Hello, everyone,
For those who don't know, we are diagnosed with not only DID, but also a rare disorder named Schizoaffective (Bipolar Type). If you'd like an idea of how it works... imagine Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, and Schizophrenia symptoms all rolled into one disorder, and all playing off of each other. If you need a more "exact" explanation, here's a breakdown of the diagnostic criteria:
Symptoms of Schizophrenia:
- Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not real)
- Delusions (false beliefs)
- Disorganized thinking and speech
- Negative symptoms (such as flat affect, social withdrawal, and lack of motivation)
Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder:
- Manic episodes (periods of extreme euphoria, increased energy, impulsivity, and grandiosity)
- Depressive episodes (periods of intense sadness, hopelessness, loss of interest, and fatigue)
Diagnosis:
To be diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, a person must meet the following criteria:
- Experience both psychotic symptoms (schizophrenia) and mood swings (bipolar disorder) for at least six months
- Have at least one manic episode
- Meet the diagnostic criteria for either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
Now, why do we mention this? Because two of our characters are based on our personal experiences with the disorder: Priscilla (Prissy) and A3 (Ace). Level 2, releasing next week, ventures into Ace's story a little further than we previously have.
Ace's story will not unfold as linearly as Dillon's did. We wanted to give the impression that even Ace itself doesn't fully have a grasp on its own history, due to two factors:
1. Memory loss from the trauma of its creator's experiments
2. The fact that, when it's not mentally well, it loses complete track of reality and fiction... meaning what it may believe to be true of its past, could be a fabrication.
This ties into our own personal story quite a bit. We were six years old when we first started getting hallucinations and delusions. Most children at that age tend to KNOW their imaginary friends aren't able to be seen, heard, or affect the world around them. We didn't. The majority of our childhood memories from ages 6-15 are centered around a fabricated world that we did not realize had no basis in reality. At 15 we may not have been diagnosed with schizoaffective, but we were put on a medication for anxiety that also doubled as an antipsychotic... so we managed to be relieved of such symptoms for a while. Thinking nothing of it, as we were a "late bloomer" for many things, we never told anyone that this was doing such.
Imagine the shock when, after switching anxiety meds at age 19, we started hallucinating again!
Now, imagine a world where antipsychotics don't exist, or don't work... this is Ace's world. This is Ace's reality. This was OUR reality for 9 years and continues to be the reality for many adults and children in today's age.
These stories are our stories. These experiences are our experiences. And we want you to know that it doesn't make us bad, evil, or wrong... it just means we need a little extra help sometimes to see what's actually there.