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From films and series featuring bipolar characters to artists who no longer hesitate to talk about their depression. “Pop culture” now helps to better understand mental disorders even if prejudices remain.
An increase in works dealing with mental health issues
Over the past ten years, there have been countless works highlighting mental health issues. “Homeland”, “13 Reasons Why”, “Euphoria”, “Happiness Therapy”… have for example brought to the screen the main characters suffering from bipolarity or suffering from anxiety disorders.
Many artists or sportsmen have also released the word on the subject. We remember Mariah Carey or Kanye West announcing to suffer from bipolar disorder. In 2021, Stromae, affected by depression, broke a taboo with his song “Hell”, in the wake of therapy albums by superstars like Adele or Billie Eilish. Athletes like Naomi Osaka or Simone Biles have withdrawn from competitions to, she explained, preserve their mental health.
“We are witnessing a tidal wave of testimonies on the subject, all sectors are concerned and this makes it possible to change the representations that we had of psychological problems”welcomes Jean-Victor Blanc, psychiatrist at Saint-Antoine hospital in Paris.
Author in 2019 of the book “Pop & Psy”, he founded an eponymous festival, which will take place in the French capital from October 7 to 9. Combining round tables, discussions, workshops and live concerts, the event intends to “dust off received ideas about psychiatry”.
“For a long time, mental disorders were systematically associated with violence, or with symptoms that had nothing to do with psychopathy”, emphasizes Jean-Victor Blanc.
“Despite all their artistic value, films like + Flight over the Cuckoo’s Nest +” have contributed to conveying a negative image of the psychiatric hospital”, he continues.
This is no longer the case : “Today, we have the feeling that it is almost a necessary step to produce a series with a character affected by a mental disorder”, he raises.
It must be said that during a lifetime, one in four people will be confronted directly or indirectly with the problem.
An increasingly familiar “shrink”
The Covid crisis has not helped matters, affecting the morale of many people, especially the youngest.
“With this (Covid) crisis, everyone has touched the fact that mental health could waver”exposes Sandrine Broutin, general manager of the Work Falret, association which accompanies the public in psychic suffering.
“We talk about it more but there are still a lot of taboos”she adds.
“On serious pathologies, clichés remain and talking about them does not always help”judge Fanny Jacq, psychiatrist and director of the mental health branch at Qare Psy, citing the example of Britney Spears who, plagued by addictions and depression, had suddenly shaved her head.
Schizophrenia in particular, a complex chronic psychiatric illness, remains poorly understood and associated – wrongly – with violence.
“We know that the earlier treatment is given, the better the results will be, so it is essential to work on the stigmatization of these diseases to facilitate access to care”judge Gilles Martinez, head of department at the University Hospital Group (GHU) Paris psychiatry.
“Five or ten years ago, when personalities started talking about their bipolar disorders, we saw an influx of consultations“, he recalls, congratulating himself that the younger generation has “today access to a different representation of psychic problemss”.
A central character, the “shrink” seems more and more familiar to the general public, as he appears in series, fiction, films… The latest example to date, the series “In therapy” has produced boxes of hearing on Arte.
Even if his characters do not suffer from mental disorders but undertake a psychoanalytical approach, “we show that there is nothing stigmatizing in going to see a therapist”, affirms the psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Serge Hefez, who intervened as a consultant for the second season.
“Via pop culture, people are encouraged to take care of their brains like they take care of their bodies.s”, also believes Fanny Jacq.