19 Times Movies And TV Shows About Mental Health Actually Made People Say, "Yes! This Is How I Feel!"
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.
Harpo Productions / Via giphy.com
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, so I asked the BuzzFeed Community to 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 on The Flight Attendant for 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."
"There was a scene where she speaks directly to her younger self and comforts her. I burst into tears and could feel my childhood self aching to be comforted as well. I started lifespan integration therapy soon after, just celebrated my two year clean milestone, and have the tools to sooth and comfort my past traumas without needing to run or numb."
—Anonymous
2."Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, without a doubt. I have so much to thank that show and Rachel Bloom for."
"The episode “I’m So Happy Josh Is Happy” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, specifically the song “Sexy French Depression” which is a play on how depression is not a 'pretty' disease and you can easily start to neglect your basic needs when a bad wave hits."
"This is the answer. Rebecca’s mental health journey is so relatable, even when she’s being awful and self-destructive. 'You ruined everything, you stupid bitch.' is something I’ve said to myself a million times. 'A Diagnosis' perfectly captures the relief of getting a name for what you’ve been dealing with forever, and knowing you’re not the only one. 'Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal' is something I’ve showed to multiple friends who have expressed hesitance to try meds out. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so seen by a show."
3."Quinni's journey in Heartbreak High is 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."
"I've been there. I still disappear like that from time to time. I've rewatched that scene several times, and Margaret Qualley is absolutely incredible. I've struggled with mental illness my entire life, and this one just hit home like no other."
"The scene where she she can’t move and gets swallowed up by the sofa was so accurate to how depression feels. That horrible weight that consumes you, and no matter how much you want to do something, you just can’t. Thought it was brilliant."
5."The entirety of the Netflix series Atypical! 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 of Ted Lasso where 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."The BoJack Horseman episode '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."
"BoJack's inner monologue was so dead-on close to things I've told myself. Even though the situations were exaggerated, watching him make bad decision after bad decision while you're screaming as an audience member for him to do better, felt so much like being mad at myself. Even though BoJack is a truly awful person/horse, I couldn't help empathizing with him so much more after this episode."
—Anonymous
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 Who episode, '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."
"Bittersweet ending, but it's an emotional moment that really made me feel like others understood how hard in can be living with depression. Even when you're not 'down' at the moment, even if you've had a wonderfully happy day, the depression doesn't just go away, but that doesn't stop you from also feeling all the good things."
10."The Woman in the Window made 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."
"It might seem sort of unbelievable that someone could live like that for so long and not believe anything is wrong, but I just got stuck in this bubble of like, 'I’m just a different person now with different interests.' I wish it was a movie that was kinder to mental illness, but I’m glad it gave me that wake-up call of someone to identify with. I went to a psychiatrist a week after I watched it, and I’m a lot better (though not like I used to be pre-agoraphobia) now."
11."The first episode of A 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."
—Anonymous
12."The episode of 90210 where 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, Girls was 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."The Degrassi: The Next Generation episode, '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."
—Anonymous
15."Girl, Interrupted. I was suicidal and was able to check myself into a facility, and it wasn’t far from the truth."
"God, what a great movie. So many things about the relationships between people with BPD and those who love them are distilled in that film."
16."The TV series Mom, 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."Melancholia is 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."
"Also how frustrated her family gets with her for not being able to 'shake' her depression that she really has 'no reason' to have, especially at her own wedding. I can’t tell you what’s wrong with me or what’s making me depressed because I don’t know; it’s just a deep, heavy, and exhausting feeling I can’t get rid of, and I know it’s frustrating for others, but I can only pretend to smile through things (like her character at the reception) before I’m too tired to keep it up."
–Anonymous
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."
—Anonymous
19."In Euphoria Season 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."
—Anonymous
Thank you so much to everyone who shared their stories with me!
Note: some submissions have been been edited for length and/or clarity.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.
