Redirecting Media Narratives Of Mental Health Disorders

Content warning: This article contains discussion of stigma towards mental health disorders, self-harm, and suicide.

More people than ever are grappling with some form of mental disorder. However, some receive more grace and acceptance than others.

While phrases like “anxiety” and “panic attacks” have become part of our everyday vocabulary, many mental health disorders still face significant demonisation in the media. Substance abuse, psychosis, and schizophrenia are still viewed through a negative lens.

So, why are some mental health problems more stigmatised than others?

Defining Mental Disorder

A mental disorder is characterised by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour. Usually, these disorders are associated with distress or impairment in functional areas of the brain.

Mental health is a broader term that covers our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. If someone has poor mental health, it suggests they’re struggling to cope with one or more of these areas. Usually, all areas of a person’s general well-being will be impacted if they have difficulty with their mental health. It may also affect their physical health.

📢New statistics were published today by @NHSDigital on the prevalence of mental health needs in children and young people. So, what do the statistics tell us and what do they mean? A thread🧵⬇️https://t.co/CHWEMk1rCI

— Children & Young People's Mental Health Coalition (@CYPMentalHealth) November 21, 2023

Approximately 1 in 8 people live with a mental health disorder. The type of disorder and how it impacts people’s lives vary greatly from person to person.

While effective prevention and treatment exist, they can be difficult to access. People may face stigma, discrimination, and demonisation when seeking treatment, as well as financial difficulties when trying to cover costs.

Media Misrepresentation Of Mental Health

The general population is poorly educated about complex mental health problems. As a result, inaccurate media misrepresentations become the main source of information for most people. Misinformation also spreads like wildfire on apps like TikTok, where people without qualifications can claim to be mental health professionals.

Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why (2017 – 2020) is an infamous example of dangerous media portrayals of mental disorders. After its release, there was a series of ‘copycat suicides’ among teenage viewers. Speaking to The Skier Scribbler, nurse practitioner and psychiatrist Holly Ellis says, "It showed depression and suicide in an extremely unhealthy and glamorising way. Because of that, a lot of those individuals repeated what they saw in that specific TV show.”

“The media portrayal has not helped with the idea of a murderous alter just waiting to come out.”

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is another highly demonised mental disorder in TV and movies. Despite studies showing that DID systems are more likely to harm themselves than another person, they are often depicted as being violent. M. Night Shyamalan’s Split (2016) and Netflix’s You (2018–2025) both represent DID systems as kidnappers, stalkers, and serial killers.

The misrepresentation of DID comes from shows like You. Many people view people who live with DID as violent and demonic murderers. If there were more education on mental disorders, more people would understand that people who live with DID are more vulnerable than violent.

The Romanticisation Of Mental Disorders

At the other end of the spectrum, social media can also romanticise mental disorders, with conditions like anxiety, depression, and anorexia nervosa being commonly cited.

Users depict mental disorders as quirky, desirable, or part of a trend. Originally, the ‘normalisation’ of mental health problems was intended to remove the stigma and start open conversations about people’s experiences. But it has resulted in these disorders being sanitised and downplayed.

Concepts like the ‘tortured artist’ or ‘suffering is beauty’ have existed throughout history, Vincent van Gogh being a famous example. But the inaccurate portrayal of disorders often ignores the bleak reality; disorders are hard to live with, especially in a society that cannot or is unwilling to understand.

In a world where mental disorders are in desperate need of a conversation, romanticising these disorders does a lot more harm than good. Romanticising mental disorders is misleading, as it depicts that mental health is not a serious issue. Therefore, tackling these issues does not seem like a pressing matter, and living with these disorders does not seem debilitating or challenging.

Lack Of Education And Understanding

People with mental health problems suffer as a result of the lack of awareness and education among those who do not experience mental disorder. Discrimination and demonisation often take place at an institutional level, commonly referred to as medical ableism.

Despite DID’s recognition in the DSM-5, many psychiatrists and nurses do not consider DID to be a real mental disorder. Many people who live with DID experience the effects of the stigma in their everyday lives. They are turned down for treatment due to the complexity of the disorder, severe clinical shortages, many misdiagnoses, and psychiatrists and nurses being sceptical of the disorder.

The quirkification & gamifying of dissociative identity disorder is endlessly frustrating. For me, there's nothing "fun" about it. Why are we making blackouts, amnesia, identity confusion, & identity alteration seem enviable? We should show the disorder for what it is – painful.

— Chloe (she/her) (@ChloeSApter) November 17, 2023

Whether it manifests in legislation or rehabilitation efforts, structural discrimination against mentally ill people is still pervasive.

What Are The Next Steps?

A media redirection towards people’s lived experiences is needed. In the internet age, it’s easy to access firsthand accounts from people with mental health problems. There are books, movies, and social media posts where people share their experiences and struggles in a way that’s both candid and accessible.

There is a need for greater education on different types of mental health disorders, and not just the disorders that are more commonly known than others. As for the media, they hold the responsibility to deliver an accurate portrayal of these disorders after thorough research that does not cause offence. Regardless of intent, misportrayals and misrepresentations of mental disorders can isolate some of the most vulnerable people in society.

People who live with mental disorders are humans too and worthy of respect.