How to Include Mental Health Issues in Our Fiction

By Bethany Henry

Part of The How They Do It Series

JH: When writing about mental health issues, it's important to get it right. Bethany Henry shares eight tips on how to write about mental health in a healthy—and helpful—way.

Bethany Henry writes fantasy novels, and blogs about writing and wellness at bethany-henry.com. When not writing, she can often be found on the frisbee field, drinking tea, or reading picture books with her two little girls. Sign up for her email list for weekly posts on writing craft—along with fun extras like quotes and freebies.  

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Take it away Bethany...

Historically, we writers haven’t always done a great job representing mental health issues. People living with mental health issues have been primarily portrayed in fiction as villains, shown through stereotypes, and/or described with inaccurate terms and implausible symptoms.

Writers should do better. We need to do better.

After all, with great power comes great responsibility. I learned that from a story, because you know what? Stories have power. And part of that power includes the responsibility to represent mental health issues well.

(Really, there’s a responsibility to represent all people well, but that is beyond the scope of this post. Here’s more with 7 Tips For Writing Across Cultures and Token or Broken? Writing LGBT*.)

When mental health issues are misrepresented, it can do more than pull a reader out of a story—it can lead to real-world harm.

Harmful stereotypes and inaccurate information can be easily internalized. What do you think happens when we primarily see people living with mental health issues cast as the evil villain? It doesn’t matter that in the real-world the huge majority of people living with mental health issues are far more likely to be victims of a violent crime than to commit one—we believe the stories over the facts.

Mental health issues may be more common than you think. Estimates show that approximately 1 in 5 Americans experience mental illness in a given year. Including mental illness in our stories is reflective of real life.

Especially since we often put our characters through traumatic experiences, which could increase the odds of them experiencing mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc. Including these dynamics in our writing is realistic.

Perhaps most important of all, including accurate and respectful representation of individuals living with mental health issues is a way to help normalize these experiences, provide education, and reduce negative stigmas.

Representing mental health issues well can have a powerful and positive impact on our world.

This doesn’t mean we need to shoe-horn mental health issues into every corner of our stories. That’s not really very helpful or respectful, either. But if you choose to include mental health issues, be mindful about what you’re saying to your readers about those issues.

Here are eight considerations to think through when including mental health issues in our fiction:

 

1. Take Mental Health Seriously

Evaluate why and how we include these topics. It can be incredibly valuable, honest, and powerful to include mental health issues in our fiction.

However, it’s important to remember that mental illness is not a “quirk” or here for anyone’s amusement. It should never be used for comedic purposes, nor should it be used to add drama or “excitement.” Mental health issues should not be used as a convenient excuse each time we need our protagonist to do something out of character or to cause problems.

Mental illness is not a meaningless thing for us to play with.

We need to ensure we aren’t using mental health issues as a cheap thrill or easy and shallow plot device to manipulate at will. This overlooks the complex nature of mental illness and it disregards people’s real experiences.

Mental health issues can be a challenge for a character to face in a similar way physical health issues (or a myriad of other issues) could be seen as challenges. They are just another aspect of life.

For example, a character may experience anxiety which causes them to struggle in certain social situations, or they may experience depression which leads them to take medication to help stabilize their moods. These experiences can influence a character and be part of their character arc, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be the central part of the story.

Mental health issues can certainly play a role in the story’s overall plot, but should never be used as a gimmick.

2. Focus on the Person

A person is always a person—they are not a stereotype or a diagnosis.

Our character development should be more than slapping a label on them or making them a walking stereotype. Instead, our characters should be well thought out both in relation to any mental health issues as well as other components.

It can be easy to fall into harmful stereotypes without thinking. We go, sure, let’s just make the neglectful parent be diagnosed with depression and stay in bed all day—character development done. Yet this simply feeds into a negative and harmful stereotype! With a cultural history full of misrepresenting individuals with mental health issues, be careful not to fall into that trap.

This doesn’t mean we can never show individuals with mental health issues in a negative light, but it does mean we need to acknowledge and show the full character, not just their diagnosis. The issues are so much more nuanced than stereotypes allow for.

Every person is complex and everyone’s experience with mental health issues is different. We should always be careful to craft and flesh out our characters to ensure they are a whole person and not a stereotype.

Each person has unique challenges, yes, but they also have hopes, dreams, weaknesses, and strengths. We need to do our research (always!) and do the work to ensure our characters are portrayed in full.

(Here’s more with Under Development: Ways To Create Characters)

 

3. Always Research

Say it again louder for the people in the back—always research.

As with so many things, research really is key.

One of the most common and straightforward misrepresentations I’ve come across related to mental health issues is the portrayal of schizophrenia being manifested through multiple personalities. However, even a brief google search or a peek at the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition) can provide a fact-check in this instance: the experience of multiple personalities is called dissociative identity disorder (DID) which is completely unrelated to a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

It's also incorrect to describe someone as being “so OCD” when really, we mean they are a perfectionist or particular about cleanliness. These personality traits are different from having a diagnosis of OCD.

Getting basic facts wrong is just poor research and poor writing.

Knowing diagnostic information, realistic symptoms, treatment options, and associated terminology is important if we include mental health issues in our writing.

Even if a character doesn’t have a specific diagnosis spelled out on the page, it’s helpful to understand their mental health issues and what that experience might entail. For instance, it’s useful to have a good handle on what the character’s common symptoms are, their coping strategies, their triggers, and what their response may be to treatment and assistance.

And as with so many things, it’s important to recognize that not everyone’s experience is the same.

This means every person experiencing seasonal depression will not have the same symptoms. Individuals living with bipolar disorder are not identical to one another. While there may be common symptoms, there is no one-size-fits all approach.

Not only do mental health experiences vary from person to person, but they can look drastically different throughout different periods of history and among different cultures

For instance, studies have shown higher rates of physical pain symptoms (such as complaints of stomach, head, or neck pain) in relation to depression among Japanese patients than among American patients? There is a cultural component being explored here regarding the experience of depression.

Getting information from reputable sources (such as the American Psychiatric Association) can help us portray our characters in realistic and respectful ways.

Note: If you are writing from your own personal experiences—thank you. Thank you for sharing your story.

Research can still be valuable in supporting and strengthening your story, of course, but don’t be afraid to share your own experiences even if they don’t “match” other people’s lists of symptoms.

(Here’s more with Let’s Get Ready To Research: Researching For Your Novel)

 

4. Use Respectful Language

Be careful with the words we use. As writers, we should be extremely aware that words have power.

When referring to mental health issues, strive for “person first” language, such as “person living with schizophrenia” instead of “schizophrenic.” This places the emphasis on the person instead of their diagnosis, acknowledging there are many aspects of the person besides just their mental illness.

We should definitely avoid using derogatory language, such as “crazy” or “nuts.”

Also be cautious of phrases such as “struggling” or “battling” mental health issues. Sometimes a more neutral term such as “living with” mental health issues can be less emotionally charged. Using terms such as “normal” should also be used with caution since it infers that anything different than itself is “abnormal,” which frequently carries a negative connotation. (A preferred term is “typical.”)

Language changes and preferred terms and connotations are fluid, so again we have to do our research! If we are writing about a real-life person then we should use the language and terms they prefer.

 

5. No Villains

Be careful not to cast characters with mental health issues as the villain.

Writers owe a great apology for the overabundance of times that the sole representation of individuals with mental health issues has been in the form of a villain. There’s no need to add to that number.

I’m tempted to think of exceptions…

But then again, maybe we should just reevaluate our story and characters and cast someone else in that role. Because there is a lot of baggage in this situation and it’s hard to justify writing yet another villain who experiences mental health issues.

(Here’s more with 7 Possible Motives for Villains)

 

6. Be Cautious with Details

As writers, we’re sometimes known for writing lots of descriptions. The devil is in the details and all that.

And sometimes those details can be good.

Yet there are times when we should take care that the details we include are helpful and not harmful for our readers. Some topics can trigger readers and lead to distress or even harm.

For instance, evidence has shown that stories with detailed portrayals of suicide and self-harm may lead to an increase of these behaviors.

This doesn’t mean we can’t include these topics in our stories, but we should be aware that how we talk about them has an impact and that excessive detail isn’t always helpful. Be careful when describing these topics, and use neutral language to describe suicide instead of terms like a “successful” or “failed” suicide attempt. We don’t want our language to inadvertently be sensationalizing or romanticizing self-harmful behaviors.

Depending on our story, it may be helpful to include a cautionary note to warn readers if there will be potentially triggering content so they can make an informed decision to protect their own mental health.

Obviously, we don’t want to always shy away from hard or complicated topics, and we will never please everyone. (Nor should we try!) But it’s good to be aware when dealing with potentially sensitive issues that might harm our readers.

7. Be Cautious of Magical Recoveries

When characters have abrupt recoveries from mental health issues (whether through a magical solution, a “light-bulb” moment, or by the support of their one true love) it may seem like a dramatic and powerful moment for our plot, but it frequently betrays and cheapens the real-life challenge of these experiences.

In real-life, recovery and management of mental health issues is frequently a very slow, sometimes life-long, process.

Having support from loved ones is life-changing and can make all the difference when facing any challenge in life, yet it doesn’t mean wellness is instant or perfect. That misrepresents both the challenge and the realities of love.

And having magical cures would be nice, yet we don’t want to erase the real experiences of those who live in a world where we don’t have perfect or complete cures.

Being healthy and well in both body and soul is a good goal for our characters to strive for and at least partially reach in our stories—we just want to be careful how we portray that.

And we want to be very, very careful we don’t send the message that acceptance, wholeness, and love only exist once recovery is somehow “achieved.”

Because in reality, all of life is a continual process toward wellness. None of us will ever be perfectly well. And every single one of us is always fully valuable even in our imperfectness.

Instead of magical cures for our characters, we want our stories to be honest. And we want to portray our characters with dignity and respect.

 

8. Get Feedback

A final consideration when writing mental health issues is to get feedback—which is actually always super important no matter what stories we are telling!

When including characters living with mental health issues in our stories, it’s especially valuable to have sensitivity readers (such as mental health professionals or individuals who have experienced mental health issues themselves) who can help make sure our story is accurate and respectful.

Receiving feedback is a critical part of writing in general—we simply can’t see errors in our own work sometimes. We often don’t recognize our own biases, stereotypes, or plot holes.

(Here’s more with Questions For Your Beta Readers- And To Focus Your Own Revisions)

Including mental health issues in our stories is both important, and worth taking the time to do well!

And really it all comes down to this: When we write, we want to make sure our characters are fully fleshed out, and that we treat people with respect. Which is what we should be doing anyway!

Let’s love one another and care for one another with our writing.

Our stories and our world will be all the better for it.