Disorders in characters?

My dad's been in one of these clinics and it's not just really crazy people. It's for anyone who's in danger of hurting themselves or others or just need help. Some other disorders though, are schizophrenia, despression, anxiety, bipolar or severe eating disorders (eg. anorexia or bulimia). Those are some really common ones anyway. But my advice would be do alot of reseach. It's not something you wanna botch, so you'll have to really put alot of effort into your reasearch. Even if you just wiki it, but DO NOT go into this not knowing what you're doing.
And no I don't think it is insulting. If you do it well, you can make something really brilliant that speaks to people struggling with mental illness or people caring for someone with mental illness. But reasearch, is very important here. (Tip: don't be shy to talk about drugs, because if it was a real life situation there would be alot of talk of drugs and don't treat them like they're bad because, coming from someone from a family with alot on mental illness they do a world of good if they're prescribed properly.)

well I think you should write the story and look more into the field of those disabilities of those people. Then at the end of your story apologize if you hurt someone and say that you never ment to make them hurt.

Research a LOT.
Keep a list of as many symptoms you can find and refer back to it as you write. This includes the obvious symptoms as well as the minor symtoms. Also research what sufferers of specific disorders are prone to. I know many mental illnesses or disorder sufferers are prone to hyperactivity or depression. Well, write the symptoms of those down as well.

Also, look for blogs written by sufferers of the specific dsorder. The best way to find them would be to search "Living with _____". You're sure to get some good results.

You can also look for some support forums. There are support websites for pretty much every disorder in existance. Just find one and read the forums. You're bound to find information on a lot of different issues these people come across that aren't likely to be documented in medical books.
You can also try signing up for some of these forums and ask as many questions as you like. As long as you're respectful and make it knows that you want to be educated in the disease or disorder, I'm sure people would be willing to help.

it seems like a very interesting story, and im looking forward to reading it. you probably should research disorders more to make the story more realistic.

You just need to write don't worry about insulting people honestly i'd take it as a compliment if it becomes controversial. Which you should still do research all the same. I'll tell a bit i know about it and you can do research from there. In general people with OCD it varies in severity and they usually have something else with it. OCD can be as simple as they just brush their teeth a certain number of times too for example with Howard Hughes wash their hands till they bleed(germ o phobic). One key thing you should keep in mind most mental health disabilities are overly exaggerated in the movies. Multiple personality is very rare so i don't think you have to worry about too many errors in accuracy. I wouldn't worry about MR either just cause it is so easily brought up in the media every time some one insults Sarah Palen there is no reason not to write it the way you want to as long as you research it a bit before you start.
ps Palen isn't helping anything anyways by dramatizing everything so just take it as a compliment if you get it published and she takes notice. Being a relative of some one with mental health disabilities it wouldn't effect me too much unless they are overly sensitive i don't see any problems there.

I've done that before (a character had epilepsy). You just need to do a lot of research. And I guess the best thing you could do is don't make that character seem... like a loser(?), or something, just because of their condition. And im sure if you let readers know firsthand that you dont know everything about the condition, im sure theyll understand. they might ven help you; people did that with me.

My favorite book is about a menally retarded man. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It's a modern classic.

And I'll bet it offended tons of people.

Don't worry so much on being touchy. Write what you must. People are going to get uncomfortable for lots of reasons. They're called haters, and no real writer cares for them.

However, I do think you should research these subjects. If you're writing this question, I assume you have access to the internet... (?) or a local library. Read up! Don't be afraid if you don't follow exactly what the books say, because you're making a human being.

I would love to read your story and I hope you enjoy writing it! Hope I helped!

It sounds like a wonderful story! Lots of promise! :)
OCD can be of all different severities. It can be very mild, or it can be a bit more severe. You should definitely look into it more, it is quite interesting and is a trait that would really help to create a well-developed character.
Multiple Personality Disorder has now been renamed. It is now DID, or Dissociative Identity Disorder. Same disorder, different name. Just remember; DID and Schizophrenia are NOT the same thing. It's a common mistake people make, but they are two completely different disorders. Just be aware. And again, I'd research it a bit more. Don't just wing it; people will be able to tell.
Your last main character will be a risk, but if you do it right, this character could work wonderfully for you. Just keep it real; don't go with stereotypes, and most importantly, DO YOUR RESEARCH :)
It's really, really, REALLY important that you do your research. It may not seem so now, but trust me, it's vital. Don't get lazy and just wing it; the results won't be pretty, especially with a topic like this, where you already touch upon some controversial material. Now, touching upon controversial material can be very good in some ways, but you must do your research, or it will not be good (for many reasons). You should be an expert on these disorders by the time you are done with this story. So research! If you do your research and take your time with this, I think it could be an extremely good story :)