" There was a panorama where she speaks directly to her younger self and comforts her . I bristle into tears and could experience my puerility self aching to be ease as well . I started lifespan integration therapy shortly after , and just celebrated two years clean . "
Conversations about representation in media have taken the spotlight in recent years, and we’ve seen an uptick in on-screen stories that center around mental health.
Seeing these topics in mainstream media can make people not only feel seen, but can even inspire them to take better care of their mental health and/or seek professional help.
I think it’s important to keep the conversation going, soI askedtheBuzzFeed Communityto share the movies/episodes of television about mental health that made them feel seen and take their mental health more seriously.
1.“The first season onThe Flight Attendantfor sure. I had been abusing marijuana to numb and run from childhood trauma and choices I had made as a result of that trauma, very much like the way Cassie used alcohol.”
2.“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, without a doubt. I have so much to thank that show andRachel Bloomfor.”
3.“Quinni’s journey inHeartbreak Highis so moving to me as an autistic teen. The actor’s performance was so moving, and I genuinely believe it’s one of the most accurate portrayals of an autistic person’s mental health on screen.”
4.“Maid. The scene where Alex is sitting on the couch and her world turns sideways. She is pulled into the couch and disappears into a dark abyss. The moment it happened, and as the story played on, I felt what she felt.”
5.“The entirety of the Netflix seriesAtypical! That show helped me figure out I am on the spectrum, and that there’s a whole group of people like me out there. The way that Sam behaved, and his mannerisms, although stereotypical, were something that I identified with a great deal. Now, I am a disability rights activist.”
6.“The episode ofTed Lassowhere he has a panic attack in a karaoke bar. I had never seen a panic attack in the media that actually LOOKED LIKE HOW MINE FELT!!!! My hands go numb, I start to shake, I feel like I’m at the bottom of a well. I felt SO SEEN!”
7.“TheBoJack Horsemanepisode ‘Stupid Piece of S…’ made me feel so seen. I’d never seen such an accurate portrayal of how self-loathing can torpedo your attempts at helping yourself when you’re in a depressive episode.”
8.“It’s Kind of a Funny Story. I’ve had depression my whole life, started being suicidal at age 12, and around age 15, I saw this movie. Made me feel like I wasn’t alone since I’ve been in mental hospitals on and off pretty much my whole life."
9.“Doctor Whoepisode, ‘Vincent and the Doctor.’ It was such a beautiful representation of how much joy and beauty can still be found in life even when you’re struggling with mental illness. It encapsulates the way you can have that happiness in life alongside the hardships.”
10.“The Woman in the Windowmade me realize I had agoraphobia pretty bad. It was kind of an out of body experience for me to see this woman live a life eerily similar to the one I was living, and to have the people in it describe her as kind of a freak.”
11.“The first episode ofA Million Little Things. It described depression like losing the horizon, and that was the first accurate description I had ever heard of what I had been through. Six months into my sophomore year of college, I woke up and no longer had the certainty that everything was going to be okay. I lost that horizon that we use to navigate through life. And it was a hell of long journey to get it back.”
12.“The episode of90210where Silver went from extreme mania to depression to pure exhaustion really hit home with me back in my teens. The fact that she could go from feeling like she could conquer the world and then literally wanting to throw herself in front of a train — it only makes sense if you’re rapid cycling bipolar.”
13.“As much as it’s cringe,Girlswas a show that resonated with me for a very specific time in my life. I found that, like the characters on the show, I was making self-destructive choices over and over again, and I didn’t quite know why or how to fix it. I tried everything to just be happy and stable, but I went about it the wrong way. Seeing those messed up characters be stupid week after week made me feel seen and better about my own failings.”
14.“TheDegrassi: The Next Generationepisode, ‘Whisper to a Scream,’ which focuses on a character that cuts herself. I was a teenager struggling with self-injury at the time, feeling super lonely and isolated, so seeing a character on a show I loved go through something similar and get help was really impactful.”
15.“Girl, Interrupted. I was suicidal and was able to check myself into a facility, and it wasn’t far from the truth.”
16.“The TV seriesMom, about a mom and daughter who both struggle with addiction and sobriety. That show takes a very tough subject and makes it easy for non-addicts to understand the struggles addicts face.”
17.“Melancholiais the closest depiction to my personal experience with depression; in particular the first half. The way Kirsten Dunst can barely move her limbs at times, and other times, she just sits quietly in the dark with no energy is the closest I’ve seen my own symptoms of depression in a movie.”
18.“Spinning Out. I grew up with a father who is bipolar and have struggled with my own mental health. The show looks at the impact that bipolar disorder can have on your family and those around you. It also shows how hard it can be to separate and understand actual emotions from manic episodes, and the mental health stigma in sports.”
19.“InEuphoriaSeason 1, Episode 7 ‘The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed.’ I’ve never seen such a real portrayal of what depression looks like. That feeling of numbness and just wanting to stay in bed all day watching mindless TV. It was exactly what I had been feeling at the time and made me realize this is depression, not just a bad day.”
Thank you so much to everyone who shared their stories with me!
Note : some submissions have been been blue-pencil for length and/or clarity .
TheNational Alliance on Mental Illnesshelpline is 1 - 888 - 950 - 6264 ( NAMI ) and allow entropy and referral services;GoodTherapy.orgis an association of mental wellness professionals from more than 25 state who support crusade to boil down harm in therapy .
TheNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineis 1 - 800 - 273 - 8255 . Other international felo-de-se helplines can be find out atbefrienders.org . The Trevor Project , which leave help and self-annihilation - bar resources for LGBTQ early days , is 1 - 866 - 488 - 7386 .
