Writing Characters with Mental Illness
This is just a general guide and please feel free to correct me and or add to the list! This is meant to be used as a cheat sheet for authors who would like some general guidance when it comes to the above topic.
I just read a statistic that stated 46.4% of people in the USA will experience some form of mental illness in there adult life time. That’s almost half of us! Yet its not something we to want to talk about, and it seems to be under-represented in mainstream media.
If you are looking for a piece of fiction that focuses on a characters struggle with mental illness, you will have better luck with self published works or fan fiction. While some authors get it just right, I see more often then not authors that ether romanticize it, misrepresent it, or my personal pet peeve of making it a personality quirk.
Here is a list of my personal Do’s and Don’t for writing mental illness. Again, feel free to correct me, add to the list, or share your thoughts!
Avoid Romanticizing or Eroticizing mental illness. This not only sends the wrong message to your readers who are from the 53.6% of the population that are not effected by mental illnesses, but it perpetuates harmful stereotypes. No one is going to swoop into your life and ‘fix’ you, and we need to stop setting that expectation… Panic attacks are not endearing or cute, self harm is a serious red flag, not something that makes you beautiful or unique. The person is suffering dont invalidate that. You know what is romantic and beautiful? Partners/friends/family that are encouraging you to seek professional help and going with you to your first doctors appointment, SO’s who help there partners fight there illness by reminding them to take there medication, eat, or rest, Partners who hate your self harm scars as much as you do, but remind you that YOU are beautiful and they aren’t something to be ashamed of. This last one is just as important but reversed. SO’s who remind you that your struggle is valid even if you don’t have battle scars that others can see.
Avoid writing outside of your understanding. This does not mean you have to suffer a mental illness to include one in your work, but research is key. Ask a friend who might struggle with it. If you don’t have one, just ask Tumbler. I am sure someone will be happy to give you an inside scoop.
Avoid making the entire story about the mental illness. It’s not that you can’t… but remember that your MC is not there mental illness so its a good idea to have the main plot unrelated to their head space. Good news is that people live there lives every day with mental illness! So it’s far more realistic to write a main plot of Rags to riches, Voyage and return, or what every you fancy, and have the characters struggle with mental illness as a subplot.
Avoid making any mental illness a quirk. Just like making it seem ‘romantic’ its just as harmful to write red flags off as part of a characters personality. When we do this we are minimizing the issue. The teenager that is constantly in there room and isolating themselves? The coworker that seems to constantly be frazzled and jumping from project to project without really completing one? The ‘wine aunt’ who pops in and out of the family and is always sloshed? Those are not “just the way they are” “There personalities” or “quirks.” They are red flags and again 53.6% of the population will probably assume that if the rest of your work is well written, you know what you’re talking about so it must be like that in real life too.
Accuracy!! I follow the ‘write what you know’ rule personally and I also shamelessly project onto my characters. I am brutally honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly and lay my characters bear to show exactly what is going through their brain so the reader is with them every step of the way. Sometimes that means showing them being irrational, selfish, afraid, or doing hurtful things to others/loved ones. if your MC is the one with the mental illness, then sometimes it means showing the reader an inaccurate picture of the situation through your MC’s pov and that is ok. Unreliable narrators are a thing and a useful tool!
Do show them learning to manage and thrive with there mental illness! Maybe they manage with coping mechanisms they teach themselves, maybe with medication, maybe they learn ways to recognize and redirect there behavior after going to therapy. You can do this in so many ways, but I always make a point to show that characters may still have bad days, weeks, or even months, but that they learned how to deal with there issues in a healthy way. A lot of personality disorders, mental illness and the likes have no cure. There are tons of treatment options to help manage, but learning to live with it and make it work is something that doesn’t get enough light.
Subtlety is king and adds a whole new depth to your work. Here is the thing. When your depressed your are not thinking “man I am so depressed” most of the time. Some people don’t even realize that the way they feel isn’t ‘normal’. Ever head of show dont tell? I am sure most of us have gotten this critique on our work at one time or another, and this is really something to take to heart. Its one thing to say “I am depressed” it is another thing to walk the reader though what life is actually like when you are depressed especially if they have never been depressed. Take time to show how little things pile up over time until its ‘too much.’ Show the character as they hit there braking point after a hard fought struggle.
Show how mental illness comes into play in a relationship both romantic and platonic. You can do this without romanticizing it I swear. As important as it is to depict mental illness accurately, it is just as important to show how trying to help someone with there mental illness can be a real struggle. There is a big difference between someone swooping in to ‘save’ the character, and an SO stepping up to help support the character. Also depicting healthy boundaries/support in platonic relationships is something we don’t see often.
These were just a few things that flew into my mind and pet peeves that irk me when I am reading a story. Just do your research and avoid harmful stereotypes and your piece will really stand out.
Keep in mind that there is a lot of misinformation on the web. Some sources I like to use for mental health research are listed below but just remember to get your information from the most reliable source available.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5~ This is where you can find toooons of information about how almost all mental disorders are categorized, diagnosed, and the recommended treatment. I have a paper back copy that I picked up for under $30 on Amazon but there are free PDF versions available for download. This is perfect if you want a holistic look at the topic, but can be overwhelming if you are not used to this sort of reading.
The Mayo Clinic website ~ is another wonderful tool that is a lot easier to navigate. Rather then searching the site directly you can type the name of the disorder you are trying to get info on with the words ‘mayo clinic’ directly after into google and it will usually pull it right up. While they pull there info from the above source, they sort and organize it based on relevance.
The National Institute of Mental Health is another good one to check out. NIHM’s site is very user friendly with lots of good information and resources.
Public health is not one I have used but it has been recommended to me in the past.
I hope this gets you pointed in the right direction. I plan on doing several of similar ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ for common mental health issues so feel free to let me know if you want anything specific.
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