Bojack Horseman’s Portrayal of Mental Disorders Is Accurate and Praiseworthy

 The episode, “The Face of Depression”, from BoJack Horseman was a great one since it talked about mental health and destigmatized antidepressants. It laid bare the struggle of Diane, and she finally accepted that she is depressed, something that most fans had known for a long time now. Although, she did seem to struggle with the hard truth initially, and there was a conscious effort from her to ignore it. But the way she would stress that she was not depressed, it was obvious that even she did not believe her own words anymore. 

The show portrayed her struggle beautifully, and the viewers got to see how she was fighting with the conversations in her head. We are introduced to her world of thoughts, where everything is black and white. This little world in her head is full of people that have hurt her in the past, and all of them are voicing their disappointments to her. When her partner Guy points out to her that he is concerned for her mental state, Diane isn’t interested. She believes that her daily life is the norm and all the pain that she is suffering not out of the ordinary. However, she doesn’t really ask for help until BoJack and Guy both point out that lately, she seems to be going through too a lot and has been smoking three packs a day and her apartment is trash. 

Diane still refuses to budge. She believes that she is beyond help. Even though she has been on meds before, Diane is afraid that she won’t be herself anymore if she becomes dependent on them. She thinks that if the medication does not work, she would still suffer just like every other day, and there is also the risk that it might have a negative effect. However, in the episode, “Good Damage”, she starts taking her medications. It has a positive effect on her quality of life and although she still gets upset over little things, she can now laugh at herself. She starts embracing what she has and does not hesitate in asking for help. Although, after taking medications, she does experience several benefits, Diane also finds some drawbacks. It is hard for her to ignore the realistic negative effects on her.

As Diane had thought, she gains weight, and it is annoying for her to try her old clothes. She also gets distracted easily and struggles to write about her painful past. She wishes to write about her fight with mental disorders to inspire others, especially girls. However, she just breaks down whenever she tries to think about her past. She later decides to stop taking her meds which has harrowing consequences. All her negative thoughts come back, and she starts vomiting. Guy reassures her that she will be fine and advises her to continue her meds again. Her decision to stop taking meds is crucial since it happens with a lot of patients. 

BoJack Horseman does a great job of taking a sensitive topic like mental health and showing it how it is not something to be stigmatized. It also showed how people close to someone in need should respond and help out. Overall, the show did a great job of showing various aspects of mental disorders, the struggle that one goes through, and how one should react if a loved one is suffering

Everleig is a Blog expert and has been working in the technology industry since 2003. As a technical expert, Everleig has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as biz-today.com

Source: Bojack Horseman’s Portrayal of Mental Disorders