start fires to relieve tension and typically includes feelings of gratification or relief afterward. Pyromania is distinct from arson, and pyromaniacs are also distinct from those who start fires because of psychosis, for personal, monetary or political gain, or for acts of revenge. Pyromaniacs start fires to induce euphoria, and often fixate on institutions of fire control like fire stations and firefighters.




None at this time.




None at this time.




Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder
Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder or HPPD is a disorder characterized by a continual presence of visual disturbances that are reminiscent of those generated by the ingestion of hallucinogenic substances. Previous use of hallucinogens by the person is needed for diagnosing someone with the disorder. For an individual to be diagnosed with HPPD, the symptoms cannot be due to another medical condition. HPPD is distinct from flashbacks by reason of its relative permanence; while flashbacks are transient, HPPD is persistent.
(Note that this is a sub issue. You must have a main issue of Hallucinogen Abuse.)


Psychogenic Amnesia
Psychogenic Amnesia, also known as functional amnesia or dissociative amnesia, is a memory disorder characterized by extreme memory loss that is caused by extensive psychological stress and that cannot be attributed to a known neurobiological cause. Psychogenic amnesia is defined by (a) the presence of retrograde amnesia (the inability to retrieve stored memories leading up to the onset of amnesia), and (b) an absence of anterograde amnesia (the inability to form new long term memories). Dissociative amnesia is due to psychological rather than physiological causes and can sometimes be helped by therapy.




Paraphilias
(biastophilia, necrophilia)
Paraphilias are sexual feelings or behaviors that may involve sexual partners that are not human, not consenting, or that involve suffering by one or both partners.
(Note: A person with a Paraphilia does not use these as 'kinks'. They must have their Paraphilia to achieve any form of sexual release.)

Biastophilia
A paraphilia in which sexual arousal becomes dependent on sexually attacking a nonconsenting, surprised, terrified, and struggling stranger. This is a kind of rape even though most rapes are committed by normophilic men. The main source of the sexual arousal is the actual fear, surprise, and resistance from the victim.

Necrophilia
Necrophilia can best be described as sexual arousal stimulated by a dead body. The stimulation can be either in the form of fantasies or actual physical sexual contact with the corpse. The DSM-IV-TR criteria for necrophilia are the presence, over a period of at least six months, of recurrent and intense urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving corpses which are either acted upon or have been markedly distressing.