I'm currently writing a story that ends with a two adults taking in a teenager in the wake of the apocalypse. Throughout the story I have several flashbacks to the teenager being bullied from the perspective of other characters. Even his closest friends are eventually turned and go after him, this leads to him have trusts issues and a panic disorder. How do I write this to be considered realistic? I have a panic disorder but it is linked to different circumstances than this character and I have no trust issues. How do I show the way the adults interact with the teenager accurately and the way his disorder operates in relation to other people?
From a person who could be considered to have trust issues, I'd want to portray the character as unsure of their decisions, not only when they're speaking or interacting with people, but things that have to do with social image and the like.
From a person who could be considered to have trust issues, I'd want to portray the character as unsure of their decisions, not only when they're speaking or interacting with people, but things that have to do with social image and the like.
Thank you. How would he behave if asked to explain why he is distrusting of people?
You may want to look at reactive attachment disorder as inspiration. Not necessarily to give your character RAD, unless you really feel like it fits, but kids with RAD are basically the epitome of having trust issues. One common trait, is disbelief that they are loved, so they'll act out just to test that love, and when their caretakers lose patience, they see the anger or telling off as proof that they were never loved at all.
For a character I'm writing with trust issues that come from a similar place, for them they became abrasive and cold, cutting of friendships before the friendships could cut them off. They isolated themself and ultimately decided people aren't worth having relationships with. Now, my chara wasn't bullied, but they were betrayed by everyone they ever cared about, in a very systematic devastating way.
In your chara's case, I definitely agree with cadetyellow.
Thank you. How would he behave if asked to explain why he is distrusting of people?
As a person who may not have trust issues exactly, but still struggles with light paranoia and wariness of strangers, I would have difficulty opening up to someone if they asked me such a personal question. Heck, I might not even be able to explain my behavior. A lot of coping mechanisms and defensive behavior that appears after getting hurt appears without the person really noticing, you know? If I was constantly bullied and betrayed, I might quickly start to believe that this is just how life works–people are dangerous and dishonest as a rule–and be very surprised if someone ever suggested otherwise.
So to conclude, I'd guess your character would either be very closed-off and refuse to talk about his past, or he'd be pretty matter-of-fact about what happened and not understand why the adults think his distrustful nature is unusual.
Those are just my thoughts, I'm no expert, so I recommend doing more research and thinking about what works best for your story. Still, hope this helped! ^^
You may want to look at reactive attachment disorder as inspiration. Not necessarily to give your character RAD, unless you really feel like it fits, but kids with RAD are basically the epitome of having trust issues. One common trait, is disbelief that they are loved, so they'll act out just to test that love, and when their caretakers lose patience, they see the anger or telling off as proof that they were never loved at all.
For a character I'm writing with trust issues that come from a similar place, for them they became abrasive and cold, cutting of friendships before the friendships could cut them off. They isolated themself and ultimately decided people aren't worth having relationships with. Now, my chara wasn't bullied, but they were betrayed by everyone they ever cared about, in a very systematic devastating way.
In your chara's case, I definitely agree with cadetyellow.
Thank you! This will definitely help!
Thank you. How would he behave if asked to explain why he is distrusting of people?
As a person who may not have trust issues exactly, but still struggles with light paranoia and wariness of strangers, I would have difficulty opening up to someone if they asked me such a personal question. Heck, I might not even be able to explain my behavior. A lot of coping mechanisms and defensive behavior that appears after getting hurt appears without the person really noticing, you know? If I was constantly bullied and betrayed, I might quickly start to believe that this is just how life works–people are dangerous and dishonest as a rule–and be very surprised if someone ever suggested otherwise.
So to conclude, I'd guess your character would either be very closed-off and refuse to talk about his past, or he'd be pretty matter-of-fact about what happened and not understand why the adults think his distrustful nature is unusual.
Those are just my thoughts, I'm no expert, so I recommend doing more research and thinking about what works best for your story. Still, hope this helped! ^^
Thank you! That definitely fits with his personality, I'll do more research into it. I just wanted to get some advice before I start.
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