Television has never been merely entertainment. The characters on television have been known to display emotions, behaviors, and experiences that are realistic and that many individuals experience in their lives. It is through these characters that audiences sometimes see a representation of issues that pertain to mental well-being.
The significant difference in this case is between representation and diagnosis. While it is possible for a character to exhibit behaviors that are related to a particular mental well-being problem, he or she might not be officially diagnosed with the condition. Sometimes writers actually create characters based on certain psychological disorders, but sometimes audiences themselves interpret the characters’ behaviors as related to mental well-being.
Through a closer examination of our favorite TV characters, we can start understanding mental disorders in an accessible manner.
Phineas and Ferb: Creativity, Perception, and the Problem of Reality
Phineas and Ferb is an animated children’s program following the story of two brothers who try to invent various machines and have new adventures each day during their summer break. Their sister, Candace, tries to prove to their mother what their brothers are up to, but the evidence always disappears before she can show it to their mom.
As a result of this ongoing story line, fans of the program have come up with different ideas that Candace might suffer from hallucinations or that everything involving Phineas and Ferb happens solely in her head.
This distinction is important because schizophrenia is much more complex than just perceiving or imagining things. Psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and dysfunction may all be associated with schizophrenia. Simply having an active imagination does not imply that someone has schizophrenia.
Still, there is an opportunity to raise an important question through the show: How do we distinguish what is real when an individual’s perception of reality is different from others’?
Euphoria: Depression, Addiction, and Trauma
It is not common for many contemporary TV shows to directly focus on mental health issues, but Euphoria does. The character of Rue Bennett experiences problems related to substance abuse, depression, grief, trauma, and emotional instability.
This case study illustrates one of the important characteristics of mental health issues. They usually do not appear in isolation. For example, trauma can impact emotional control, depression can impact motivation and relationships, and substance abuse can be used as an escape from the emotional turmoil that leads to new problems.
It is also worth noting that recovery from such issues is far from a smooth journey. There can be improvements, setbacks, denial, relapse, and periods of hope.
However, the show features graphic portrayals of substance abuse and mental health problems. For this reason, the show should not be viewed as a clinical explanation of addiction and mental issues.
BoJack Horseman: Depression Beyond the Smile
On the surface, BoJack Horseman seems like a comedy about a washed-up TV actor, who is also a talking horse. But on another level, the show deals with depression, addiction, trauma, loneliness, self-destruction, and emotional avoidance.
BoJack often faces the pain of a conflicting situation. He needs love and respect from people, but he acts in a way that makes him push away from others.
This helps viewers grasp one of the main aspects of depression and other mental issues: a person might seem successful, happy, rich, and confident, but in reality, he or she struggles with mental issues.
Moreover, BoJack’s plot disproves the belief that mental illness serves as an excuse for destructive behavior. Just because you have understood someone’s story does not mean that you should overlook what he or she has done.
Being mentally ill means explaining your actions, but not avoiding the consequences of them.
Anxiety and Obsessiveness in The Simpsons
Since The Simpsons is generally a comedic show, characters tend to be exaggerations for comedic effect. Despite this, there are a number of characters who could be used as examples of some psychological disorders.
For instance, Lisa Simpson is shown to be extremely smart and perfectionistic while being preoccupied with various concerns in her social, academic, and family life. Her desire to excel and her preoccupations can reflect elements of anxiety and perfectionism.
However, this doesn’t mean that Lisa has an anxiety disorder since simply being worried, being intelligent, or being perfectionistic does not amount to being mentally ill.
In this case, Lisa is just one of the examples of how TV shows can depict psychological traits without showing a psychological disorder.
Inside Out: Learn to Understand Feelings Before Diagnosis
Despite the fact that Inside Out is a movie and not a TV show, the film is worth mentioning in connection with its portrayal of emotional well-being.
Inside Out tells the story of the girl named Riley who finds herself going through great changes after moving to a new town. In this case, her emotions such as Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust try to help her cope with these changes.
Inside Out shows how sadness and other emotions are not always bad things.
It turns out that sadness is necessary for the processing of her experiences and getting help from other people.
It is a very important message regarding the topic of psychological well-being: every unpleasant feeling does not have to be considered something undesirable and removed.
Emotions such as sadness, fear, anger, and anxiety are useful, but the problem lies in the intensity and persistence of their occurrence.
Why Portrayal of Mental Illness in Television Matters.
TV has an overwhelming impact on perceptions of mental disorders. For somebody who has not taken a psychology class or even talked about mental health, the portrayal of a certain psychological state through a TV show will be their first one.
This impact can be positive.
It can foster empathy and reduce any shame for viewers and make them realize that there is something real behind all of this. Also, they can motivate people to get professional help.
However, it can also have a negative impact on perceptions.
Inaccurate portrayal of a mental disorder can stereotype a certain psychological condition. Such a stereotype might include making every person with schizophrenia seem like a danger for the society; making obsessive-compulsive disorder just about being neat; and portraying some psychological state as “being crazy.”
Entertainment Is Not a Diagnosis
One of the main things that we need to learn from character analysis of television characters is not to diagnose people just based on how they appear.
While a character may exhibit symptoms related to the condition, it is only a doctor who should diagnose people by analyzing their experience, symptoms, history, time period of having them, and the effect of the problem on functioning in daily life.
This applies even beyond television.
None of us has any right to diagnose our classmates, friends, relatives, and even ourselves just because we have seen some symptoms in a character on TV.
Rather than this, we can use characters of movies to start a discussion.
Behind the Screen
Characters that we can see on television allow talking about complex topics. We can start discussions on perception vs. reality with Candace from Phineas and Ferb. With Rue, we can talk about addictions, depressions, and traumas. BoJack Horseman will teach us about depression and self-destruction. And with Lisa Simpson, we can discuss anxiety and perfectionism.
However, the characters are to be considered representations, not symptoms.
Each fictional character created by the author is an interpretation of the human experience. Each human being behind which there is a story that is invisible to us all.
Maybe this is the biggest lesson that TV could teach us regarding mental illness: appearances are often misleading as far as one’s inner condition is concerned.
Sometimes the only thing that helps to understand mental disorders is to learn how to see beyond the screen.
-Written by Endiyah turner, Chapter Writer