# Mental illness in fiction



## Stormcat (Jan 25, 2016)

I'm looking for well-known fictional characters with accurately-portrayed mental illness. It seems that whenever mental illness is portrayed in fiction, it's either brushed off, or the character is full-blown psychotic murderer. I want to see the full spectrum of mental illness portrayed in fiction, so I figure since we're all creating fiction, this would be a good place to discuss it.

Incidentally, I'm looking for an example of a fictional character with Major depressive disorder to use in a presentation. This differs from a character who suffers a depressive episode because, well, they can't get better. Elsa from "Frozen" suffered from a depressive episode, but she got better, I'm looking for a character who... doesn't.


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## The Green Shield (Jan 25, 2016)

The closest I can come to is the MC from _Flowers for Algernon_.

Didn't Dory from _Finding Nemo_ have an accurate depiction of short-term memory loss/amnesia?

You're...not really gonna get a whole lot of fiction with characters with accurate protrayals of mental illnesses, I'm afraid. :/ They're usually either either to be the butt of a joke, to serve as an inspiration, or, as you said, be the big scary killer chasing after the hero/heroine.

As for the depressive episode: Well, I'm not sure, to be exact. :/


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## BobtailCon (Jan 26, 2016)

In my current book, Feran Gallows gets what seems to be PTSD. He is riding with a troop of Royal and City Guard. The baron of the troop spots bandits grabbing weapons in a nearby village. They charge the village and slaughter all of the bandits. An innocent girl gets killed in the process. The father holding his dead daughter tells the soldiers that they weren't bandits, they were just villagers trying to defend their homestead.

In later battles, Feran goes into what seems to be a seizure, he gets dizzy, light headed, and seemingly passes out, not realizing what he's doing. He also has nightmares where he hears the little girl's voice, and relives the horror, seeing faces of people accusing him and attacking him.

Obviously there's more exposition, and I said a little more than I wanted to, but oh well.


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## Cran (Jan 26, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> I'm looking for well-known fictional characters with accurately-portrayed mental illness. It seems that whenever mental illness is portrayed in fiction, it's either brushed off, or the character is full-blown psychotic murderer. I want to see the full spectrum of mental illness portrayed in fiction, so I figure since we're all creating fiction, this would be a good place to discuss it.
> 
> Incidentally, I'm looking for an example of a fictional character with Major depressive disorder to use in a presentation. This differs from a character who suffers a depressive episode because, well, they can't get better. Elsa from "Frozen" suffered from a depressive episode, but she got better, I'm looking for a character who... doesn't.


Well, I can't say if Leonard (_The Marriage Plot_, Jeffrey Eugenides) or Conrad (_Ordinary People_, Judith Guest) went postal or got better, but I'm pretty sure Sylvia Plath (_The Bell Jar_) didn't kill anyone, although her fictionalised story was based on her own experience with chronic clinical depression.


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## LeX_Domina (Apr 9, 2016)

-Working with a main that has ptsd and i am quite familiar with the symptoms,another has severe depression--she copes but the way she does is NOT healthy.I try not to romantisize it because these things can put people's lives in shambles


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## escorial (Apr 10, 2016)

this film has such a powerful grasp of depression and suffering.....it covers so much


[video=youtube_share;r39_k_uHCEI]https://youtu.be/r39_k_uHCEI[/video]


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## Shbooblie (Apr 10, 2016)

I haven't had a chance to see it myself, but what about the character played by Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia?


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## Jack of all trades (Apr 10, 2016)

Stormcat said:


> I'm looking for well-known fictional characters with accurately-portrayed mental illness. It seems that whenever mental illness is portrayed in fiction, it's either brushed off, or the chauracter is full-blown psychotic murderer. I want to see the full spectrum of mental illness portrayed in fiction, so I figure since we're all creating fiction, this would be a good place to discuss it.
> 
> Incidentally, I'm looking for an example of a fictional character with Major depressive disorder to use in a presentation. This differs from a character who suffers a depressive episode because, well, they can't get better. Elsa from "Frozen" suffered from a depressive episode, but she got better, I'm looking for a character who... doesn't.




Why are you focusing on fictional characters?


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