The highs and lows of mental health in the media

Growing up as a teenager in our modern world is difficult. I see a visible gap between my generation and my parents' generation, just as I know there will be a gap between me and the generations to come. There has been a rapid rate of technological change in recent decades, but it's more than that too… stigmas and stereotypes shift, and can make it challenging for young people to talk with those who came before about a whole range of issues, including mental health and gender identity.

These societal changes are then represented in media; I have noticed a dramatically increased representation of mental health issues and neurodiversity on such platforms, especially on Neflix. Recently, I have been watching Ginny and Georgia, which covers an array of topics in a realistic way. Little is overlooked or swept under the carpet. We see Abby's journey, a struggle of self-acceptance in the face of body dysmorphia. She also has to deal with familial issues, including a divorce. Although divorce rates have actually declined steadily since around the Millenium, there are still 100,000+ in England and Wales each year, with a lot of children finding themselves impacted.

So Ginny and Georgia is no fairy-tale: it touches on areas that remain a bit taboo even in today's society. It made me realise that someone may look as if they have got it all together, like they have an amazing life, but everyone has their past. We all have our own brain, which works like no-one else's does: we all may have issues that no one knows about.

But are mental health issues over-represented in such shows? Every character 'has' something, whether it's trauma, body image issues, substance abuse, self-harm. Psychologists such as Lucy Foulkes have written about the potential downsides of representation and awareness. Is there a danger that media portrayals normalise issues around mental health and neurodiversity? If young people believe that everyone 'has something', does it become 'normal' and there's then no need to talk about it?

With platforms such as Netflix, parents may struggle to ensure that their children only see age-appropriate material, for example around drug use. If children see a positive story around a character taking drugs, they may be inclined to experiment with illegal substances and expect a positive experience themselves. But this can apply to mental heath and support too. If the protagonist tries to reach out for help concerning mental health and they experience a negative reaction from those around them, then the young viewer may believe the same would happen to them.

I want to see mental health issues – both positive and negative aspects – represented in the media. But over-representation, under-representation, or a view that is completely biased in one direction… all can pass on a skewed message around what living in the real world is like. Don't sugar-coat it for us, or overlook serious aspects. But let's also see characters who experience the highs and lows of life without feeling defined by their mental health.