Claudia

   For my character Claudia I wanted to keep her quite plain and simple, but also have an element of special effects in my design and that's how I came up with my busted knuckles effect. To start off my character I wanted to make her look slightly greasy, so I added highlighter over my models face and concentrating the highlight in areas where people would naturally show sweat/grease on the face. I also added texture to my models face, such as bruising and tiredness to the face by building up various blue, purple, green and yellow eye shadows and water activated paints on the face where people would naturally hallow out.
   For the knuckles I painted different shades of red paint to my models knuckles along with also adding bruising around the wounds and on knuckles that wasn't cut open. I next took a cotton bud and lightly tapped latex around the paint and started to layer the latex more towards the wound instead of having it thicker throughout that whole area. Once the latex had dried I dusted it with translucent powder and using some tweezers, I started to pick at the latex and lift it up away from the paint to create a loose skin effect which I then added darker shades of red under the latex to create the effect of dried blood.
   Lastly the hair, which was rather simple for me to achieve as due to Claudia being in a mental hospital she wouldn't have the classic 1960s hairstyles, so instead I just added texture to my models hair by using various sprays and gels. I also wanted to give the effect of having dirty/greasy hair to my model so I concentrated one of my gels towards the roots of her hair, yet sadly this didn't really show up on camera.
   Overall I'm rather pleased with my character Claudia design, although sometimes I wish I had added more interesting make-up to my design, I believe that if I had done that then she wouldn't of captured what I had my vision of Claudia to be like.

Contemporary Victorian Hairstyles Inspired By 'American Horror Story'

   In todays hair session we was shown how to recreate Victorian inspired hairstyles from the hit TV show 'American Horror Story'. Today we was shown Moira, a maid that used to work at the house and was murdered by the pervious owners. Moira's hairstyle embodies aspects of a late Victorian hairstyle.
   To create this we used hot rollers over the whole head, using the brick method over the whole back of the head and stacking the rollers on the remaining bits of hair (the front and side sections). After the rollers had cooled down I removed the back section and pinned the very bottom curls up and together to create a lift to the hair, next I started to pin the rest of the hair, following the way the curls wanted to move and exaggerating the design of it and making it look more stylised. Lastly I took down the front rollers and did exactly the same as the back curls by pinning them into more stylised curls on the sides of the head and parting the hair into a middle parting.
   When trying to recreate this design I did stumble across some issues. I do not see myself as being good at hair, so trying to get my head around pinning curls in places and learning how the hair moves once you curl it or put it in rollers. However looking at my design now, I can see where I can improve this look but I'm also very happy that I managed to complete this in a somewhat successful way.

Storyline Idea: Being Hurt By Words (Emotional Abuse)

   In my background story of Claudia and Quentin, even though Quentin is imaginary Claudia is still able to effect him emotionally and physically but also physically hurt Quentin with her words either towards him or any derogatory words she says during her emotional outbursts. When I figured out this idea I thought of way I could show this concept, and what sprung to mind was the idea of emotional abuse. But instead of the words not leaving a visible mark on Quentin, you see every scratch, bruise or cut on his face and body.  

   Psychological abuse, also referred to as psychological violence, emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterised by a person exposing another person to behaviour that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder. This abuse is often associated with situations of power imbalance, such as abusive relationships and bullying.

   In a review of data from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (a longitudinal birth cohort study) Moffitt et al. report that while men exhibit more aggression overall, sex is not a reliable predictor of interpersonal aggression, including psychological aggression. The study found that no matter what gender this person is, aggressive people share a cluster of traits, including high rates of suspicion and jealousy; sudden and drastic mood swings; poor self-control; and higher than average rates of approval of violence and aggression. Moffitt et al. also argue that antisocial men exhibit two distinct types of interpersonal aggression: one against strangers, the other against intimate female partners, while antisocial women are rarely aggressive against anyone other than intimate male partners. Male and female perpetrators of emotional and physical abuse exhibit high rates of personality disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. Rates of personality disorder in the general population are roughly 15%-20%, while roughly 80% of abusive men in court-ordered treatment programmes have personality disorders.

TW: Schizophrenia

   Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterised by abnormal social behaviour and failure to understand reality. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, hearing voices, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and a lack of motivation. People often have additional mental health problems such as anxiety disorders, major depressive illness or substance use disorder. The cause of schizophrenia is believed to be a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Diagnosis is based on observed behaviour and the person's reported experiences. During diagnosis a person's culture must also be taken into account. As of 2013 there is no objective test. Schizophrenia does not imply a "split personality" or "multiple personality disorder" a condition with which it is often confused in public perception.

   Individuals with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations (most reported are hearing voices), delusions, and disorganised thinking and speech. The last may range from loss of train of thought, to sentences only loosely connected in meaning, to speech that is not understandable known as word salad. Social withdrawal, sloppiness of dress and hygiene, and loss of motivation and judgment are all common in schizophrenia. Impairment in social cognition is associated with schizophrenia, as are symptoms of paranoia. Social isolation commonly occurs. Difficulties in working and long-term memory, attention, executive functioning, and speed of processing also commonly appear. About 30 to 50% of people with schizophrenia fail to accept that they have an illness or their treatment.

TW: Psychosis

   Psychosis refers to an abnormal condition of the mind described as a "loss of contact with reality". People experiencing psychosis may display some personality changes and thought disorder, depending on its severity, this may be partnered with unusual or weird behaviour, and difficulty with social interaction and in carrying out daily life activities.

   The term "psychosis" is very broad and can mean anything from relatively normal aberrant experiences through to the complex and catatonic expressions of schizophrenia and bipolar type 1 disorder. In properly diagnosed psychiatric disorders, psychosis is a descriptive term for the hallucinations, delusions and impaired insight that may appear. Psychosis is generally the term given to noticeable deficits in normal behaviour (negative signs) and more commonly to diverse types of hallucinations or delusional beliefs, especially as regards the relation between self and others as in grandiosity and paranoia.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are different from illusions, or perceptual distortions, which are the misperception of external stimuli. Hallucinations may occur in any of the senses and take on almost any form, which may include simple sensations (such as lights, colours, tastes, and smells) to experiences such as seeing and interacting with fully formed animals and people, hearing voices, and having complex tactile sensations.

   Auditory hallucinations, particularly experiences of hearing voices, are the most common and often prominent feature of psychosis. Hallucinated voices may talk about, or to the person, and may involve several speakers with distinct personalities. Auditory hallucinations tend to be particularly distressing when they are derogatory, commanding or preoccupying. However, the experience of hearing voices need not always be a negative one. One research study has shown that the majority of people who hear voices are not in need of psychiatric help.

Delusions

Delusions are false beliefs that a person holds on to, without adequate evidence. It can be difficult to change the belief, even with evidence. Common themes of delusions are persecutory, when the person believes that others are out to harm them, grandiose, when the person believing that they have special powers or skills, etc. Karl Jaspers has classified psychotic delusions into primary and secondary types. Primary delusions are defined as arising suddenly and not being comprehensible in terms of normal mental processes, whereas secondary delusions are typically understood as being influenced by the person's background or current situation e.g., ethnicity; also religious, superstitious, or political beliefs.

TW: Bipolar Disorder

   Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterised by periods of depression and periods of elevated mood. The elevated mood is known as mania or hypomania depending on its severity or whether symptoms of psychosis are present. During mania an individual behaves or feels abnormally energetic, happy or irritable. The person may often make poorly thought out decisions with little idea of the consequences. During a period of depression, the person may be crying, have a negative outlook on life, and poor eye contact with others. The risk of suicide among those with this illness is greater than 6% over 20 years, while self-harm occurs in 30-40%. Other mental health issues such as anxiety disorder and substance use disorder are commonly linked to bipolar disorder as well.

   The cause is not clear, but both environmental and genetic factors play a part in why someone could develop bipolar disorder. Environmental factors include a history of childhood abuse and long term stress. It is divided into bipolar I disorder if there is at least one manic episode and bipolar II disorder if there are at least one hypomanic episode and one major depressive episode. In those with less severe symptoms of a prolonged duration the condition cyclothymic disorder may be present. Other conditions that may present in a similar manner include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia and substance use disorder as well as a number of medical conditions.

What Is A Mental Illness?

   Mental illness is a condition that can affect the way you think, feel and behave and can also effect that persons way to function on a daily basis, and everyone reacts differently to their mental illness even people with the same diagnosis. They affect around 1 in 4 people in Britain, and range from well known mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, to more uncommon problems such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. A mental health problem can feel just as bad, or worse as any other physical illness only you cannot see it.

   A mental health condition isn’t always the result of one life event. Research suggests that multiple, interlinking causes are more likely to effect the person more compared to one life event. Genetics, environment and lifestyle also influence whether someone develops a mental health condition, as well as a stressful job or home life makes some people more vulnerable, as do traumatic life events like being the victim of a crime. Biochemical processes and circuits as well as basic brain structure may also play a role too.