History Main / MentallyUnwellSpecialSenses

* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', fifth season's BigBad Glory drains the cognitive out of humans to stabilize her own. This leaves them insane with the added side effects of being able to see Dawn as her true form as the Key.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-870 SCP-870]] is a manner of predatory animal species that can only be perceived by people with schizophrenia; their appearance appears to vary from witness to witness, but their behavior remains similar. At least one researcher speculates schizophrenics don't even perceive it fully; they just have a brain different enough that the normally perfect camouflage is compromised slightly.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Human Resources|2022}}'', Sonya reveals to Emma that the reason she was fired was that she enter a relationship with a human woman named Claudia who was able to see her despite not being a client. This is considered forbidden because it messes up both the Love Bug and human which does happen with Sonya and Claudia; Sonya starts acting irrational while Claudia becomes more agitated. When Claudia experiences a mental breakdown, Emma wonders if she was crazy. Sonya herself said she was just sick and that was the reason why she was able to see her.

* ''Film/HeartAndSouls'': As an adult, when Thomas once again starts seeing the four ghosts who'd been anchored to him since birth (they'd made themselves invisible to him after his parents nearly had him committed because of his obsession with the four, whom only he could see, and as a result he wound up convincing himself that they were only a childhood delusion), he thinks he's losing his mind again and tries to check himself into a psychiatric hospital. There, he and the quartet meet a schizophrenic woman who can see the ghosts too, and her accurate descriptions of each of them are what convinces Thomas that the four are real after all.

* In ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', Renfield is first encountered as an inmate in a mental hospital who becomes acutely aware what is approaching England. He "knows" and "sees" Dracula a long time before the vampire arrives at Whitby, and later escapes to become Dracula's servant.

--> '''Luna:''' ''[holding a magazine upside down]'' Don't worry, I see them too. You're just as sane as I am.
* ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'': Is a plot point as after much study [[GentlemanWizard Jonathan Strange]] comes to realise that the insane can perceive TheFairFolk, even when they make themselves invisible and are the only things other than [[InvisibleToNormals other Fair Folk (and people they want to see them) that can]]. As such he spends days working on an [[ChemicallyInducedInsanity alchemical distillation of insanity]] (specifically taken from a particularly insane [[CrazyCatLady Mrs Delgado]]) to make himself temporarily insane and thus able to converse with them.
* In ''The Lust Lezard from Melancholy Cove'', Molly Michon, who suffers from psychosis and schozophrenia, is the sole person able to communicate with the dragon.

* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', fifth season's BigBad Glory drains the cognitive out of humans to stabilize her owns. This leaves them insane with the added side effects of being able to see Dawn as her true form as the Key.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor Vincent and the Doctor]]", the deeply depressed but visionary artist Creator/VincentVanGogh is the only one who can see otherwise invisible Krafayis. The Doctor attributes this more to his unique way of seeing the world than to his depression, but because he was already considered "mad" in his time, no-one but the Doctor and Amy believes him. He also crosses into MadOracle in "The Pandorica Opens", when he paints the Tardis exploding.
* ''Series/Lodge49'': Connie and Larry both experience seeing things no-one else can (she sees people sometimes cloaked in glowing auras, he sees an actual dragon in his front yard), and both are a perfect example of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane (although the series implies real magic may be involved, she has a brain tumor, and he may be affected by toxins in the local water supply).

* In ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'', Fuminori Sakisaka was in a car accident and was only saved after a brain surgery. Unfortunately it caused him to see grotesque images in everything. The sole exception is a young girl named Saya. Naturally it turns out her true self is that of a EldritchAbomination.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Jix}}'' {{Perception Filter}}s don't work on the insane or geniuses, unfortunately since Jix (and her other personalities) is known to be both she have trouble convincing her friends whenever she catches someone using a filter.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Human Resources|2022}}'', Sonya reveals to Emma that the reason she was fired was because she enter a relationship with a human woman name Claudia who was able to see her despite not being a client. This is considered forbidden because it messes up both the Love Bug and human which does happen with Sonya and Claudia; Sonya starts acting irrational while Claudia becomes more agitated. When Claudia experience a mental breakdown, Emma wonders if she was crazy. Sonya herself said she was just sick and that was the reason why she was able to see her.

* ''Series/{{Moon Knight|2022}}'': Steven/Marc is able to see the invisible jackal monsters that Arthur Harrow summons. It's not made explicate if that's one of Moon Knight's powers or if it's because of his schizophrenia and DID, however he can still see them without the suit on, which his other powers require.

* In ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'', Fuminori Sakisaka was in a car accident and was only saved after a brain surgery. Unfortunately it caused him to see grotesque images in everything. The sole exception is a young girl name Saya. Naturally it turns out her true self is that of a EldritchAbomination.

'''Mentally Unwell, Special Senses''' is when a person with some kind of mental illness or brain abnormality can see or sense things others can not.

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

[[folder:Film-Live-Action]]

* In Literature/{{Dracula}}, Renfield is first encountered as an inmate in a mental hospital who becomes acutely aware what is approaching England. He "knows" and "sees" Dracula a long time before the vampire arrives at Whitby, and later escapes to become Dracula's servant.

--> '''Luna''': ''(holding a magazine upside down)'' Don't worry, I see them too. You're just as sane as I am.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor Vincent and the Doctor]]", the deeply depressed but visionary artist Creator/VincentVanGogh is the only one who can see otherwise invisible Krafayis. The Doctor attributes this more to his unique way of seeing the world than to his depression, but because he was already considered "mad" in his time, no one but the Doctor and Amy believes him. He also crosses into MadOracle in "The Pandorica Opens", when he paints the Tardis exploding.
* ''Series/Lodge49'': Connie and Larry both experience seeing things no one else can (she sees people sometimes cloaked in glowing auras, he sees an actual dragon in his front yard), and both are a perfect example of MaybeMagicMaybeMundane (although the series implies real magic may be involved, she has a brain tumor, and he may be affected by toxins in the local water supply).
* ''Series/MoonKnight2022'': Steven/Marc is able to see the invisible jackal monsters that Arthur Harrow summons. It's not made explicate if that's one of Moon Knight's powers or if it's because of his schizophrenia and DID, however he can still see them without the suit on, which his other powers require.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation:'' [[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-870 SCP-870]] is a manner of predatory animal species that can only be perceived by people with schizophrenia; their appearance appears to vary from witness to witness, but their behavior remains similar. At least one researcher speculates schizophrenics don't even perceive it fully; they just have a brain different enough that the normally perfect camouflage is compromised slightly.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HumanResources2022'', Sonya reveals to Emma that the reason she was fired was because she enter a relationship with a human woman name Claudia who was able to see her despite not being a client. This is considered forbidden because it messes up both the Love Bug and human which does happen with Sonya and Claudia; Sonya starts acting irrational while Claudia becomes more agitated. When Claudia experience a mental breakdown, Emma wonders if she was crazy. Sonya herself said she was just sick and that was the reason why she was able to see her.
[[/folder]]

Mentally Unwell Special Senses is when a person with some kind of mental illness or brain abnormality can see or sense things others can not.

While a work may not go into details on why they can see strange things, it's most likely because of how the mind works. A more "normal" mind with no illness are unable to see things. Meanwhile, those with any type of mental illness or abnormalities would have their brains wired differently that gave them the ability. If they are given medication or surgery to fix it, they may lose the ability.

Overlap with InvisibleToNormals. See also ByTheEyesOfTheBlind. Compare MedicateTheMedium. Opposite of GoMadFromTheRevelation. See NeurodiversityIsSupernatural when the strange is the reason for the mental illness. If they can see the future because of their illness, they are a MadOracle. PowerBornOfMadness can be related. Compare and contrast ThroughTheEyesOfMadness, where the character's mental state makes their perceptions unreliable. Compare InsaneEqualsViolent, when "insanity" is correlated to another. (more human) feature.

[[folder: Film-Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

* ''Series/TheNevers'': Maladie/Sarah was already mentally unwell before the events of the series, but being the only one to remember [[spoiler: the spaceship]] that caused the show's MassSuperEmpoweringEvent ''plus'' being in a cruel 19th-Century asylum only pushes her further into madness. Whether she could remember because of her particular Touched power or because of her madness is unclear.

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Visual Novel]]

[[folder: Web Comics]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* In ''Film/{{Scrooged}}'', Calvin is mute after witnessing the death of his father five years ago. In the future yet to come, he is institutionalized. When Frank is about to leave, Calvin moves his eye in his direction, implying he can see him despite being invisible.