Mental disorders

Mental disorders are depicted throughout TV series, movies, books, podcasts, and other media
forms. As a few (or many) examples, NBC's "This Is Us" portrays anxiety disorders, the movie "American
Sniper" features posttraumatic stress disorder, and Fox's "Empire" depicts bipolar disorder. These portrayals of
mental disorders can largely shape public perceptions of mental illness in general and also perceptions of
specific mental disorders.
Choose a character in a TV series, movie, or book. You may find it more straightforward to
select a character with a mental health disorder we have already covered in class, but you can also select a
character with any mental health disorder covered in the course textbook (e.g., borderline personality disorder,
ADHD, substance use disorder, etc.). If you do select a character with a disorder we have not covered, please
review and reference the DSM 5: Disorder Criteria Summary of the disorder in the relevant chapter of the
course textbook.
Please respond to the following prompts:

1. Provide the name and a brief description of the character as well as the TV series, movie, book, podcast, or
   other media you have chosen for this exercise. Include the character's specific mental health diagnosis. If the
   character has a vague mental health diagnosis only (e.g., "depression"), give your impression of the specific
   mental health diagnosis (e.g., "major depressive disorder") with a rationale. If the character has multiple
   diagnoses, indicate which you will focus on for this exercise. (aim: 100 words)
2. How was the disorder appropriately portrayed? That is, what symptoms were portrayed consistently with
   diagnostic criteria (e.g., individuals with major depressive disorder losing or gaining a significant amount of
   weight). (aim: 150 words)
3. How was the disorder not appropriately portrayed? That is, what symptoms were not consistent with
   diagnostic criteria (e.g., schizophrenia was portrayed as the same thing as dissociative identity disorder). (aim:
   150 words)
4. How might the portrayal of this character influence public perceptions of mental illness? What, if anything,
   would you change about the portrayal? (aim: 150-200 words)