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Tag: mental health on TV

  • Expert Breaks Down How HBO Shows Tackle Mental Health

    Expert Breaks Down How HBO Shows Tackle Mental Health

    For a new video series, a mental health expert explores popular characters with mental health issues on HBO. 

    A new initiative by HBO tries to break down the portrayal of mental health on popular series like Game of Thrones and Succession, helping spark important conversations and debunking common misconceptions.

    Doctor Commentaries

    Cognitive behavioral therapist Dr. Ali Mattu is HBO’s resident mental health expert featured in a series of “HBO Doctor Commentaries” that are available to watch on YouTube. Each video focuses on a different HBO show in which a character is dealing with some aspect of mental health (or illness).

    In one video, Mattu explains the difference between real OCD vs. people who say “I’m so OCD,” by using the example of the character Hannah Horvath on the HBO show Girls.

    The term OCD, short for obsessive-compulsive disorder, is often misapplied to describe much less severe symptoms. “‘I like to keep things organized,’ or ‘I can be very picky with things’—that’s not OCD,” Mattu says.

    Hannah Horvath, played by Lena Dunham, is “a very realistic example of what OCD can look like,” Mattu said.

    “If you’re not diagnosed with OCD, try not to joke about it. It can be really hard to talk about OCD. It’s why I’m so happy shows like this exist. It gives us a place to start a conversation that hopefully move things forward,” said Mattu.

    Tyrion’s Anhedonia

    Another video touches on the anhedonia of Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. Mattu explains that anhedonia is a “core symptom of depression” where you no longer experience joy, motivation or pleasure from your usual hobbies.

    “What I love about Tyrion (played by Peter Dinklage) is his story is about connecting with a larger purpose, doing what’s best for Westeros, owning who he is, and the unique ways he can help others,” Mattu said.

    “We’ll never know if Tyrion was struggling with a mental illness, but whatever he was dealing with didn’t get in the way of him being a hero. And that’s true for all of us. No matter what you’re experiencing, it doesn’t have to get in the way of living the life you want to live.”

    A PSA For Mental Health Awareness Day

    HBO’s mental health awareness campaign, launched on World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10), also released a public service announcement video featuring a broad spectrum of HBO favorites that tackle mental health issues through drama, stand-up, or talk show.

    “It’s more common than you think. And it’s OK,” the PSA says in the end, encouraging people to call the hotline 1-833-HBO-NAMI or visit NAMI.org.

    The cable network also added new mental health disclaimers before certain shows like Euphoria that inform viewers of the portrayal of certain subject matter like bipolar disorder, depression, and substance use disorder.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Did "13 Reasons Why" Really Cause Teen Suicide Rates To Rise?

    Did "13 Reasons Why" Really Cause Teen Suicide Rates To Rise?

    The results of a new study involving the show has sparked a heated debate about its complicated subject matter.

    Ever since the debut of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why—about a high school girl who left behind audio tapes listing the 13 reasons why she ended her life—controversy has swirled over the graphic nature of the show.

    Critics of the show accuse it of romanticizing suicide. Some school officials voiced concern around the show’s debut that it would produce a “contagion effect” among students already at risk of depression or self-harm.

    The debate has reignited with the release of a new study in April that claimed the show “was associated with a 28.9% increase in suicide rates” among U.S. youth ages 10-17 in the month that followed the show’s March 2017 debut.

    “The results of this study should raise awareness that young people are particularly vulnerable to the media,” said study author Lisa Horowitz, PhD, in a statement. “All disciplines, including the media, need to take good care to be constructive and thoughtful about topics that intersect with public health crises.”

    However, as BuzzFeed News reported, the study determined correlation, not causation. Therefore, as some mental health experts say, it is not only unfair but also inaccurate to blame 13 Reasons Why for rising youth suicide rates.

    “People tend to sort of read the headline and jump to some kind of conclusion, when these things are really complicated,” said Victor Schwartz, medical director at the Jed Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting youth mental health and suicide prevention.

    “This is sort of the culmination of a series of reports that seem to corroborate some of the concerns that many of us expressed when the show came out,” Schwartz added. “But again, obviously, with any of these things, it’s always difficult to prove causation.”

    The show, which will continue with the release of Season 3 sometime this year, has been dealing with this kind of backlash since the beginning.

    Since then, Netflix has updated the trigger warnings that appear before episodes and created Beyond the Reasons, a behind-the-scenes documentary discussing the thought behind the show and why they chose not to shy away from difficult scenes.

    Jay Asher, the author of the novel that the series is based on, said the difficult subject matter depicted on the show is worth talking about. “The whole issue of suicide is an uncomfortable thing to talk about, but it happens. And so we have to talk about it. It’s dangerous not to talk about it.”

    Netflix also created the website 13reasonswhy.info where you’ll find suicide prevention resources.

    Helen Hsu, a California-based clinical psychologist who served as a “mental health consultant of sorts” on the show, was not convinced by the findings of the new study. “Everybody wants a simple answer for a very complex social problem,” she told BuzzFeed News.

    “Nobody’s randomly doing this show for shock value. I think we all feel really strongly that stigma has to be broken and these things have to be talked about,” said Hsu.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New Series "Pure" Explores Living With OCD, Porn Addiction

    New Series "Pure" Explores Living With OCD, Porn Addiction

    The British series Pure is based on a memoir by Rose Cartwright.

    Pure is a new British TV series that is based on a memoir by Rose Cartwright. The show is about a Scottish woman transplanted in London named Marnie who has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and she is called a Pure O, or “pure obsessive state,” which is a variation of obsessive compulsive disorder where a person is plagued by intrusive, unwanted thoughts that involve something terrible happening.

    While Marnie doesn’t have the physical rituals of OCD, her character constantly has intrusive thoughts where she sees people naked and having sex everywhere she goes.

    In the show, Marnie explains her condition, “It’s like The Sixth Sense but I don’t see dead people, I see naked ones. Most people move to London to seek their fortune. I’ll settle for some answers.”

    At first, Marnie thinks she’s a sex addict, but then she learns more about her condition when she meets people she hopes can help her.

    The show also follows Charlie, who is addicted to porn. Charlie is played by Joe Cole (Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders), and as he tells Esquire, “I didn’t know about Pure O before I read the script, and then [I] started researching. Very few people seem to know that it exists, and know that it’s a form of OCD. I think it’s great that we’re shedding light on it, because when Rose was young she never had something like this that she could see and understand what she was going through.”

    When asked how he’s seen mental illness being portrayed on TV before, Cole said, “I think these conditions have been previously expressed in comedies and comedy dramas as just, like, hysterical people. And we’re not actually trying to delve in and find out what it really is and try to give a true representation. Not just make a joke about it, but actually explore it in an interesting way and have fun along the way. I can’t really remember a mental health drama when I was growing up, watching teen shows.”

    In playing a character who has an addiction to porn, Cole was asked if he was able to draw any conclusions about the condition from playing his character. “Nothing that I could give you in a neat little sentence,” he said. “I think compassion is key, and at the moment porn addiction is still quite taboo. Someone [with the condition] said they’d rather be addicted to drink—people have far more compassion and empathy [for it]. But they’re real conditions, and people are suffering with them.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • How "This Is Us" Encourages Men To Speak About Mental Health

    How "This Is Us" Encourages Men To Speak About Mental Health

    The critically-acclaimed series showcased a candid conversation about mental health in a recent episode.

    Warning: This article may contain spoilers.

    The NBC drama series This Is Us doesn’t shy from addressing tough issues like the stress of in-vitro fertilization and the trauma of war. In the most recent episode, the show depicts two men talking about mental health. This simple exchange, broadcast on a major TV network, is more impactful than we know.

    A conversation between brothers-in-law Randall (played by Sterling K. Brown) and Toby (Chris Sullivan) turns to their personal demons.

    “I can’t picture you with anxiety. You know, the way you present,” says Toby. “That’s what we do, right? Men,” Randall replies.

    Toby, who we know has struggled with depression in the past, said that without his medication for his condition, “life gets pretty scary.” Randall is surprised to learn that his brother is medicating for depression. “Never would have known.”

    Toby’s depression diagnosis surfaced after separating with his first wife. And as he and wife Kate Pearson (played by Chrissy Metz) struggle to conceive, he is informed by a doctor that his depression medication may be affecting his sperm.

    As for Randall, his anxiety surfaced near the end of Season 1, when he had a panic attack, and it was addressed further, rather accurately, in Season 2. We learn that he has dealt with anxiety since he was a child and suffers panic attacks from time to time.

    Writer and co-executive producer KJ Steinberg, described the making of the normally taboo conversation between Randall and Toby. “[It’s] actually a really sensitive conversation,” he said. “The fear is to treat it too glibly. You never want anything to appear too simple. But you also are writing for characters who share an intimacy and a need to connect with one another.”

    Overall, the show is not afraid to depict the vulnerabilities of the men on the show. We learn that Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) had a drinking problem, as did his father. “We’re a family of addicts. Our father was an addict. We don’t talk about his drinking problem,” said Jack’s son Kevin (Justin Hartley), who faced his own addiction to opioid painkillers.

    Public health campaigns like Heads Together in the UK encourage people to speak up, not hide away, mental health issues they may be struggling with—particularly men. Retired Olympic medalist Michael Phelps is also on a mission to shed the stigma of mental health issues. He has publicly discussed his own struggles with depression and alcohol on many occasions.

    View the original article at thefix.com