Together, Forever and Ever (Patreon)

hoping to do a part 2 to this soonish. Regina’s mental illness presents as a wide variety of symptoms. Gone undiagnosed for far too long, it was ultimately worsened by poverty, social stigma, drug use, and social isolation. Here’s a snippet of the early onset, when an economic downturn caused her to lose her job as an elementary music teacher.

Mania: an abnormally elated mental state, typically characterized by feelings of euphoria, lack of inhibitions, racing thoughts, diminished need for sleep, talkativeness, risk taking, and irritability. Severe manic episodes may induce symptoms characteristic of psychosis, such as delusions, hallucinations, and fragmentation of behavior.