Updated: Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 12:37 a.m.

The television industry’s relationship with portrayals of mental health has been a rough one. As media is often a reflection of society, the topic of mental health has suffered some major stigmatizing on TV.

The programs that try to do mental illness justice tend to fall victim to generalization, like “Thirteen Reasons Why,” which continues to rely on stereotypes. Along with unintentionally doing mental illness a disservice, shows like this misguidedly target teens lacking an in-depth perception of the issue. After all, bulimia and depression aren’t the only disorders teens suffer from and they shouldn’t be stereotyped as such.

The most common mistake made is the portrayal of these mental imbalances in a negative light. In “Lizzie McGuire” and “Pretty Little Liars,” anxiety and depression are viewed as problems — things that stop the characters from going about their daily business.

This needs to change.

Millions of people around the world live with mental illnesses and the more they are stigmatized, the harder life gets for those with them. Shows like “Girls” and “Scrubs” explore mental illness in more than just a few episodes, and yet they never manage to normalize it.

But fret no more — some good shows out there have managed to portray mental health, and people who deal with these imbalances, in the right light.

Another standout show is British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s creation “Fleabag,” which involves a young London woman dealing with trauma and depression. Waller-Bridge’s portrayal of “Fleabag” is relatable for a number of people who’ve experienced something horrendously life-changing and still live with the consequences.

Norwegian teen drama “Skam” pushes an honest depiction of today’s teenagers and their lives. It shows the intersection between high school, life and mental illness.

My personal favorite is the Australian show “Please Like Me.” Discovering this show was like a ray of light during dark times. It tackles and normalizes a number of different issues that American TV can’t handle dramatizing yet. Following the life of a young man, Josh, the show addresses his personal discoveries including sexuality and mental health. The show manages to keep things light, yet it’ll give you life lessons on what people with mental illness and their families go through.

In following Josh’s life as a gay man, “Please Like Me” opens up an array of other issues that Western and even non-Western societies still don’t like to talk about, such as abortions, infidelity and homophobia. And yet, it manages to not ridicule these issues or disregard the importance of talking about them through the media.

World Mental Health Day is Tuesday. Take some time out to care for yourself and those around you.

Malavika Randive is a sophomore psychology major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. You can reach her at mnrandiv@syr.edu.

This story has been updated for appropriate style.

Published on October 9, 2017 at 11:50 pm