Mental disorders in art and literature

Mental disorders have often been featured in art and literature.

Books

* "The Hypomanic Edge" by John D. Gartner
* "An Unquiet Mind" by Kay Redfield Jamison
* "Touched with Fire" by Kay Redfield Jamison
* "A Beautiful Mind" by Sylvia Nassar
* "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey
* "Woman on the Edge of Time" by Marge Piercy
* "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger
* "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon
* "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
* "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
* "Girl, Interrupted" by Susanna Kaysen
* "The Green Mile" by Stephen King
* "She's Come Undone" by Wally Lamb
* "I Know This Much Is True" by Wally Lamb
* "Effie's Burning" by Valerie Windsor
* "Englar Alheimsins" by Einar Már Guðmundsson
* "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" by Joanne Greenberg
* "* Diving into the Wreck" by Adrienne Rich
* "Sorrows of Werther" by Goethe
* "Mrs Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf
* "Remembrance of Things Past" by Marcel Proust
* "Swann's Way" by Marcel Proust
* "The Outsider" by Albert Camus
* "Don Quixote" by Miguel Cervantes
* 'Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
* "Knots" by R.D. Laing
* "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert
* "Amnesia by Douglas Cooper
* "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg
* "Hello, Serotonin" by Jon Paul Fiorentino
* "Bloodletting" by Victoria Leatham
* "Darkness Visible" by William Styron
* "Earth Abides" by George Stewart
* "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
* "" by Rand and Robyn Miller with Dave Wingrove
* "Tender is the Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
* "Heir to the Empire", "Dark Force Rising", and "The Last Command" by Timothy Zahn
* "Ward No. 6" by Anton Chekhov

tories

* "Ward Number Six" by Anton Chekhov (1892) ["... 'Palata No. 6' (1892, Ward Number Six) is Chekhov's classical story of the abuse of psychiatry. Gromov is convinced that anyone can be imprisoned. He develops a persecution mania and is incarcerated in a horrific asylum, where he meets Doctor Ragin. Their relationship attracts attention and the doctor is tricked into becoming a patient in his own ward. He dies after being beaten by a charge hand. - The symmetrical story has much similarities with such works as Samuel Fuller's film The Shock Corridor (1963), and Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over Cockoo's Nest (1975). ..." [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/tsehov.htm] . An online version of the story can be found at Project Gutenberg. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/13409] ]

Motion pictures

Many motion pictures portray mental illness in inaccurate ways, leading to misunderstanding and heightened stigmatization of the mentally ill. Some movies, however, are lauded for dispelling stereotypes and providing insight into mental illness. In a study by George Gerbner, it was determined that 5 percent of 'normal' television characters are murderers, while 20% of 'mentally-ill' characters are murderers. 40% of normal characters are violent, while 70% of mentally-ill characters are violent. Contrary to what is portrayed in films and television, Henry J. Steadman, Ph.D., and his colleagues at Policy Research Associates found that, overall, formal mental patients did not have a higher rate of violence than the control group of people who were not formal mental patients. In both groups, however, substance abuse was linked to a higher rate of violence. (Hockenbury and Hockenbury, 2004)

Television

Many popular television shows feature characters with a mental health condition. Often these portrayals are inaccurate and reinforce existing stereotypes, thereby increasing stigma associated with having a mental health condition. Common ways that television shows can generate misunderstanding and fear are by depicting people with these conditions as medically noncompliant, violent, and/or intellectually challenged. However, in recent years certain organizations have begun to advocate for accurate portrayals of mental health conditions in the media, and certain television shows have been applauded by mental health organizations for helping to dispel myths of these conditions...

One show, "Wonderland", went on the air in 2000 and only lasted several episodes. It was largely critically acclaimed, but pressure from mental health advocates and people with mental health conditions who felt that the show perpetuated stereotypes and contributed to the stigma attached to them led to the show's cancellation.

In 2005, the shows "Huff", "Monk", "Scrubs" and "ER" all won Voice Awards from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for their positive portrayal of people who manage mental health conditions. Neal Baer, executive producer of "ER" and "" also won a lifetime achievement award for his work in incorporating mental health issues into these two shows.

ee also

* Mental illness in films

Notes