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The Insane Trait
SuperCoolRachael
Posts: 392 Member
I'm sure there are some, even many, who will think I'm being too sensitive, but as someone who used to work at an independent living center, as well as a person with a mental illness myself, the way the Insane trait is handled in this game really rubs me the wrong way.
I wasn't a fan of the "Insane" trait to begin with, but in The Sims 3, it seemed mostly limited to talking to oneself (something almost everyone does) and doing things like wearing swimsuits to formal occasions. It was more "eccentric" than anything. (I could be wrong about this; it's been a while since I've played The Sims 3.)
In The Sims 4, though, the Insane trait is tied to randomly feeling different emotions. This in itself wouldn't be such a bad thing, but it's the way the whole thing is played for laughs that bothers me. The titles for the moodlets (and for some, the descriptions) are written in Simlish, as opposed to all other moodlets, which are in English, implying that the Insane Sim is speaking gibberish. The worst offender, in my opinion, is the description for the Flirty moodlet, which says, "The voices are speaking in the language of love."
Hearing voices is a specific type of auditory hallucination that is a serious symptom in many different mental illnesses, most famously schizophrenia (itself a highly misunderstood disorder). In most cases, they are not "flirty" or fun; they are disturbing and even terrifying.
I understand that this is supposed to be a lighthearted game, and that the Sims 4 version of the Insane trait is just an attempt to incorporate the new (at the time of its release) concept of emotions in a way that is fun and interesting. But I feel that the way it was utilized does a disservice to those of us who live with mental illness and its stigma every day. I hope that the people in charge read this and are more considerate in future releases in this series.
I wasn't a fan of the "Insane" trait to begin with, but in The Sims 3, it seemed mostly limited to talking to oneself (something almost everyone does) and doing things like wearing swimsuits to formal occasions. It was more "eccentric" than anything. (I could be wrong about this; it's been a while since I've played The Sims 3.)
In The Sims 4, though, the Insane trait is tied to randomly feeling different emotions. This in itself wouldn't be such a bad thing, but it's the way the whole thing is played for laughs that bothers me. The titles for the moodlets (and for some, the descriptions) are written in Simlish, as opposed to all other moodlets, which are in English, implying that the Insane Sim is speaking gibberish. The worst offender, in my opinion, is the description for the Flirty moodlet, which says, "The voices are speaking in the language of love."
Hearing voices is a specific type of auditory hallucination that is a serious symptom in many different mental illnesses, most famously schizophrenia (itself a highly misunderstood disorder). In most cases, they are not "flirty" or fun; they are disturbing and even terrifying.
I understand that this is supposed to be a lighthearted game, and that the Sims 4 version of the Insane trait is just an attempt to incorporate the new (at the time of its release) concept of emotions in a way that is fun and interesting. But I feel that the way it was utilized does a disservice to those of us who live with mental illness and its stigma every day. I hope that the people in charge read this and are more considerate in future releases in this series.
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Comments
Since the trait is just "insane" and not a specific disorder I fail to see how it is controversial.
Are you saying people with mental disorders are insane?
I'm saying that the very concept of "insanity" comes from the fact that people with mental illnesses are often presumed to be incompetent or less deserving of human rights. The word "insane" itself refers to someone who is, mentally, "not all there." This trait could have easily been called "Moody" or "Weird" or "Eccentric," and references to things like "the voices" and speaking gibberish could have been left out. I mean, the Gloomy trait isn't called "Depressed," and the "Evil" trait isn't called "Sociopathic."
I mean, there's a stigma against mental illness as a whole, not just specific disorders.
Again, to sum things up, there's really two things I have a problem with here:
1. The name of the trait, since it has very negative connotations regarding people with mental disorders.
2. References to real-life symptoms of mental illness like "hearing voices," when it's played for laughs.
.
Technically, any trait in The Sims could be interpreted as mocking mental illnesses, the "neat" trait could mock OCD, the "hot-head" trait could mock those who have anger issues, the "glutton" trait could mock those with eating disorders, the "absent-minded" trait could mock those with Autism or Aspergers..I can go on. But all of those traits are harmless.
If the insane trait resembled any real-life mental illnesses, the I would somewhat agree with you. However, it doesn't. It's more like a "crazy" trait. Just because someone is crazy doesn't mean they have a mental illness.
That person has every right to not be offended by the Insane trait. I don't know. "Offended" is probably too strong a word for what I'm feeling. I feel uncomfortable, and yes, a little hurt.
Too many people claim that the ones who get offended are the people who aren't affected by the issue. That is untrue. I am very much affected by this issue. I'm very open about having OCD, and I don't like people making assumptions about me because of it. It irritates me when people trivialize OCD and turn it into a joke.
Insanity is defined as "in a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill." The only reason I'm NOT "seriously mentally ill" in the present is because of a combination of medication and therapy. Laughing at people who "hear voices" contributes to a system that sees people with mental disorders--especially those who act "unacceptably"--as less than human.
The Sims 4 may be "just a game," but the equating of insanity with "silly" things is an example of a microaggression: "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority." It's like if there were a "Girly" trait that made the Sim shallow, catty, and obsessed with fashion and boyfriends.
I am just one person. And this is not censorship; it's merely a suggestion. Feedback. That's what this forum is for. You're free to disagree with me, but don't call it "censorship." I'm not the government. (I know you yourself did not say "censorship." I'm talking about the user quoted above.)
The joke about "the voices" just seemed needlessly hurtful to me.
ETA: So it's really the whole presentation of the "Insane" trait that makes me dislike the name of the trait in The Sims 4. The presentation in The Sims 3 wasn't as big a problem for me. But this just hits too close to home. (The description of the Sad moodlet associated with the Insane trait reminds me of my own intrusive thoughts, but at least it's not treated as a joke.)
I also wanna point your sims aren't forced to have this trait
I for once can get upset and offended If, hypothetically had my irl grandma passed by drowing in a pond. Would I get offended If my sim in-game had drowned too, which is the fault of developers of implanting that type of death? Maybe a little, but I'm not gonna demand them to remove it or not introduced into other iteration of the games, because it would self-ish of me. They didn't intend it towards the death of my grandma, which same goes for your case: they didn't use the actual mental term "schizophrenia" to mock of your illness. Rather - it is suppose to represent of crazy people, not actually the mentally-ill people, on how they suppose to act and behave while their crazy-- one of them being talking to yourself and hear voices.
I prefer not to use the Insane trait, but when you're doing a challenge that involves using a random trait generator, you kind of go with what you get.
I do think The Sims 4 (and the series in general) is, for the most part, a progressive game. I love what they did by removing gender barriers. I like the fact that Sunset Valley achieved marriage equality before the United States. I like the silly pop culture and internet meme references. I love a lot about this game.
I'm not crying myself to sleep over this, and I'm not going to do a callout post on everyone here. I'm just offering feedback on how I think the game could be more inclusive to people like myself. That's all.
I´d say moody is moody, eccentric is eccentric.
There is a difference between a sociopath and a psychopath, and if you´re refering to evil, I´d pin it on the psychopath.
Depression.
Is gloomy depression?
I´d say no.
Depression is not feeling gloomy. Depression is depression.
One can feel a little blue, gloomy.
And I dont agree with you that insane refers to someone who is not mentally "all there", but perhaps it is just a matter of opinion.
Insane to me, is insane.
Completely, ape 🐸🐸🐸🐸 insane.
You know, like the Donald.
That's what I'm saying. They did it right with traits like "Gloomy" and "Evil." But when you're dealing with a trait like "Insane," you should remove any semblance of mental illness so that people don't confuse definitions. Hearing voices is almost always portrayed in popular culture as not only being linked to "insanity," but also as something only experienced by dangerous people (i.e. "the voices told me to kill those children") or something that's "funny." The very presence of this symptom--which, unlike "feeling sad" or "being a jerk to people," is almost always treated as a symptom of a mental illness--as a hallmark of the "Insane" trait makes it clear that this is not just a trait you ascribe to somebody's who's totally wacky. It is linked to a very specific symptom of many mental illnesses.
I don't know how else I can explain this. All I'm hoping at this point is that people will understand where I'm coming from. Having a different opinion does not mean I am overreacting. I think I'm making a good point, just as I think people who had a problem with the Bro and Gluttony traits had a point, even if I didn't agree with them in the end.
As someone who work proffessionally with individuals with mental disorders, and someone who´s brain probably isn´t really wired like normal people, I feel the opposite from what you seem to feel.
I feel that being able to laugh about different aspects of mental illness lowers the social stigma. Mental illness used to be something you just didn´t speak of. You locked the mentally ill away and tossed away the key.
Although, with that said, what irks me with the sims 4 version of "insane", is the constant "being a jerk to people" as you put it. It´s just not particularly funny in my opinion.
To be fair, one does need to strike a balance. I agree that it's important to be able to laugh at one's own troubles. I think there's something to be said for portraying characters with mental illnesses making jokes about it. I often joke about my OCD, but my feathers ruffle when someone without OCD turns it into a joke. (There is an exception, and that's if a very close friend of mine is joking about my OCD in particular.) Unfortunately, in The Sims, there's not really an opportunity to unambiguously state that it's the person with the mental illness making jokes about it. Sims are whatever we make them out to be. I just feel like this whole "hearing voices is funny lol" thing is taking it too far. If some random person who plays The Sims wants to make jokes about mental illness, that's on them, but it's a bit disheartening to hear it from the game itself.
Yeah, I've noticed that "Insane" Sims tend to be rude to other Sims! Did they do that in The Sims 3? My Insane Sim is always yelling at and insulting everyone, even family. So is his daughter, although she also has the Mean trait.
Let me make one thing clear. I don't think the makers of the game threw in this trait with the intent to make fun of people who have mental illnesses. The whole "hearing voices" thing isn't something a lot of people really think about. I remember laughing at "Listen to the voices" jokes when I was a kid. It was like "I see dead people" or whatever. I'm sure the people who designed the Insane trait were thinking something similar.
We´re just going to have to agree to disagree.
I don´t feel it´s different making a joke about hearing voices than making a joke about neurotics washing their hands a particular number of times for example.
I still play sims 3, and the "insane" are less exaggerated. I have not noticed them being compulsory rude.
Thanks for this post OP, you're making good points I hadn't considered before. I have some insane sims and I always used that trait with the "eccentric" angle, but I agree that very few adjustments could have made it not hit so close to home for some people, now that you point it out. Including the very baggage heavy name.
We can all do better.
Funny thing how the first post litterally ends with and the first response was Great reading comprehension skills !
I personally have always thought that "insane" and "mentally ill" were different things. While "mentally ill" refers to a disorder, that can be treated to some degree with therapy and/or medication, "insane" to me was always a temporary state of losing ones grasp on reality due to an extraordinary situation (e.g. loss of a loved one). Not sure why I thought so.
That being said, I never used the "insane" trait up until a few months ago. I was not comfortable with it, because I associate insanity with pain and suffering. I tried it on one Sim a few months ago and liked the fact that the Sim was a bit more difficult to play due to the unexpected emotion changes, but that has nothing to do with the argument.
While I don't think there were any bad intentions - and neither does the OP - the fact that it makes people uncomfortable is a valid reason for reconsidering either the naming or the implementation of this trait in future sims games.
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/956513/netz-a-porter-outfits-ready-to-wear-for-your-sims-no-cc-required
Twitter: NetzspannungTS
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Ah, good to know. Thanks for the information.
In that case, what can we laugh about?
So do not ask me, not a mentally ill person, the green light.
Can we get back on topic now ?
I don't know the answer to any of the questions above but if a member of a group that historically has been disenfranchised, oppressed or discriminated against in any shape or form, expresses their concerns, eloquently and respectfully, then surely this is something to seriously consider for the future of the franchise.
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/956513/netz-a-porter-outfits-ready-to-wear-for-your-sims-no-cc-required
Twitter: NetzspannungTS
we all try ...