Mental illness

Mental illnesses (also called mentals) are diseases that are usually hard to get rid of and give you Fun effects.
The most common causes are wearing fucky headgear, being a hungry Vampire, using Carrie or recloning as a Freak/Abomination.
There are only three cures for most: A good doctor, an Empath or death. Mentals become much harder to cure the longer someone is affected by them.

How to deal with the screaming purple bears in your head

Depending on how far the mental has progressed, it could be simple to remove, or a giant nightmare to do so. At the higher intensities, psychoanalyzing mental illnesses are the hardest medic skill checks available.
It helps if you are reclining on a comfortable piece of furniture when being psychoanalyzed. If you have enigma, you are so mysterious you can't even share your own inner mental workings, so you must rely on the rare Empath to help, they may be able to absorb your mentals for a fee.
If you need help, just politely ask on tradenet and someone would most likely be willing to assist, if not, maybe try to just enjoy the interesting perspective a mental illness gives you, sometimes they have some really neat effects.

How does therapy werk

From the moment that you contract a manstal, it will continuously increase the amount of 'doses' you have. Think of it like the hunger meter.
Receiving psycho anal reduces the doses you have until they reach zero - then you'll finally be cured.
Some mentals like paranoia, nyphomania and christianity are easy to cure even at full progression. The really fun stuff like damnation though? Either get it analyzed immediately or prepare to reclone.

(incomplete)List Of Mental Illnesses

Christianity

Message

You feel as if your sins were washed in the blood of the Lamb.
You're saved by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Cause

Reading a bible, looking at one of the Jesus pictures or just hanging around them for long enough.

Effect

You have an increased chance of going to heaven when you die. Masturbating and having sex stresses you and makes you cry. You will also gain a descriptive line stating that you are an asshole.

Depression

Cause

Plant whisperers get this from cloudy weather.

Effect

-1 to all stats.

Republicanism

Effect

-1 to brains.

Damnation

Message

You feel something dark scratching at your soul.

Cause

Attempting to scam Jesus.

Effect

500 stress per heartbeat. Spawns new mentals. Absurdly hard to cure.

Paranoia

Message

You realize THEY are out to get you!
It occurs to you that the mayor must secretly be a chomologist.
You're feeling watched. / Someone is after you. / Your enemies are everywhere. / You're the target of a vast conspiracy. / The whole world is out to get you.

Cause

Wearing a tinfoil hat.

Effect

Large hit to Focus, +1 Sen, -2 Col. Progresses slowly but steadily. Very spammy, almost as bad as dependent personality.

ADHD

Cause

Debilitator shells.

Effect

Nukes your Focus, keeps you from sitting or reclining in place for very long, +1 reflex.

Aspergers

Message

It occurs to you that other people's feelings don't really exist.

Cause

Wearing a fedora, getting hit with a spergnade.

Effect

Gives you a text filter and renders you unable to emote properly. +1 brains, debuffs Focus.

Ailurophobia

Effect

You get stressed when around cats and players with Cat Ears.

Megalomania

Effect

No documented effect.

Delusions of grandeur

Message

You realize you are actually even better than you thought!

Effect

Makes you brag random, incorrect things. Has a chance to buff cool and/or nerf reflexes/senses/brains.

Dependent Personality

Message

YOU MUST HAVE MORE DONGS AROUND YOU

Effect

Stress when not being around other people. Also FIVE HUNDRED GOD DAMN LINES of "YOU MUST HAVE MORE DONGS AROUND YOU"

Kleptomania

Effect

You'll grab random items from the room you're in. Very annoying.

Hypochondria/Munchausen Syndrome

Message

Maybe you'd get more attention if you pretended to be sick...

Effect

Unknown (Nothing seems to happen. I have Hyperimmune so that could be why?)

Claustrophobia

Message

You feel like the walls are closing in on you.

Cause

Spending time inside the broom closet.

Effect

Constant stress gain while indoors.

Nymphomania

Cause

The Goo Fountain in Hellfire

Effect

Randomly doses you with the Rapinex drug, causing you to take off your clothes and prematurely dissipating your endorphins. The benefit to this is it means you can whore more often, if that's your thing. A downside is that you end up getting stressed if you go too long without sexual contact.

Arachnophobia

Effect

Stress and fear around arachnos, cave spiders, etc.

Agoraphobia

Effect

Stress from being around people, more people escalate the effect.

Anorexia Nervosa

Message

You are saddened by your gross body proportions.
Adds 'You feel like a fat pig.' to your status line.

Effect

When you have any fullness, pleasantly full, full or uncomfortably full, you will immediately vomit. -1 to Cool on top.

Voices in your Head

Cause

Admins use this to punish people.

Effect

Causes you to see various nets that aren't really there. Can be very annoying at times. No other documented effect.

Narcolepsy

Effect

No documented effect.

Robot Enlightenment

Message

In one powerful moment of realization, it's as if the world of machines has been laid bare before you. The circuits, gears, wires, all of it; they seem at once a testament to the perfection of utility and a holy reminder of the power of the human intellect.

Effect

Unknown. Very hard to diagnose.

Satanist Dementia

Cause

Drinking satanist blood(?).

Effect

Some stat debuffs. Makes curing Damnation look like a walk in the park, with instant failures at 50 medic total.

Schizophrenia

Message

Your perception of reality shifts slightly. // The world is so fucked up... what the hell is going on?

Effect

Makes it appear as if players and admins rush into your tile and attack you.

Bipolar Disorder

Effect

No apparent effects. Very hard to diagnose.

Insomnia

Effect

No documented effect.

Delusions of Persecution

Effect

You'll receive random Stars, cams will start tracking you and security will chase you down. It's all in your head.
Probably the funniest mental to witness, watch your corpmates freak out over OH GOD POLICE CHASING ME EVERYWHERE.

Zalgo

Cause

Clones/ripperscrubs in Weezer Village. As with all disease it can be granted by the admins and gods. It spreads from player to player who occupy the same square like a plague.

Effect

You scream 'HE COMES! HE COMEEES!' and eventually you start bleeding from eyes and taking damage. Final result of all of this is horrible anguish and death. You are also contagious to other players.

Cure

You can cure it by converting to Christianity, done by reading or hearing someone read a bible at you. The bible and be acquired from Father Sam who wanders the areas around Freedom City.

Saurophobia

Effect

You get stressed when around anything with scales. This means dinosaurs and people with Snakeskin

Imaginary death symdrome

Effect

You'll die over and over again. Not really, it's all in your head.

Photophobia

Effect

Being exposed to daylight stresses the hell out of you. Similar to what Chud players have to suffer through.

Hydrophobia

Effect

Water and liquid decals stress you.