Rae is a lovable and heart-warming character and her struggles with self-esteem and mental health are handled in a sensitive but touching manner. “It’s not that he doesn’t experience any emotion. It’s that he has trained himself to not let emotions cloud his judgment - something that he repeats often to Watson,” psychologist Maria Konnikova thinks. RELATED: Rick And Morty: 10 Jokes That Everyone Completely Missed. Alyssa's arc in season two is handled honestly and respectfully and depicts the feeling of separation from reality. The quirks in their personality may be what makes them so endearing to us, but if we encountered these individuals in real life, we would probably direct them toward the nearest therapist. She's used to having power, but when her best friend starts to spend more time with their new cheer coach, Beth feels their friendship - and her hold over the team - slipping away. May 25, … The popular Netflix show blends BoJack's hard-hitting and emotional story with surreal humor, producing some of the most insightful explorations of mental health in an animated show. From Bojack Horseman to Jessica Jones, these are the 15 most accurate portrayals. He’s a brilliant, but antisocial consulting detective, so his assessment of his very own mental health shouldn’t surprise anyone. Marta is a ruthless, unbalanced and emotional character without ethical values. Disturbances in thinking/perceptio n affected 8 film characters and 6 TV characters. The following movies contain one or more characters who exhibit psychological disorders. We get to witness Max’s evolution from the first time his parents figure out there’s something wrong until he becomes a teen, and each developmental stage comes with its own set of struggles. “He's probably plenty accurate in some ways for a specific type of person on the spectrum. From cartoons to beloved children’s books heroes, some of our nearest and dearest heroes have their own set of imbalances. Even when the disorder isn’t portrayed as accurately as it could possibly be, it’s still invigorating to see a protagonist who struggles with mental issues live their day-to-day lives as productively as possible. Not only that, but read on to get real peoples' responses and assessments of the way mental illness gets portrayed on the small screen. … Even though he is a cute character, Eeyore suffers from a certain psychological disorder called dysthymia. Which, by the way, is because of his Asperger's. That’s obvious from the very first episode of the show, when we find out she’s hiding her illness from the CIA because she’s afraid she’ll get fired. Diane's struggle is honest and raw. Even though he struggles at times, at the end of the day he is someone to look up to.”, #164 of 403 The Funniest TV Characters of All Time#194 of 1,287 The Greatest TV Characters of All Time#21 of 97 The Greatest Geeks in TV History. Covering the hottest movie and TV topics that fans want. Princess Carolyn's character arc throughout BoJack Horseman offers an insight into high-functioning depression, with her character a juxtaposition of BoJack's. Pop culture’s most prominent depiction of OCD came in the form of Adrian Monk, the police consultant who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and multiple phobias. Homer Simpson, Intermittent Explosive Disorder. Best Portrayals of Mental Illness in Female TV Characters 9 Female TV Characters Who Are Changing the Way We See Mental Illness on Screen. I mean, it's not hugely consistent with a lot of her character. But Sherlock shows Watson intermittent kindness, and the series makes it pretty obvious that he cares about others as well. “As someone who felt like an outsider to the world of autism, Max helped me normalize my own experiences with my now brother-in-law. Executive producer Jason Katims has a son with Asperger's, so the fact that the story felt incredibly raw at times shouldn’t be surprising. Name: Leonard Shelby Symptoms: remembers events of the past e.g. Her season one arc in which she faces Kilgrave is a chilling analysis of abuse and trauma, but Jessica is as emotionally strong as she is physically and her final confrontation with him is a satisfying end to a despicable villain. If you've seen movies with that in … Randall experiences anxiety throughout the show and was originally reluctant to see a therapist. Beth is orphaned at a young age, left largely to her own devices as she grows up. However unfortunate, it’s not very common to see accurate depictions of mental illness on TV. Sydney suffers from anxiety and depression and seems to have inherited her powers from her father, who suffered from PTSD. Jackson Marchetti is a good example of a male character breaking the stigma, with some help from his loved ones, and accepting his mental illness. Cobra Kai: Every Season 1 Episode, Ranked (According To IMDb), 15 TV Characters Who Accurately Portray Mental Illness, 15 Superheroes (& Villains) You Didn't Know Fought Mental Illness, "the lots of explanations for why BoJack is the way he is. By telling Max’s story, Parenthood has depicted a journey never before seen on network television. Her decision to take medication for her mental health mirrors BoJack's journey in rehab and during the closing scenes of the season, we see a rejuvenated Diane reunite with Guy at the airport conceding defeat about Dawson's Creek. These movies cover a range of mental health illnesses: bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorder, depression, … To celebrate these much-needed and rare shows, take a closer look at a few TV characters with mental illness. In the second season of The End Of The F***ing World, Alyssa copes with the aftermath of the first season. Mr. Lists about common mental illnesses and disorders and the many people around the world and throughout history who have lived with them. Leah Flavell is a freelance writer from Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. Because of this, we’re doing a “Fictional Character Face Off” to determine which TV/movie character represented mental health the best. Hannah doesn't have a lot of those minor OCD-like traits when she's functional.”, #33 of 44 Current TV Characters Who Are the Most Relatable#2 of 15 Regrettable Characters Who (Nearly) Ruined Good TV Shows#6 of 12 TV And Movie Characters Who Can't Afford Their Homes. As the series progresses, we … Within horror, the asylum has long been a go-to trope. Or when every procedural character ever suffering from mental illness was also a genius “thanks” to their disorder? But Hollywood occasionally gets it right, and actors and actresses in the last few decades have shown a willingness to let their performances reflect growing public awareness in regards to mental health. He showed me ways to relate to Michael, and affirmed that simply because Michael didn’t want to hug me or ask me about my life, it didn’t mean that he didn’t love me,” one viewer wrote. She starts to spend time with people who are bad for her, even abusive. Although Monk's character has many compulsions that are funny at times I think that ultimately everyone respects him because of how good he is at his job. Here are five additional TV characters who accurately portray mental illness. Moreover, it seems that The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) has supported Monk and championed its help in increasing OCD awareness. This is all too common when it comes to mental illness, as is Beth's isolation. ", Rick And Morty: 10 Jokes That Everyone Completely Missed, Netflix's The End Of The F***ing World: 10 Questions We Still Have About Season 2, Research from the National Institute Of Mental Health, 21 Amazing Movies That Actually Understand Mental Illness, The Office: 10 Scenes That Make Viewers Nervous When Rewatching, Sex And The City: Carrie's 5 Best Pieces Of Advice (& Her 5 Worst), The Office: The 10 Saddest Things About Kelly, How I Met Your Mother: 10 Storylines The Show Dropped, My Wife And Kids: The 5 Best Episodes (& 5 Worst), Ranked By IMDb, WandaVision: 5 Fan Theories That Seem Possible (& 5 That Will Likely Never Come True), Doctor Who: Every Finale, Ranked By IMDb Score, Schitt's Creek: Alexis's 6 Best Pieces Of Advice (& Her 4 Worst), Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: 10 Most Heartbreaking Things About The Final Season, Friends: Monica's 5 Best Pieces Of Advice (& Her 5 Worst), Batman: The Animated Series - 5 Times We Felt Bad For Batman (& 5 Times We Hated Him), 13 Reasons Why Characters Ranked By Intelligence, Joey Tribbiani & 9 Other Actor Characters Who Tried To Make It Big, Game Of Thrones: Each Main Character's First and Last Line In The Series, Bridgerton Meets Gossip Girl: 5 Couples That Would Work (& 5 That Wouldn't), Riverdale: The 10 Saddest Things About Jughead, Grey's Anatomy: The 5 Worst Things Penny Ever Did (& 5 Best), Scrubs: The Main Characters' Story Arcs, Ranked From Worst To Best. A reporter even labels her as a genius and implies that she is "mad". Besides her ugly crying and infinite badassery, what makes Carrie stand out in the TV world is her struggle with mental illness. That's kind of sad, minus the evil part. Robot, Elliot copes with disassociative identity disorder, depression, and anxiety, with the show portraying his struggles in a real and grounded manner. Fans can hope that Randall receives the help he needs soon. It doesn't feature Bi-polar disorder, because I don't find it interesting, and its pretty common. Including an apparent lack of guilt and emotion.”, The Best Actors Who Played Sherlock, Ranked#11 of 295 The Best Duos of All Time#78 of 3,512 The Best Movie Characters Of All Time. While some shows do broach mental health, they often do it in a superficial and frustrating way. These movies feature characters living (and often struggling) with mental illness and can help kids understand more about this often sensitive subject. BoJack creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg stated that he wanted to portray BoJack's depression "truthfully" and explore "the lots of explanations for why BoJack is the way he is.". James represses the trauma of his mother's suicide and feels numb and alienated from the world. Links are provided for the Wikipedia article about a movie. For additional information about movies or to verify the information in Wikipedia, try Internet Movie Database. A large part of the show is its focus on existentialism, but this directly relates to Rick Sanchez's depression as he fails to find meaning in a world of infinite realities. We’re here to focus on … A group of clinical psychologists analyzed and diagnosed the Hulk's mental health. Many men behind television shows tend to write female … We saw her coping with a resurgence of her OCD symptoms in a convincing and nuanced manner, which isn’t surprising when you think about the fact that Lena Dunham suffers from OCD as well. During the beginning of The End Of The F***ing World, James believes he is a psychopath and dates Alyssa with the idea of killing her. He never seemed sociopathic to me,” a Quora user chimes in. The infamous "Pickle Rick" episode is an interesting exploration of Rick's psyche, with the scientist turning himself into a pickle to avoid confronting his feelings. However, his actor Alex Lawther has said that, though he believed his character to be a psychopath, he was really "very, very sad. Research from the National Institute Of Mental Health states that men are statistically less likely to seek treatment for mental health than women, something which may have influenced Randall's decision. Movies and Tv shows about mental illness by cacosta6 | created - 30 May 2013 | updated - 12 Mar 2014 | Public Movies that showcase characters with mental illness or has character that take therapy. However, there are a few viewers who buy into the premise that Sherlock has all the traits of a sociopath. The stigma is lifting, and with its absence, genuine depictions are showcased. Calling someone with a real mental illness (even if it is a fictional character) subhuman just sends a terrible message out to people.”, Fletcher Wortmann, author and individual diagnosed with OCD, thought the show dealt with “hilariously inconvenient, painfully superficial, improbably untreatable OCD, which always involves counting and cleaning (because those are Hollywood’s very favorite OCD symptoms), and which can’t be managed, or even explained accurately to exasperated bystanders, because then there couldn’t be a show.”, Another Quora responder, however, disagrees: “I think he is a very accurate character. One of the best ways the Netflix original represents actual women and their struggles is by making main character a complex person. If you need information and practical advice on mental health, you can call the Rethink advice and information service on 0300 5000 927 (10am–2pm), if you're in the UK. A one-stop shop for all things video games. Well, doctors tend to agree: Sherlock’s not a sociopath. Learning more about these conditions can help kids develop empathy and open the doors for honest discussions. Nobody around Beth seems to notice or understand what's going on with her because she can't bring herself to be honest about her experiences. Mental health is a serious subject that requires a great deal of sensitivity and raw honesty when it comes to representation in popular media. All the latest gaming news, game reviews and trailers. This profoundly deluded genius is often shown mistaking real people for Wonderland characters. They determined that he suffers from an intermittent explosive disorder. Viewers can get to know characters more intimately, and the complexities of their mental conditions are allowed more time to evolve. The depiction was applauded by The Daily Beast: “it appears Dunham is willing to portray real OCD, not the scrubbed and kinda fun version where people are cleaning their hands at inopportune times or else hopping over cracks in the sidewalk.”, Meanwhile, a psychiatrist interviewed by Vulture disagreed: “[many] people do manifest OCD in childhood, and it can go into remission and can come back — so that was plausible. NEXT: 21 Amazing Movies That Actually Understand Mental Illness. Mental health is not the kind of issue we’d ever want to make light about – however, it might help sufferers and their caregivers alike to know that some well-loved fictional characters battle their own demons. 33 Fantastic Films Whose Main Characters Have Mental Disorders. Fictional characters with sleep disorders‎ (1 C, 1 P) Pages in category "Fictional characters with neurological or psychological disorders" The following 61 pages are in this category, out of 61 total. Actress Jessica Barden said in an interview that Alyssa is "dealing with depression and doesn't understand it.". Esmail states that Elliot is "suppressing the pain," and dissociates from the reality around him. It depends on the degree of OCD but there are more severe cases.”  The same goes for a viewer who thought the portrayal was great - “It does a great job of mixing comedy and raising awareness without being insensitive. Randall's character in This Is Us highlights mental health issues with a focus on the stigma and struggles of men with mental illness. It turns out that these abilities are metaphorical representations of her mental health. Heartbreaking at times, the story didn’t only show Max’s struggles. Only 2 TV characters were shown with eating disorders. Like BoJack Horseman, Rick and Morty use the exaggerated template of an animated comedy to explore real-life issues. Here are five additional TV characters who accurately portray mental illness. The titular character is multifaceted in ways that real women are. The go-to source for comic book and superhero movie fans. ", "dealing with depression and doesn't understand it. Still, as WebMD once pointed out, the show became a source of empathy and inspiration for millions of Americans suffering from OCD. Here are 33 of the best examples of how mental disorders have been featured in films. Instead of treating mental illness as an obstacle for a character to overcome, or a device to explain otherwise nonsensical actions, ‘Lady Dynamite’ builds it into the very fabric of its world. NOTE: the information in Wikipedia may not be reliable. Eighteen film and 10 TV characters exhibited mood disorders (e.g., depression). Freeze - Complex Bereavement Disorder. RELATED: 10 TV Characters Who Accurately Portray Mental Illness. “I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath,” Sherlock says a couple of times during the acclaimed BBC series. Throughout Mr. The Q-tip episode remains an important one because it doesn’t treat OCD like something “cute.” Instead, it shows how horrible life can get for people dealing with the disorder. At the same time, others didn’t like how rude Max becomes as the series progresses. His mental health issues and struggle with addiction is depicted in an honest and thought-provoking way. There is something about mental disorders that makes a movie all the more enthralling. The hip HBO series Girls didn’t shy away from taking on mental illness when it delivered that brutal and memorable Q-tip scene in Season 2. Lena Dunham plays the main character of HBO's Girls. Beth Cassidy is a lesser-known character, but a powerful one nevertheless. Here are ten TV characters who accurately portray mental illness. August 02, 2011; It's unlikely that the writers who created these characters consciously decided they would give them an undiagnosed mental disorder … Jessica Jones has been praised for putting "women at the forefront" and the third and final season features her inevitable confrontation with Trish, who descends into sympathetic villainy. Seven characters in film and 3 in TV experienced spectrum disorders, while a number of characters (11 film, 2 TV) evidenced cognitive impairment. Antagonists are written as ‘crazy’ normally without much explanation as to what made them become so. Modern media has risen to the challenge when it comes to depicting an accurate representation of mental health. Film and TV has a chequered history with mental health. Often times Monk's compulsions are the reason that he is able to solve crimes. Sydney is an angsty teen trying to process her father's recent suicide, her romantic feelings towards her best friend, and her newfound supernatural abilities. Hannah Horvath struggles with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), a well-known but not well-represented mental illness. Mental illness is being discussed more and more on TV today. Which never sat right with me. Beth's mental illness isn't labeled explicitly, but she has an unhealthy obsession with winning, but she does everything in her power to sabotage herself: she drinks, smokes, takes other substances, and drowns herself in sorrow. While Hulk is another character that could easily be labeled with dissociative identity disorder, it seems that there is much more going on beneath the surface here. Even when the disorder isn’t portrayed as accurately as it could possibly be, it’s still invigorating to see a protagonist who struggles with mental issues live their day-to-day lives as productively as possible. MENTAL DISORDERS OF 4 CARTOON CHARACTERS: While most of us have actually grown up watching cartoons. 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