5 TV shows featuring characters with mental disorders

Characters portraying mental illnesses on TV have been enjoying a quiet transformation in recent years the change has grown louder While portrayals of mental illness in the media have become more accurate in recent years with shows like Homeland and Elementary some films and TV shows continue to form and spread damaging views of mental disorders and treatment methodsWriters of certain episodes of TV shows including Castle Homeland and Elementary have received awards from the Voice Awards program which recognises people and media productions that have helped raise awareness about mental health For example in the awardwinning Homeland episode an explosion causes Carrie who suffers from bipolar disorder to have a major manic episodeMental health awareness is important because many people and programs can help those with disorders Rather than hiding and being ashamed these television shows empower people to recognise that depression anxiety and mental illness mdash like any other disease mdash require treatment support and a plan of actionHere is a list of television shows that have embraced human disorders in their storyline1 HomelandCarrie Mathison Claire Danes a bipolar CIA operative is on probation after carrying out an unauthorised operation in Iraq As a result she has been reassigned to the Counter terrorism center Whilst in Iraq she was warned that an American prisoner had been turned by AlQaeda When Nicholas Brody a US Marine Sergeant is rescued after being held hostage since 2003 she suspects that he is the one While Brody is received home as a war hero Carrie goes to any lengths necessary to catch him out and as the show progresses she breaks all the rules to prove that the man has switched sidesOn top of all that intrigue shersquos bipolar going off her meds and bordering on the brink of insanity and irrational obsession throughout the show Sometimes shersquos the principled and driven agent mdash but other times she manages an impressive set of crazy eyes2 SuitsMike Ross Patrick J Adams is a genius college dropout who with his natural intelligence and eidetic memory makes a living taking the LSAT for others While running from a drug deal gone bad he slips into a job interview with one of New York Citys best legal closers Harvey Specter Mike and Harvey are a winning team Even though Mike is a genius he still has a lot to learn about law And while Harvey may seem like an emotionless coldblooded shark Mikes sympathy and concern for their cases and clients reminds Harvey of why he went into law in the first place3 UnforgettableFormer Syracuse New York police detective Carrie Wells Poppy Montgomery has hyperthymesia a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to visually remember everything She reluctantly joins the New York City Police Departments Queens Homicide unit after her former boyfriend and partner Lieutenant Al Burns asks for help with solving a case The move allows her to try to find out the one thing she has been unable to remember which is what happened the day her sister was murdered4 EmpireAndre Martin Lyon is a character who suffers from Bipolar disorder in the television series Empire He is the eldest son of Lucious and Cookie Lyon and the CFO of Empire Entertainment A graduate of Wharton Business School Andre oversees the financial aspects of Empire working alongside his father to ensure the companyrsquos fiscal strength He is portrayed by actor Trai Byers and he first appeared in Pilot Empire narrates the story of a music industry honcho who looks at securing the future of his business as his exwife and sons fight against each other to take over his business5 Crazy ExGirlfriendRachel Bloom who cocreated and stars in the CWrsquos critically beloved and cheekily titled Crazy ExGirlfriend informally talked to a couple of professionals mdash one of whom was her own psychiatrist mdash about the anxiety and depression that led her character Rebecca Bunch to uproot her life over an old love interest Rebecca Bunch a successful young woman who impulsively gives up her life in New York and moves to California in order to find love happiness and to reconnect with her ex flame