What would a psychologist say?

[Zorlond]

Out of simple curiosity, I can't help but wonder what a psychologist or psychiatrist might say about our little raven-haired, bloody-handed Alice. A hallucinating girl who suffered a childhood tragedy and clings to a damaged fantasy world that she becomes lost in for years at a time. Not to mention all the damage done by the fumbling doctors of 19th century England...

Would she even be believable? A case file that might actually occour in reality? And what treatment might be possible for a mind so battered and broken?

Anyone like to take a stab at this line of thought?

[Oricon]

I don't know particularly much about psychiatry, but something that's quite related to the subject at hand is American Mcgee's Alice Casebook. It's written by a fictional doctor in a journal-like format about our heroine, Alice. You can find it lying around here and there on the nets. It shouldn't be particularly hard.

[Caiobrz]

A Psychologist would say you have some sort of issue by wanting to analyze a game =p

Other than that, madness comes in a wide range of form and scope. Nothing wrong with how Alice went sideways!

[Zorlond]

A Psychologist would say you have some sort of issue by wanting to analyze a game =p

Really? Do you find it unusual to inquire as to the possible nature of a potential mental illness for the sake of being informed? Or do you simply find it objectionable to desire a measure of reality in your unreality? [/cheshire] Either way, my interest is simply a matter of curiosity, nothing more. Though it would not surprise me if a psychologist did say so, they do love to aquire new cash cows. But that is neither here nor there.

I am familiar with the casebook, as it was included as part of the origional American McGee's Alice game, which I played and enjoyed years ago. But, as you said, it was written by a fictional doctor. Not exactly a perfect source, as we have no idea if the author consulted a real psychologist for accuracy. Still worth noting, I suppose.

[NordSam]

I'm not an psychologist, but from what I know of the subject Alice is a bit too far fetched. This because her hallucinations are so extreme, to the extent it replaces her whole reality.

While there is certainly people that see, hear, feel or taste things that aren't real. I have never heard of any case where anyone would have experienced all of those things at the same time.

[Graeystone]

Alice would be diagnosed with PTSD, Survivor's Guilt, Depression just off the top of my head. Since she 'hallucinates', there might also be Schizophrenia. And as a stretch - multiple personalities.(Wonder Land cast)

Treatment - Therapy and plenty of it. Except for sleeping pills, I would not give her anti-depressants.

What's odd about Alice is that for all the trauma she went through in both games, she can function quite well in public. For example those two dock workers at the beginning of Chapter 2 London - Alice did not cower in fear and she did not get outright violent with them. She just told them off and walked off.

[Trodamus]

She wouldn't be diagnosed with "multiple personalities," or "dissassociative identity disorder" as that's something of a holy grail of psychology and there's never been a non-contested, widely accepted example of such.

This is despite its frequent appearance in fiction.

DID has a laundry list of requirements, among which would be that the alters actually do control the "body" of the person, and these fits of control result in memory loss for other "personalities," and that these personalities must be significantly different from each other. So when you see the creepy jerk smile in fiction, stating that they don't like their wussy other personalities... that's fiction and drama.

As far as Alice is concerned, it really depends the degree to which the game actually represents what's going on in reality. Alice is certainly cognizant of Wonderland and recognizes it as the product of her diseased mind, but in Madness Returns we see her (apparently) undertaking many different actions while in wonderland.

This would suggest she is, in fact, hallucinating but not actually delusional. She's experiencing tactile, auditory and visual hallucinations that to some degree actually correspond to what she's experiencing in the real world. I'm not sure, but I would hasten to add that she's not schizophrenic as her throught process doesn't seem fractured, even in Wonderland, even if we presume she enters a catatonic state every now and again.

So she's actually a spectacular case of PTSD, survivor syndrome and depression; as it happened at such a young age I would not be surprised if she had any developmental or dissocial disorders as well.

Or in normal people terms, she's sad, has issues with emotions, can't think or speak easily (or at all) about her traumatic event, is bad with people, has issues with learning and occasionally withdraws when confronted by sressful stimuli.

[Caiobrz]

This would suggest she is, in fact, hallucinating but not actually delusional. She's experiencing tactile, auditory and visual hallucinations that to some degree actually correspond to what she's experiencing in the real world. I'm not sure, but I would hasten to add that she's not schizophrenic as her throught process doesn't seem fractured, even in Wonderland, even if we presume she enters a catatonic state every now and again.

Yeap, the game mentions that she goes catatonic. The nurse says sometimes she goes catatonic and don't speak or remember her name. Probably because her conscious self is "lost" in Wonderland. It's certainly a disorder but hardly uncommon, as everyone once in a while get caught in some imagination fantasy and looses focus on reality (like after you watch a good movie and start wonder what you would do if you where the hero and fantasises it so hard people have to yell at you to get your attention back).

There are times when I'm deep into some game (specially online) that when my wife asks me something I automatically reply, and than I realize I actually said something stupid. Like one day she told me "good night" and I said "hello" and kept playing xD~

So I agree with the "spectacular case of PTSD". To run away from her memories and stress, she hides into a deep state of delusion (wonderland), which might go so far as to loose the interaction with reality.

Though at the end of the game I would say she has a bit of hallucination when wonderland and real world start to intermingle.

[twisterthepain]

quit gaming and get a life?

[Caiobrz]

that too lol

[AeddGynvael]

quit gaming and get a life?

Quit using third-grader "cool kid" insults and get a brain?

[Starfire13]

There seems to be a lack of psychologists around here, so perhaps a neurobiologist might suffice as a substitute? (I study how the brains of children develop)

As far as I know, there isn't any real psychological condition that causes one to run about in a make-believe world with pepper-grinders and teapot cannons. =)

However, for those of you interested in bizarre psychological/neurological cases (real ones), I'd recommend reading some of Dr. Oliver Sacks's books. If I had to suggest just one book, it would be "An Anthropologist on Mars".

[Rotant]

She'd seem to have some comorbid mess of PTSD, catatonic schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depersonalisation disorder. But this is a fictional character so diagnosis is a bit irrelevent - it's just a means by which the surreal artistic worlds are relayed to the player. If anything they fit the pattern of dreams more than waking hallucinations.