Apr 1, 2020
Writing About Mental Health in Fiction
In the last few years, many of us have seen an increase in awareness of mental health in the media. While this change is welcome, the exploration of mental health has been seen in fiction for hundreds of years- from Bertha in Jane Eyre to Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. But while mental health has been represented, it’s not always been presented in a way that is respectful or truly captures the experience of those with shown to be affected.
How can we write about mental health in a way that both leaves a lasting impression (such as Bertha) but yet is also respectful of the challenges that poor mental health or mental health issues can bring to a character (Charlie)?
It’s this fine line I’ve been thinking about lately, both as someone with my own experience of mental health issues and as someone who has recently written a character who struggles with trauma as a result of their upbringing and violence. Here is what I’ve learnt:
1.Mental health vs poor mental health vs mental health conditions
This might seem obvious but there is a difference between mental health, poor mental health and mental health conditions. To put it in plainer (and perhaps too-basic) terms, let’s compare it to the physical body. All of us have a state of physical health. It may be poor (such as a broken leg or nasty cut), or it may be in relatively good shape. If we think of physical health conditions, we might think of asthma or epilepsy- conditions that can’t necessarily be cured but can be managed with the right support or medication.
2. Characters Are Not Indestructible
If a character faces something traumatic (whether it be something that directly physically or psychologically harms them or the character witnessing harm to another), there will be some kind of effect on their mental health. How the trauma affects them may vary depending on the character and how they deal with what has happened but even the ‘toughest’ of characters shouldn’t be able to simply wipe their hands and merrily carry on with their life with little consequence.
Using our physical health example again, if a character had their arm hanging off after a nasty battle, they would need to have some kind of reaction to the injury and address it in some way. While they could suppress the pain for a while, the injury will not magically disappear and, much like mental health, will likely become worse.
3. Do. Your. Research.
Our job as writers is to represent our characters and the challenges they go through. To do so, we need to research as much as we can about them, including the effect that poor mental health or mental health disorders can have on them. There are infinite resources that can be used including the NHS, Mind, Young Minds (for younger characters), books etc. If you know any psychologists, or friends who have experience with specific mental health conditions, see if you can ask them about the mental health issues that your character may be struggling with to get further insight and to ensure you represent those issues as best as you can.
4. Recognise That Not All Mental Illness Looks The Same
A personal and creative discovery: I have realised that poor mental health and mental health conditions can affect anyone. There is no stereotype, no one size fits all for poor mental health and fiction should represent that.
Likewise, though many mental health conditions may offer similar symptoms or experiences for those that have them, not every person will react to them the same. For example, one person with anxiety may feel unable to leave the house but will go to great lengths to look after themselves mentally whilst another may be self-destructive and, in a desperate bid to deny they have a problem, throw themselves into panic-inducing situations which make their mental health worse.
Think about your characters and how they might respond to their poor mental health or diagnosis.
5. Defining Characters By Their Mental Illness
Having a character with a mental health condition, who is solely known as ‘having a mental health disorder’, isn’t giving a character personality.
Whether in fiction or reality, those with mental health conditions are people first. Kate may have depression but she may also have a dog she adores, a secret love for all things Medieval and want to own a games shop. Kate is Kate.
Likewise, other characters should be more than just ‘fixers’- there to simply ‘fix’ characters like Kate.
While stories may focus on the conflict that comes from mental health conditions (say, in this case, Kate finding ways that help her to manage her depression), it’s so much more rewarding to know what the character wants to gain, based on their personality. (Kate wants to find ways to manage her depression because she wants to be able to open a games shop one day).
6. Magical Recoveries
Have you ever seen or read something where the character has gone through the worst day of their life, are severely traumatised but somehow manage to get up and defeat the big bad guy within the space of no more than an hour? There’s burying something deep inside to deal with later and there’s realising that you’re on fire and calming picking up the phone to call the emergency services. It isn’t realistic.
Characters who have severe mental health conditions can’t magically recover from their mental harm in time to conveniently save the day. It’s as though you’ve given a plaster to someone on the floor who’s in unbelievable pain from a broken femur. They can’t just apply the plaster to run after the bad guy.
No. Stop it.
7. A Character’s Support Network
I thought about this one a few times when writing Collateral. After my main character suffers further trauma, I needed to think about who she could turn to, if anyone, and the effect it might have on her.
Do the characters have someone to talk to? If so, is that person/ group supportive or do they cause the character further problems? How understanding are they about the character’s mental health condition/ considerations?
It is likely that the more support a character receives, and accepts, the more likely they are to have the desire or ability to manage their condition better. Alternatively, if characters have no support network or very little support, they may keep their struggles private and may be less likely to seek out help in managing their condition.
8. Think About How The Character Feels About Their Own Mental Health
Do they even acknowledge they have an issue? Are they ashamed, embarrassed or, like the earlier example, try to handle it the best they can? Do they hide it from others or do they confide in friends?
Does the character feel sorry for himself? Do they think if they’re positive enough or carry on acting like nothing is wrong the problem will go away? How will this affect them in the long run?
9. How does a character’s mental health affect their actions?
A character who has social anxiety may struggle to speak to the person with the information that will forward the plot. A character with PTSD may struggle to go into a busy shop where they could speak to the employee they really want to ask out. Maybe a character doesn’t turn up to a meeting on time as they can’t bring themselves to leave the house because they’re stuck checking that the front door (and all the other doors) are definitely locked.
We must show the struggle (and the victories) in a way that feels authentic.
10. You can include mental health issues without making it the main part of the story
Characters can be shown to have mental health conditions and poor mental health without it being a major conflict in a story. Just like any other aspect of a character (what they desire, fear etc), a character’s mental health conditions or status is a consideration that should be used when working out how characters would react to others and situations.
For example, if a character is in denial that they need help, they may be more defensive or abrasive with other characters who they deem to be critical or who ask what’s wrong. Perhaps, the character goes quiet during odd moments or refuses to go to a place but won’t explain to others why. If a character is anxious, they may have problems concentrating, which might mean they don’t hear all of the plan, which causes problems later.
Like any other aspect of what makes up a character, you can use their background and inner workings to dictate their actions and ‘drip’ in parts of what makes them unique.
How do you feel about the representation of mental health in fiction? Let me know.
