Mental Illnesses / Neurological Disorders as a theme for character concept art

As a side project to my space-based grief game, I want a small project to be able to demonstrate my artistic abilities in the specialism of concept art whilst still remaining relevant to the themes of pro-social gaming that the majority of my work and research has been geared toward. With this in mind, my aim is to look at various different neurological disorders as a descriptor to develop character concepts for - originally looking at a mobile game similar to Pokemon Go! with the idea of getting players outside and walking around as a therapeutic remedy to depression and other such conditions whilst also being a platform for information about conditions though I feel having no set format for the game would allow me to develop these characters based purely on my own artistic methodology and not being steered by mechanics of a game or rules thus showing off more of my own methodologies and what I'm capable of adding to a game developers art team.

Whilst there is an extensive list of these disorders there can be some creative freedom in looking at the symptoms and developing from there or merging certain conditions together that have close similarities to each other, this will be dependant on where my research and art development takes me.

The following is a selection from the list of mental disorders as defined at any point by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). A mental disorder, also known as a mental illness, mental health condition, or psychiatric disorder, is characterized by a pattern of behavior or mental function that significantly impairs personal functioning or causes considerable distress.

The DSM, a classification and diagnostic guide published by the American Psychiatric Association, includes over 450 distinct definitions of mental disorders. Meanwhile, the ICD, published by the World Health Organization, stands as the international standard for categorizing all medical conditions, including sections on mental and behavioral disorders. 

Revisions and updates are periodically made to the diagnostic criteria and descriptions in the DSM and ICD to reflect current understanding and consensus within the mental health field. The list includes conditions currently recognized as mental disorders according to these systems. There is ongoing debate among mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, about the definitions and criteria used to delineate mental disorders. There is particular concern over whether certain conditions should be classified as "mental illnesses' or might more accurately be described as neurological disorders or in other terms.

ANXIETY DISORDERS

Agoraphobia

Generalized anxiety disorder

Panic disorder

Selective mutism

Separation anxiety disorder

Specific phobias

Social anxiety disorder

DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

Dissociative identity disorder

Dissociative amnesia

Depersonalization-derealization disorder

Dissociative fugue

Ganser syndrome

MOOD DISORDERS

DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS

Depression

Anhedonia

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder

Major depressive disorder

Dysthymia

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Psychotic depression

Seasonal affective disorder

Atypical depression

Catatonic depression

Postpartum depression

Melancholic depression

Pervasive refusal syndrome

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Bipolar I disorder

Bipolar II disorder

Cyclothymia

Hypomania

TRAUMA AND STRESSOR RELATED DISORDERS

Reactive attachment disorder

Disinhibited social engagement disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Post-traumatic embitterment disorder

Acute stress disorder

Prolonged grief disorder

NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Intellectual disability

Language disorder

Sensory processing disorder

Speech sound disorder

Stuttering

Aphasia

Autism spectrum disorder

Asperger syndrome

Rett syndrome

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Developmental coordination disorder

Tourette syndrome

Down syndrome

Tic disorder

Dyslexia 

Dyscalculia

Dysgraphia

Nonverbal learning disorder

SLEEP-WAKE DISORDERS

Insomnia

Hypersomnia

Idiopathic hypersomnia

Kleine-Levin syndrome

Narcolepsy

Sleep apnea

Night terrors

Exploding head syndrome

PARASOMNIAS

Nightmare disorder

Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder

Confusional arousals

Sleepwalking

Hypnagogic hallucinations

Hypnopompic hallucinations

CIRCADIAN RHYTHM SLEEP DISORDER

Delayed sleep phase disorder

irregular sleep-wake rhythm 

Jet lag

Advanced sleep phase disorder

Non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder

NEURO-COGNITIVE DISORDERS

Delirium

Dementia

Traumatic brain injury

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder

Amnesia

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Agnosia

SUBSTANCE-RELATED AND ADDICTIVE DISORDERS

All of the substances in this section of disorders have the same series of separate identifiers as follows;

Disorder

Dependance

Intoxication

Withdrawal 

Delerium

Psychosis

Mood disorder

Anxiety

Addiction

Harmful pattern of use

All from the use of the following;

Alcohol

Cannabis

Synthetic cannabinoids

Opiods

Sedative, Hypnotic or anxiolytic

Cocaine

Amphetamines

Synthetic cathinone

Caffeine

Hallucinigens

Nicotine

Volatile inhalents

Dissociative drugs - ketamine, Phencyclidine etc

NON-SUBSTANCE RELATED DISORDER

Addictive personality

Gambling disorder

Video game addiction

Internet addiction disorder

Sexual addiction

Food addiction

Exercise addiction

Addiction to social media

Pornography addiction

Shopping addiction

PARAPHILIAS

Voyeuristic disorder

Exhibitionist disorder

Frotteuristic disorder

Pedophilia

Compulsive sexual behaviour disorder

Erotic target location error

Sexual masochism disorder

Sexual sadism disorder

Fetishistic disorder

Transvestic disorder

Other specified paraphilic disorder

SOMATIC SYMPTOM RELATED DISORDERS

Hypochondriasis

Cyberchondria

Somatization disorder

Conversion disroder

Factitious disorder imposed on self/or other (Munchausen syndrome/Munchausen by proxy)

Pain disorder

Medically unexplained physical symptoms

SEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS

Delayed ejaculation

Erectile dysfunction

Anorgasmia

Vaginismus

Male Hypoactive sexual desire disorder

Female sexual arousal disorder

Persistent genital arousal disorder

Sexual arousal disorder

Premature ejaculation disorder

Dyspareunia

Sexual dysfunction

ELIMINATION DISORDERS

Enuresis

Nocturnal enuresis

Encopresis

FEEDING AND EATING DISORDERS
Pica

Rumination syndrome

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder

Anorexia nervosa

Binge eating disorder

Bulimia nervosa

Purging disorder

Diabulimia

Night eating syndrome

Orthorexia nervosa

Atypical anorexia disorder

DISRUPTIVE IMPULSE-CONTROL, AND CONDUCT DISORDERS

Intermittent explosive disorder

Oppositional defiant disorder

Conduct disorder

Antisocial personality disorder

Pyromania

Kleptomania 

Mythomania

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE AND RELATED DISORDERS

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder

Body integrity dysphoria

Compulsive hoarding

Trichotillomania

Excoriation disorder

Body-focused repetitive behaviour disorder

Olfactory reference syndrome

Phantom limb syndrome

Primarily obsessional obsessive-compulsive disorder

Hoarding disorder

SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM AND OTHER PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS

Brief psychotic disorder

Delusional disorder

Delusional misidentification syndrome

Paraphrenia

Psychosis

Schizophrenia

Schizoaffective disorder

Schizophreniform disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder

Shared delusional disorder

PERSONALITY DISORDERS

CLUSTER A (ODD, ECCENTRIC)

Paranoid personality disorder

Schizoid personality disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder

CLUSTER B (DRAMATIC, ERRATIC)

Antisocial personality disorder

Borderline personality disorder

Histrionic personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder

CLUSTER C (FEARFUL, ANXIOUS)

Avoidant personality disorder

Dependent personality disorder

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED (PD-NOS)

Depressive personality disorder

Passive-aggressive personality disorder

Sadistic personality disorder 

Self-defeating personality disorder 

OTHER

Gender dysphoria

Catatonia

Culture-bound syndrome

The end goal with this side project is to utilise the unique and intricate details of these neurological conditions with a deep dive into their histories, observing symptoms and explanations of them as a way to develop some sort of concept art depicting them as the demonic monsters they can be to the sufferers all whilst performing a representative and informative piece of work to be collated for viewers.