Our Favorite Television Characters And Their Underlying Mental Health Issues

Directors have been obsessing over portraying different mental health disorders on famous television shows.
It not only shines a light on mental health but it also makes viewers feel as though they are not going through anything alone. These television characters should be talked about more about how well they have shown mental health awareness on television.  

Blair Waldorf  

The show Gossip Girl follows teens growing up in the Upper East side of Manhattan and their drama. Blair Waldorf, played by actress Leighton Meester, is brought up in a very wealthy lifestyle. Everything in her life seems perfect, however, in Season 1 Blair was very insecure and not happy with her body. Blair has shown symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa, which is categorized as an eating disorder with an obsession to lose weight by extreme overeating and then proceeding to self-induce vomiting. In Season 1 Episode 9 Blair is shown purging on pie and then her mother making comments about her looks and hearing her throw up. Throughout the series Blair is never satisfied by the way she looks when she is alone but then shows a super confident personality when surrounded by friends. Blair Waldorf had her happy ending at the end of the show by marrying Chuck Bass who ended up showing Blair how beautiful she was all along.   

Ian Gallagher

The show Shameless shows a broken family that older sister, Fiona Gallagher, tries to take care of since their father started abusing alcohol and their mother left them. Ian Gallagher played by Cameron Monagen is a middle child who developed Bipolar Disorder from his mother who also has Bipolar Disorder. Ian first displays signs of Mania which is a symptom of Bipolar Disorder when he first goes to Military school. Ian tries to steal a helicopter and destroys it, he does not understand the severity of the situation and laughs about it. Ian shows severe mood swings as he tries to attack another character, Debbie, with a bat shortly after that incident. Throughout the seasons Ian goes to jail, kidnaps a child, and lights a car on fire in his state of Mania. Cameron Monagen plays a character who shows a severe case of someone who has Bipolar Disorder. People who have Bipolar Disorder have ways to manage their symptoms such as therapy, medication, and tactics to calm them down, however in Ian’s case he unfortunately was not lucky to receive the proper help he needed.  

Hannah Baker  

Hannah Baker played by Katherine Langford is a highschooler in the hit show 13 Reasons Why. Hannah experiences bullying and trauma throughout her high school years. Hannah displays signs of depression as she feels like she is alone and has no one to talk to about what she is going through. Her parents, her guidance counselor, and even some of her friends shut her down and turn her away when she tried to explain her feelings to them which ultimately worsens her depression. Hannah ends up taking her own life as a result of the depression she was battling with. This show is a perfect example of being there for people when you see signs that things do not seem right with them. You can always get help even if you feel as though you are alone, remember that you are not.   

Claudine Blanchard 

The hit Hulu series known as The Act is based on a real life story. Claudine Blanchard, played by Patricia Arquette, is a distressed mother who is trying to get her sick daughter the best help in the world as any mother would. Gypsy Rose Blanchard, played by Joey King, is the distressed sick daughter in this story. Claudine Blanchard had claimed her daughter was sick with Leukemia, Muscular Dystrophy, seizures, asthma, and other impairments. Later this story takes a twist and we find that Claudine Blanchard was the one with a mental disorder known as Mauchuassen syndrome by proxy. This mental disorder mainly affects mothers and caregivers by having attention seeking behavior by seeking medical attention for those in their care. By Claudine having this mental disorder ultimately Gypsy Rose was the one who had to suffer the consequences. Patricia Arquette gives an amazing performance as someone who is fixated on the fact that she will get attention by having to have a daughter fake her illnesses. As mentioned before this story was based on a true story and still continues to happen to children by their own parents to this day. 

Owen Hunt 

Grey’s Anatomy is a hit show that follows doctors working at a hospital along with their drama. New doctors and patients come and go everyday. Owen Hunt as played by Kevin McKidd first appears on the show in Season 5. Owen was a Major in the United States Army and became the Chief of Trauma Surgery. It became clear as Owen started working that she had a haunted past from being in the Army. Right away, Owen displays signs of nightmares, aggression, and severe bad memories. Owen has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or commonly referred to as PTSD. Although Grey’s Anatomy shows someone with a severe case all their symptoms of this mental disorder were correct. Owen at one point even goes as far as attacking his current girlfriend Christina Yang because his flashbacks were very strong and scary. Owen goes on to get help and starts to receive treatment for his PTSD after attacking his girlfriend because at that moment he knew he could not live like that. Although there are ways to help one struggling with PTSD, the things that one has experienced will stay with them forever.  

Actors and actresses have portrayed these mental health disorders so well it feels like we are sucked into their world and dealing with these issues with them. Actors have portrayed their character as having very noticeable mental health issues and there are many characters that have very small hints towards their mental health that should be portrayed more. Television shows similar to ones listed above are very important to viewers and people going through the same things in their lives today.