5 Shows That Shine A Light On Mental Health

Being able to find an accurate portrayal of mental illness on television has often been a hard mission. The media we consume seems to portray mental illness as something to be afraid of or uses it to suggest to an audience why a character might come across as ‘weird’. Luckily in the recent years a lot of producers, directors and screenwriters have been making an effort to ‘get it right’ and show mental illness in a more human way. These shows can evoke powerful responses in the audience that watches them whilst helping mental health issues be a more widely talked about and accepted topic. As it was mental health week last week I decided to recommend five shows that I believe portray mental health with compassion and dignity! I hope you find these helpful and interesting xxx

This Is Us

This Is Us is an emotional drama centred around the lives of the Pearson Family whose story lines seem to overlap in the most beautiful and unexpected ways. One of the most memorable moments throughout season one is Randall’s (Stirling K. Brown) debilitating panic attack where the audience is able to see things through his eyes, his hands start to shake, his vision blurs and then he starts to hyperventilate uncontrollably. This story line continues throughout all of the seasons until finally in season 4 he decides to get professional help to cope with his anxiety. During a live instagram video, Brown said

‘So, I love the idea that people who thought that it was too macho to admit that they needed help with something, now realise like, ‘Oh shit, Randall’s getting help. If Randall getting help means that it’s okay for them to get help too then I think we’ve done exactly what we wanted to do with the storyline.’

This Is Us is one of the few series that intentionally covers subjects surrounding mens mental health and throughout the seasons each of the four lead males have battles of their own to contend with, including addiction, trauma and depression.

Orange Is The New Black

I have to admit, Orange Is The New Black is my favourite series of all time so I might be a little biased. However I think it portrays mental health in a way that is unseen on television and it goes into story lines surrounding illnesses that all other programmes seem scared to do. One of the longest running story lines is the struggle that Suzanne Warren, known more commonly as Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) goes through navigating her mental illness. In season 6 Suzanne becomes an even more central figure as it is through her struggle that the audience is able to understand how high the stakes are for incarcerated women with mental illnesses. On any other show, with any other writers and any other actress playing Suzanne, her story could have easily just become a punch line. However by not turning Suzanne's mental illness into a joke, the real life issues in this show can’t help but stay in the viewers mind. Of course there are so many other characters I could have used as an example for this show and its amazing portrayal of mental health but if you want to find out more you’re just going to have to watch it!!

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

In complete contrast to Orange Is The New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt does use comedy to portray mental illness however it does so in a way that seems so compassionate to the central characters that as an audience you are able to both laugh and cry in scenes five minutes apart from one another. Many doubted the shows premise to begin with however the popularity of the show has shown that it is possible to make a comedy out of a seemingly tragic story without ignoring the genuine horrors of the protagonists past. After spending 15 years held captive in an underground bunker, Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper) has obvious signs of PTSD as a result of her kidnapping and sexual assault. While the premise isn’t really the typical mental health story and Kimmy isn’t you’re typical mental health patient, the realness of the show comes from the amazing portrayal of Kimmy who seems to be such a happy and bubbly girl on the outside whilst secretly crumbling on the inside, like so many people with mental illness. The juxtaposition between the humour and the tragic events makes the disturbing point that the abuse of power is so deeply embedded in our society that no one is ever able to feel totally safe. The bunker that Kimmy was kept in is able to take many forms in her new life and, even now, she is never free of the power structures that kept her down there.

Pose

Although the central focus in Pose isn’t necessarily its views on mental health, the characters each face their own struggles, which mostly revolve around the AID’s crisis and what it means to be transgender in the late 20th century. Pose has made television history as it features the largest cast of transgender actors as well as the largest cast of LGBTQ actors ever for a scripted series. LGBTQ representation isn’t just in front of the camera as Janet Mock, a transgender rights activist, is also a large part of the writers team. Pose treats the issues it covers such as aids, transphobia, sexism and racism, with respect and love whilst thrusting this ground breaking series into the mainstream media without a need for an explanation. Throughout the seasons, Blanca (MJ Rodriques), Electra (Dominique Jackson) and the other trans characters not only help their children get ready for the house balls but also fight to keep them safe in a world which doesn’t view them as equal.

Normal People

I don’t think I could make a list of amazing television shows that focus on mental health without mentioning Normal People. This show has been the talk of almost every podcast I have been listening to, every chat show I have been watching and seemingly every conversation we have on the Spark and Spill Watsapp! Whilst loneliness is a theme which hangs heavily throughout all the episodes, the last three episodes pay special attention to battling depression. After a difficult transition to college, loosing a friend to suicide and the ups and downs of his and Marianne’s relationship, (Daisy Edgar-Jones) Connell (Paul Mescal) experiences panic attacks and prolonged episodes of depression which are acted so brilliantly that many audience members are able to see their own experiences mirrored by the ones of the characters. Better still Normal People deals with his recovery in an accurate and compassionate way. There is no quick fix or magic potion for his illness but over time he shows gradual progress and his emotional breakthrough in a therapy session is one of the most painful but beautiful things to watch. Airing this scene on national television is all part of the effort to help break down the stereotype of the ‘strong and silent man’.

Em x