25 TV Characters Who Accurately Portray Mental Illness

Abstract

• TV characters with psychological problems supply a large spectrum of correct illustration, breaking down boundaries in fashionable media.
• Portrayals of psychological sickness assist viewers open up about their struggles, destigmatizing circumstances and inspiring searching for assist.
• Reveals like BoJack Horseman, Shameless, and Ozark present correct depictions that assist increase consciousness and open up dialogue on psychological well being.

Psychological well being is a critical topic that requires an excessive amount of sensitivity and honesty relating to illustration in fashionable media, and these TV characters with psychological problems present a large spectrum of illustration. Many exhibits and flicks have been criticized for his or her portrayal of psychological well being, with characters being lowered to two-dimensional clichés that promote damaging stereotypes. Modern media has risen to the problem relating to depicting an correct illustration of psychological well being. Reveals like BoJack Horseman gained important popularity of explorations of psychological sickness, in addition to turning into iconic staples of fashionable tradition.

Psychological sickness is turning into much less taboo on tv. A part of that’s as a result of actors and writers are vocal about searching for assist for psychological well being themselves, and inspiring viewers to take action too. Telling serialized tales depicting how fictional characters study to stay with melancholy, anxiousness, and extra helps break down the boundaries to followers speaking about it. Generally, depictions of psychological sickness in media could be divisive as there could be overlapping signs in numerous sicknesses, and never everybody experiences them the identical method. These TV characters with psychological problems are on the forefront of opening up a dialogue.

25 Maria Bamford (Girl Dynamite)

Performed By Maria Bamford

Girl Dynamite is a particular present as a result of it stars Maria Bamford as herself. It is a fictionalized model of her life story and Bamford makes use of it as an opportunity to indicate what residing as a personality with psychological sickness is admittedly like. The collection follows Maria as she strikes again to Los Angeles after spending six months in restoration for bipolar dysfunction. Her aim is to rebuild her life with the assistance of her agent (Fred Melamed) and her life coach (Ana Gasteyer), and finally mount a stand-up present centered round her psychological breakdown.

Star Maria Bamford has been recognized in actual life with Bipolar II Dysfunction and Obsessive-Compulsive Dysfunction.

Because of her real-life expertise with bipolar dysfunction, Bamford is ready to deliver a sensible look to the situation and never over-exaggerate issues or make it look completely different from the way it actually is. The present additionally reveals how onerous that is on the family and friends of an individual with the situation and the way it’s troublesome to regulate the harmful habits that mania causes. Girl Dynamite finds humor in Maria’s scenario, however it’s at all times based mostly on reality and by no means makes enjoyable of individuals with bipolar dysfunction.

24 Ian Gallagher (Shameless)

Performed By Cameron Monaghan

Shameless is stuffed with characters coping with numerous psychological sicknesses, and most of them aren’t in therapy. Ian Gallagher has bipolar dysfunction, and he was receiving therapy within the collection. The collection exhibits his temper swings, from his highest of highs to the bottom of lows, with melancholy points inflicting lots of his issues on the present. All through the Shameless storylines, Ian exhibits how bipolar dysfunction can change an individual, have an effect on his feelings, and alter his outlook on the world.

It adjustments his relationship along with his household, his companions, and virtually everybody round him. Ian’s largest points got here when he stopped taking his drugs, and it was apparent one thing was flawed. His actions within the collection when off his meds are very correct to what it’s prefer to stay with this psychological sickness. By the tip of Shameless, the present remained a optimistic depiction of transferring ahead with a psychological sickness because it confirmed an individual might nonetheless thrive within the office and advocate for themselves when practising self-care.

23 Ben Davis (Ozark)

Performed By Tom Pelphrey

Ozark would not get psychological well being circumstances good, as seen in quite a lot of characters. Nevertheless, one character who ended up being very correct was Ben Davis and his bipolar dysfunction. Ben’s actions within the collection extremely characterize what an individual with bipolar dysfunction goes by means of every day as he struggles to make it by means of life and make the absolute best selections whereas coping with this illness. When small issues triggered his temper swings and bouts of crying, it was a masterclass of performing by Tom Pelphrey.

Tom Pelphrey acquired a Primetime Emmy nomination for Excellent Visitor Actor in a Drama Collection.

Ozark additionally received quite a lot of the little issues down, similar to how he grunts when pissed off or wipes again his hair when vexed. These little moments actually confirmed what it’s prefer to take care of bipolar dysfunction, even when folks round them do not perceive there’s something flawed. Pelphrey additionally labored onerous to maintain his facial expressions largely devoid of vitality, which is one other symptom of the dysfunction. From the little issues to the actions within the present, this may be top-of-the-line depictions of bipolar dysfunction on tv.

22 Fiona Gallagher (Shameless)

Performed By Emmy Rossum

All through most of Shameless, Fiona Gallagher was the one who needed to maintain the household collectively. She had no alternative, as her mom left and her father had fallen into alcoholism. Sadly, there was nobody there to maintain Fiona herself. Fiona had extreme melancholy points, and because the collection wore on, these psychological well being struggles continued to push her into darkish locations. She dealt along with her household issues, and dropping a job in season 9 lastly triggered Fiona to fall into unhealthy habits.

Even when she noticed what alcoholism did to her dad, Fiona started to drink extra. She started to fake to be completely satisfied when she was not and altered her notion of actuality to one thing that she might take care of. All through that season, she started to lose her psychological fortitude and, since she was the one who took it upon herself to take care of others, she had nothing left to offer to herself. Her siblings, who she helped increase, did not even cease as much as assist her and Fiona ultimately needed to depart every thing behind for her personal psychological well-being.

21 Ted Lasso (Ted Lasso)

Performed by Jason Sudeikis

Ted Lasso is, above all, a comedy. It’s a few former American soccer coach who’s employed to educate a soccer group within the U.Ok. The proprietor hopes that Lasso can drive the group right into a freefall, however he does the other and makes the group stronger. However Ted Lasso is not afraid to get critical, particularly relating to depicting the results of psychological sickness on Ted himself. He’s really optimistic and leads his group to greatness by by no means giving up on them. Nevertheless, Ted suffers panic assaults and realizes he wants assist.

Jason Sudeikis and the
Ted Lasso
forged met with President Joe Biden to speak about psychological well being points.

That is the place the present shines, as Ted Lasso would not make a joke of Ted’s anxiousness points and psychological sickness. As an alternative, it exhibits how remedy can be utilized to essentially assist an individual perceive the place the problems are coming from and arrange plans to assist take care of them. Ted actor Jason Sudeikis instructed CNN,

Myself and different folks within the forged, particularly the writing employees, get messages day by day from folks thanking them for actually opening their eyes to what it means to go to remedy and what it means for somebody in their very own life to go to remedy
and simply talking about these items and taking the stigma off of any type of well being whether or not it’s diet or psychological, emotional well being.

20 Rainbow Johnson (Black-ish)

Performed By Tracee Ellis Ross

It is uncommon for sitcoms to significantly sort out any points remotely related to psychological well being with out turning a stereotype right into a punchline. Black-ish, nevertheless, has accomplished an incredible job at integrating critical matters into its comedy and permitting episodes to be extra dramatic than sitcoms sometimes would. One storyline, although it may need been shorter than some followers appreciated, concerned Black-ish’sBow coping with postpartum melancholy after the beginning of her youngster.

Viewers members praised the episode for each its portrayal of Bow’s wrestle along with her personal guilt about her very actual emotions and the perspective of others in the home who may not have understood what Bow was going by means of. Bow has turn into top-of-the-line depictions of characters with postpartum melancholyin recent times. This was a robust storyline and touched on a critical matter in a accountable method.

19 Gretchen Cutler (You are The Worst)

Performed By Aya Money

You are the Worst has been extensively labeled as an “anti-rom-com”, however past its sarcasm-filled comedy, the present has additionally tackled quite a lot of heavy matters. Season 2, particularly, pivots to focus on Gretchen being recognized with melancholy. The character explains that her “mind is damaged” at one level, highlighting her personal emotions of inadequacy.

The reveal of her prognosis allowed viewers to see how a few of her habits was rooted within the emotions that resulted from her melancholy. Whereas some followers did not benefit from the present taking a detour from its comedic route, the LA Instances praised the episode, calling it tv’s “greatest depiction of medical melancholy ever” amongst TV characters recognized with psychological problems. Aya Money earned a Critics’ Alternative Award nomination for Greatest Actress in a Comedy Collection for her position as Gretchen Cutler in You are the Worst.

18 Edgar Quintero (You are The Worst)

Performed By Desmin Borges

Additionally in You are The Worst is Edgar, who’s a fight veteran with post-traumatic stress dysfunction. In contrast to Gretchen, whose psychological sickness is handled as a narrative reveal, Edgar’s PTSD is part of his character from the beginning of the present, woven into his storylines with sensitivity and a realism that is not at all times current in comedies.

Edgar struggles along with his treatment, desirous to take it to aim to have as a lot normalcy in his life as attainable, but in addition giving it up utterly in season 3. Viewers are capable of see Edgar’s story from his personal perspective as a substitute of the surface trying in as he struggles with sleep, paranoia, and therapy. You are the Worst season 3, episode 5, “Twenty-Two”, places the highlight on Edgar and his situation, and is supposed to lift consciousness for the variety of fight veterans who finish their lives due to PTSD.

17 Rebecca Bunch (Loopy Ex-Girlfriend)

Performed By Rachel Bloom

There is not any denying that Loopy Ex-Girlfriend is a particularly enjoyable (and uncommon) musical collection. That comedy, nevertheless, manages to take care of quite a lot of extremely critical matters in a method that does not alienate viewers or move judgment on those that may be coping with the identical topics because the characters, together with a TV character with a psychological dysfunction that’s hardly ever highlighted in dramedies.

Initially, many followers thought Rebecca may need been depressed or stricken with a extra generalized anxiousness dysfunction because the present demonstrated her psychological well being points, however left many elements of them ambiguous. That modified as Loopy Ex-Girlfriend constructed to Rebecca’s prognosis of Borderline Character Dysfunction and try to finish her life. Fictional characters with BPD are additionally usually vilified as a substitute of offered as folks studying to exist with their sickness. Rebecca marks a change in that.

16 Carrie Mathison (Homeland)

Performed By Claire Danes

Carrie Mathison lives with bipolar dysfunction whereas being a top-notch agent for the CIA in Homeland. Her portrayal undoubtedly offers with the stigma connected to these residing with psychological sickness as she hides her psychological dysfunction from her employers in an effort to maintain her job. There is a worry of judgment and repercussions if she will be able to’t “management” it.

The present permits the viewers to see what it is like when Carrie feels supported and takes her treatment recurrently, and what occurs when the other is true. Bipolar dysfunction would not dictate the narrative of the present, nevertheless it does inform quite a lot of Carrie’s selections. Whereas some members of the viewers may need discovered the depiction to make use of Carrie’s prognosis as nothing greater than a plot level, Psychology Right now discovered the way in which bipolar dysfunction was depicted to be extremely correct.

15 Jackson Marchetti (Intercourse Training)

Performed By Kedar Williams-Stirling

Male characters coping with psychological sickness are far much less frequent than females in trendy media, although this doesn’t replicate actuality. Jackson Marchetti is a good instance of a male TV character breaking the stigma, with some assist from his family members, and accepting his psychological sickness. Jackson is a prolific swimmer in his faculty, has at all times dated “fashionable” ladies, and is elected Head Boy at college.

He appears to have every thing going for him, but he is one of many newer fictional characters who must take care of debilitating anxiousness, a lot in order that it leads him to self-harm. He goes by means of a journey wherein he evaluates his relationship with swimming and his mothers, ultimately accepting assist from his buddies and permitting himself to speak in confidence to others. Seeing somebody portrayed as a preferred jock but needing to simply accept assistance is a really optimistic instance of illustration within the TV present.

14 Beth Harmon (The Queen’s Gambit)

Performed By Anya Taylor-Pleasure

Beth is orphaned at a younger age in The Queen’s Gambit, left largely to her personal units as she grows up. She additionally develops an habit to a tranquilizer tablet in her childhood, one thing that impacts her drastically. Beth’s psychological sickness is not labeled explicitly within the collection, however she has an unhealthy obsession with profitable. She additionally does every thing in her energy to sabotage herself: she drinks, smokes, takes different substances, and drowns herself in sorrow.

She additionally isolates herself and sometimes rejects the assistance of different folks. A reporter even labels her a genius and implies that she is “mad.” Care Clincs wrote, “All through the mini-series, Beth was battling her personal internal demons, together with insecurity and self-loathing which led to self-destructive behaviors.” Nevertheless, by the tip of The Queen’s Gambit, “Beth’s journey was a story of self-discovery.”

13 Beth Cassidy (Dare Me)

Performed By Marlo Kelly

Dare Me‘s Beth Cassidy is a lesser-known character relating to tv exhibits, however a strong one nonetheless. She’s used to having energy, however when her greatest good friend begins to spend extra time with their new cheer coach, Beth feels their friendship — and her maintain over the group — slipping away. Like different TV characters with psychological problems, although, Beth is depicted with signs of a couple of, her psychological sickness is not explicitly labeled.

She begins to spend time with people who find themselves unhealthy for her, even abusive. She withdraws into herself, ignoring texts and botching commitments. No person round Beth appears to note or perceive what is going on on along with her as a result of she will be able to’t deliver herself to be sincere about her experiences. That is all too frequent relating to psychological sickness, as is Beth’s isolation.

12 Hannah Horvath (Women)

Performed By Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham performs the primary character of HBO’s Women. Hannah Horvath struggles with obsessive-compulsive dysfunction (OCD), a well known however not well-represented psychological sickness in media. Hannah additionally struggles to financially assist herself. She largely experiences the signs of OCD at significantly worrying instances in her life, which viewers have praised as an correct depiction of the situation. OCD is usually made enjoyable of or used as meme fodder, and Hannah’s portrayal has helped to vary that.

Dunham felt it was vital to make sure that her character’s signs and journey have been as correct as attainable.

Psychology Right now broke down Dunham’s depiction of OCD in Women. In keeping with the location, whereas the present follows Dunham’s private journey, it additionally shows “real signs” of the sickness. Dunham herself was recognized with OCD when she was 9, and she or he has usually stated she is “afraid of every thing.” In consequence, Dunham felt it was vital to make sure that her character’s signs and journey have been as correct as attainable.

11 Sydney Novak (I Am Not Okay With This)

Performed By Sophia Lillis

In I Am Not Okay withThis, Sydney is an angsty teen making an attempt to course of her father’s latest loss of life by suicide, her romantic emotions towards her greatest good friend, and her newfound supernatural talents. In th finish, it seems that these talents are metaphorical representations of her psychological well being. Sydney lives with anxiousness and melancholy and appears to have inherited her powers from her father, who struggled with PTSD.

Her outbursts of telekinesis are bodily manifestations of how she feels when she’s anxious, indignant, pissed off, embarrassed, or unhappy. They’re additionally an accessible method for these within the viewers who cannot empathize with these emotions to know how she feels. It may not be reasonable relating to the supernatural conditions, however by seeing them unfold based mostly on her personal psychological sickness, it makes it simpler to understand.

10 BoJack Horseman (BoJack Horseman)

Voiced By Will Arnett

BoJack Horseman explores the titular character’s struggles with habit, melancholy, and the aftereffects of childhood neglect. The Netflix present blends BoJack’s hard-hitting and emotional story with surreal humor, producing a number of the most insightful explorations of psychological well being in an animated present. The characters within the collection have turn into a number of the most recognizable TV characters with psychological problems in popular culture.

BoJack’s character isn’t two-dimensional. His psychological well being points and wrestle with habit are depicted in an sincere and thought-provoking method. BoJack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg instructed Vice that he needed to painting BoJack’s melancholy “in truth” and discover “lots of explanations for why BoJack is the way in which he’s.” The one factor that this present does is assault these points head-on. Nothing is simple, and nothing is handed to BoJack. He has to simply accept or deny any of the issues he faces after which take care of the repercussions of these selections.

9 Alyssa (The Finish Of The F****ing World)

Performed By Jessica Barden

In season 2 of The Finish of the F***ing World, Alyssa copes with the aftermath of the primary season. Her arc is an intense introspective into psychological well being as Alyssa offers with melancholy and recovering from trauma. Alyssa’s arc in season 2 is dealt with truthfully and respectfully and depicts the sensation of separation from actuality. Whereas the primary season noticed James self-diagnosis himself as a psychopath, the collection by no means confirmed Alyssa’s prognosis or lack thereof in that season. Issues change within the second season.

Actress Jessica Barden stated in an interview with Radio Instances that Alyssa is “coping with melancholy and would not perceive it.” She went on to say, “I’ve at all times associated to Alyssa in her more scant character traits. And it was actually fascinating, and it was an incredible problem to play anyone combating the issues she’s combating.”

8 Diane (BoJack Horseman)

Voiced By Alison Brie

In BoJack Horseman, no two characters really perceive one another higher than Diane and BoJack, and a big a part of that may be attributed to their shared struggles with their psychological well being. Diane’s melancholy is instantly addressed within the first half of season 6, along with her new boyfriend, Man, urging her to take anti-depressants.

Diane’s wrestle is sincere and uncooked. Her determination to take treatment for her psychological well being mirrors BoJack’s journey in rehab. Throughout the closing scenes of the season, a rejuvenated Diane reunites with Man on the airport conceding defeat about Dawson’s Creek. It’s fascinating distinction to see BoJack, who appears to proceed his downward spiral, which at one level metaphorically results in the darkness of the abyss, after which see Diane, who appears to be on the highway to self-help due to her lastly accepting that she will be able to’t do it alone.

7 Rae (My Mad Fats Diary)

Performed By Sharon Rooney

My Mad Fats Diary is a British comedy-drama that first aired in 2016 on E4 and focuses on teenager Rae’s readjustment after leaving a psychiatric hospital. Rae is a lovable and heart-warming character and her struggles with shallowness and psychological well being are dealt with in a delicate however touching method. Set within the mid-Nineteen Nineties, the present follows Rae as she reconnects along with her greatest buddies.

Critics praised My Mad Fats Diary for its portrayal of psychological well being and mild humor, with Rae’s voice-over giving a “humorous perception into her expertise combating her darker instances.” (by way of Vulture) The present is about making an attempt to regulate to the world after an individual already feels damaged in it. The perfect factor is that the collection by no means makes use of Rae’s psychological sickness as an excuse for what she does, however as a substitute it’s all concerning the motivation to be higher as she improves herself.

6 Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones)

Performed By Krysten Ritter

Jessica Jones is an insightful exploration of post-traumatic stress dysfunction, and Jessica herself is a relatable heroine. Her season 1 arc wherein she faces off towards Kilgrave is a chilling evaluation of abuse and trauma, however Jessica is as emotionally robust as she is bodily, and her last confrontation with him is a satisfying finish to a despicable villain.

Jessica Jones has been praised for placing “girls on the forefront” (by way of Impartial), and the third and last season options her inevitable confrontation with Trish, who descends into sympathetic villainy as she offers along with her personal habit and emotions of inadequacy. Jessica struggles along with her PTSD from childhood trauma, which is made worse due to Kilgrave, and attainable, however undiagnosed, bipolar dysfunction. She works by means of these, finds assist, and turns into an incredible hero with out letting her situation put on her down.