Character Work: An Exercise.

Patient with Psychotic Symptoms

PART 1

You are male or female. You walk into an emergency room
and tell the triage nurse that you have come to the ER at the insistence of your mother/father/parents/friends.

“They want me to speak to someone because
  they think I’m crazy.”

The salient point is that you are getting messages
 from the t.v.

The characters on the evening news show

    (choose your news show and use the actual names of the
        people on the news team)

are sending you “special messages” during their broadcasts.
No one else can decipher these special messages; to some
extent, these special people ("your news team") can directly broadcast their thoughts into your mind.

You are afraid they are going to instruct you to hurt someone
and what are you going to do when this occurs...?!?

i.e. you might have to follow the command, even though
you know it would be wrong.
 

Past History

You were an A student your whole life, went to Bronx High
School of Science (or some other obviously excellent school
for bright students...)

You went off to college but never finished.

You dropped out after 2 years or so. - vague reasons for this -
ONLY.

You have held odd jobs, worked in the family business,
but mainly show a history of intermittent and marginal
occupational and social functioning.

 
Past Psychiatric History

You were admitted to a psychiatric ward after
you returned home from college. You say from smoking
marijuana; they say you became “paranoid” and
“needed to be restrained” but you don't actually remember
very much about what actually happened.

You remember hating the latter part of that three week
admission. You were prescribed some medication
(you forgot the name), which you didn't like, and stopped
taking after a few weeks.

You went to see a psychiatrist for several sessions, but
stopped going ... and never went back.

You are now having another psychotic episode. Your family
has figured out you have a mental illness and have sheltered
you for years; you live in their home.
 

PART 2.

Suggested  Psychotic Symptoms of the Character

The above mentioned paranoid (delusional) idea that
the messages are being sent from the t.v. and placed directly
into your head.
 
Additional Paranoid Ideas:
 
-belief that maybe the doctors at the psychiatric hospital
  put some kind of radio transistor
  in your brain.

 -belief that someone may be trying to poison you
  (which has caused you to alter your eating habits)
 
-You have become progressively more withdrawn over
  the past few months, and
  are not going to work regularly, or at all.

-You have begun to spend most of your time in your room
 with less interaction with family members.

-You have allowed your hygiene to deteriorate.
  A Few Suggestions:

    You appear somewhat pre-occupied at times,
    easily distracted.

    You could occasionally experience some very long
     pauses before answering questions.

     You might forget the question altogether
     and need someone to repeat it.

     You might occasionally produce an illogical response
     to a question.

     You might exhibit some paranoid physical behavior.

     (moving your chair) (avoiding eye contact)
     (looking tense or anxious) (unwarranted head movements)

           - or you reply to questions with statements like:

     Do you work for the F.B.I.?

     What will you do to me if I answer your question?

    Do you watch a lot of t.v. ?

     Fill in the rest of the history however you wish.

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