Depiction Suggestions:

One in four people have some form of mental health challenge. That also means one in four of your characters could potentially as well. That doesn’t mean that if you have 12 regular characters on your show that 3 of them should have a mental illness. It does however mean that at least one of them might and we’ve just never known it because they have always managed it well. Perhaps the other characters are aware; perhaps they aren’t. Either way, there is plenty of opportunity here to creatively explore or address these issues with or without your regular characters having major meltdowns.

• Consider providing your character with opportunities to defy stereotypes that others in the story put him or her in. By having your character excel in the workplace, live independently, or deal with conflict in nonviolent ways, you will help to dispel misconceptions about mental illness in real life and further enrich your character.

• When possible, use nuanced language to separate the diagnosed mental illness from the individual. For example, find ways to show that a character is living with bipolar disorder, rather than using language like “he’s bipolar;” or say “has been diagnosed with schizophrenia” rather than “she’s a schizophrenic.”

• Contrary to some misconceptions, one can live a gratifying life despite mental health challenges; it all depends on how successfully the disorder is managed. In fact, research shows that depicting someone with a mental illness who succeeds in various areas of his or her life is the most effective way to reduce stigma and discrimination.

These depiction suggestions were adapted from SPOTLIGHT ON DEPICTION OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL ISSUES: MENTAL ILLNESS, WELLNESS AND RECOVERY