Movies and literature on mental illness that resonated with you

[Emmen]

Hello all,

I thought we could do a thread about movies, books, poems, songs etc. about mental illnesses that you feel you could relate to, which kept you going even when times are dark, or which make you feel less alone in your struggles. I hope that by sharing these, we can build up a collection of movies and literature that members of our community can relate to as well. I'll start:

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (book) - topic: depression

Resumé by Dorothy Parker (poem) - topic: reasons not to commit suicide

Cheers,
M

[Guest_1643]

that sucks, sorry you are hurt by the way it happened.

[Jasjit]

Exam (2009)

[Not_Batman]

I thought that Joker (2019) Was as very good film.
Its not for everyone, And has some graphic scenes. but looking past that, the mental health overtones provide another perspective.

note: i am in no way associated with the movie 😉

Not_Batman

[Emmen]

Hello Not_Batman,

Your note made me laugh!

I agree that Joker (2019) provided a very intense look into mental health. I didn't like the violence but I did end up feeling like the system failed the Joker. Reminds me of an article I read some time ago about it. Have a read at the Sydney Morning Herald. It's called "As a psychiatrist, I was blown away by the latest Joker".

Cheers,
M

[Not_Batman]

Hi Emmen.

just read the article you suggested. Thanks. I respect the viewpoint Dr Ahmed poses.
The movie is of course a movie with artistic license, and not to be taken as fact. Depicting a time in the 1970’s when mental health care was vastly different from today.

Not_Batman, I swear!

[Guest_1643]

Adaptation by Charlie Kaufman had an interesting contrast of two twin brothers, one who had socially anxious tendencies and the other who was very social. It had a warm message about feeling less than - (really the socially anxious brother was an amazing creative and person).

[ecomama]

I think it's called "My beautiful broken mind (or brain?)".... on Netflix.

This is a brilliant doco by a wonderful young woman who had medical issues strike affecting her brain.

Pretty sad, but I cry at ads... I loved it.

EM

[Not_Batman]

Not one strictly about mental health, but I found the novel ‘Sphere’ by michael chrichton quite interesting. It talks a bit about fears and past experiences and how they can manifest themselves in our lives.

the martian by andy weir talks about isolation and loneliness a fair bit.

as usual the novel is waaaaay better than the film adaptation.

Not_Batman

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi,

I would add 'After Life' which is a TV show on Netflix. The show is about a guy called Tony played by Ricky Gervais who works in a free newspaper company dealing with the grief of his wife.

It couldn't be more spot on for me. The way that the grief and depression comes in waves, his own suicidal thoughts and the reactions/responses from people that he cares about. It's certainly not for everyone but it definitely resonated with me.

rt

[uncut_gems]

It's a rather obnoxious book to recommend, but I don't think I've seen a better treatment of mental illness anywhere than in Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

I think the closest a movie comes to capturing depression is Lars Von Trier's Melancholia.