Lisa, Bright and Dark, 1968 novel by John Neufeld. A story about a teenager's descent into madness.
Thirteen Reasons Why, 2007 novel by Jay Asher. About a teenage girl who is suffering from depression which results in suicide. Many other characters are also suffering from mental illnesses including bipolar, anxiety, PTSD, and also depression.
Saint Jude, 2011[1] novel by Dawn Wilson. Suffering from manic-depressive illness, Taylor spends her senior year of high school at a place called Saint Jude's—essentially a group home for teenagers with mental illnesses.[2]
Freaks Like Us, 2012 young adult novel by Susan Vaught.[3] The reader is taken on a suspenseful adventure through the mind of a schizophrenic teenage boy.[4]
Orlando Furioso, 1516–1532; epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto, tells the story of Orlando, Charlemagne's most famous paladin, who goes mad upon learning that Angelica, the woman he is in love with, has run away with a Saracen knight. Filled with despair, Orlando travels through Europe and Africa destroying everything in his path. The English knight Astolfo flies up in a flaming chariot to the Moon, where everything lost on Earth is to be found, including Orlando's wits. He brings them back in a bottle and makes Orlando sniff them, thus restoring him to sanity. (At the same time Orlando falls out of love with Angelica, as the author explains that love is itself a form of insanity.)
Don Quixote, 1605/1615 two-volume novel by Miguel de Cervantes, involves a man whose worldview is influenced by fictional works, especially of chivalric exploits. Because of his refusal to conform to social conventions, he is perceived as mad by his contemporaries, without further evidence of a mental defect or illness.[6]
Faust I, 1808 tragedy by Goethe. The collision of a natural love-desire with her conscience and with the norms of the society around her evokes radical inner conflicts for the female hero Margarete.
Mandeville, 1817 novel by William Godwin. A tale of madness that takes place during the English Civil War.
The Adventure of the Devil's Foot, 1910 mystery short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fumes from burning the powder of a toxic plant with extreme fear-inducing properties destroy the minds of those who survive its effects—unless one gets away fast.
Zeno's Conscience, 1923 novel by Italo Svevo. The main character is Zeno Cosini, and the book is the fictional character's memoirs that he keeps at the insistence of his psychiatrist. Zeno's Conscience is most notably influential for being one of the first modernist novels with a non-linear structure and told by an unreliable narrator.
Christina Alberta's Father, 1925 novel by H.G. Wells. The story tells how a retired laundryman suffered from delusions that he was the reincarnation of Sargon, King of Kings, returned to earth as Lord of the World.
The Shutter of Snow, 1930 novel by Emily Holmes Coleman. Portrays the post-partum psychosis of Marthe Gail, who after giving birth to her son, is committed to an insane asylum.
Flight into Darkness (German original: Flucht in die Finsternis), 1931 novella by Arthur Schnitzler.
Private Worlds, 1934 novel by Phyllis Bottome. Tells the story of the staff and patients at a mental hospital in which a caring female psychiatrist and her colleague face discrimination by a conservative new supervisor.
The A.B.C. Murders, 1936 detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie that revolves around the nature of homicidal lunatics, to a surprising twist reveal.
The Outward Room, 1937 novel by Millen Brand. Details a young woman's recovery in a mental hospital during the Great Depression after she suffers a nervous breakdown following her brother's sudden death.
Appointment with Death, 1938 detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie. One of Mrs. Boynton's daughters has paranoid schizophrenia from her mother's tormenting of her.
And Then There Were None, 1939 detective fiction/psychological horror novel by Agatha Christie. As the ordeal drags on, the fewer and fewer who survive go insane under the prolonged strain.
The Royal Game (orChess Story; Schachnovelle in the original German), 1942 novella by Stefan Zweig, depicting a monarchist who develops, and then cannot again shed, the custom to separate his psyche into two personas, having been urged to maintain his sanity by playing chess against himself in solitary confinement.
Earth Abides, 1949 post-apocalyptic science-fiction novel by George Stewart, deals with the human reactions to living when nearly everyone else died.
Lover, When You're Near Me, 1952 science fiction short story by Richard Matheson on a man being traumatically steered in his will by a woman of a dull extraterrestrial race who covets him sexually.
Dear Diary, 1954 science fiction short story by Richard Matheson. Diary entries from the years AD 1964, AD 3964, and LXIV (=64) all show the same dissatisfaction with the current situation and the same desire to live either some thousand years later or earlier, that from 3964 also due to the unpleasant inventions of another inhabitant of the writer's plastic skyscraper, which enable him to see her through the walls.
The Hobbit, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King; 1937, 1954, and 1955 high fantasy novels by J. R. R. Tolkien. The creature Gollum, a hobbit with Dissociative Identity Disorder, plays a major role. Also, a magical effect of treasure recently held by a dragon is that individuals susceptible to greed develop a form of greedy paranoia called the Dragon Sickness.
The Mind Thing, incomplete 1960 science fiction serialization, later published as a novel, by Fredric Brown. An extraterrestrial being has been sent to Earth as a punishment and tries to influence people's and animal's minds so that they would help it creating the technical means it needs to return home.
Unearthly Neighbors, 1960 science fiction novel by Chad Oliver. The anthropology professor Monte Stewart and the linguist Charlie Jenike get angry at each other on a hot day, after having killed a member of a race between apes and men on a planet of Sirius together, in revenge for a deadly attack of the man's tribe onto their wives and a colleague. Jenike loses his mind and drowns himself in a nearby river shortly after.
Clans of the Alphane Moon, 1964 science-fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. Largely set on a world in which a lost group of former psychiatric patients have organised themselves into caste-like groups along psychiatric diagnostic lines, forming an unusual but functional society.
A Wrinkle in the Skin, 1965 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by John Christopher. The hero and a boy meet a captain who has lost his mind, in his ship on the bottom of the English Channel that has fallen dry through an earthquake. They are welcomed heartily, but forbidden to take any food with them, when they leave.
The Ethics of Madness, 1967 science fiction short story by Larry Niven.
Bedlam Planet, 1968 science fiction novel by John Brunner. A crew of astronauts tries to live on the animal and vegetable food growing on a planet of Sigma Draconis, which evokes mental disorder, but also sets free survival instincts that have so far been hidden.
The Sword, 1968 fantasy short story by Lloyd Alexander. A king yields to anger, with lethal results, in a moment of weakness. As he grows worse and worse, he also develops a severe case of paranoia, fearing assassination and other revenge plots around every corner.
Doom Patrol, a comic book series originating in 1963. During Grant Morrison's 1989 – 1993 run it included the multiple personality affected Crazy Jane and several other characters either insane or in possession of greater truths.
Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, 1991 trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn. Joruus C'baoth, the clone of a tragic Jedi Master from the final years of the Old Republic, is insane due to his hyper-accelerated physical and mental development.
Mariel of Redwall, 1991 fantasy novel by Brian Jacques. Pirate warlord Gabool grows increasingly paranoid about possible threats to his power and develops delusions about a stolen bell.
Myst: The Book of Atrus, 1995 novel (re-released in a 2004 omnibus) by Rand and Robyn Miller with Dave Wingrove. Atrus comes to realize that his father is a megalomaniac.
Oxygen and The Fifth Man, 2001 and 2002 science fiction duology by Randall S. Ingermanson and John B. Olson. One of the astronauts on a Mars mission grows increasingly paranoid.
A Spot of Bother, 2006 novel by Mark Haddon, written from the point of view of a 57-year-old hypochondriac man who suffers from extreme panic attacks and also develops dementia
Darkness Descending, 2007[20] novel by Bethann Korsmit about a man who suffers a mental breakdown and various other mental problems, and the people who help him to overcome the obstacles in his life.
The Heart of Darkness, 2014 novel by Dominic Lyne. Through conversations with his therapist, he tries to make sense of the world around him and his inability to do so pulls him deeper into the depths of his delusions.[27]
Challenger Deep, 2015 young adult novel by Neal Shusterman.[28][29] The first half of the book leaves the audience questioning if the plot is real, but it ends up being about mental illnesses. From the point of view of somebody with a mental illness.[30]
The Suicide of Claire Bishop, 2015 novel by Carmiel Banasky. Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, and suicide are main topics.[31]
Turtles All The Way Down, 2018 novel by John Green, which features a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.[32]
Everything Here Is Beautiful,[33] 2018 novel by Mira T. Lee. An immigrant story, and a young woman's quest to find fulfillment and a life unconstrained by her illness.[34]
My Half-Sister's Half-Sister, 2021 novel by Samantha Henthorn. The protagonist accuses her family of practising witchcraft until it is revealed that she is psychotic and is admitted to a mental health ward.
Many motion pictures portray mental illness in inaccurate ways, leading to misunderstanding and heightened stigmatization of the mentally ill. However, some movies 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)
Psycho, a 1960 American film which features a man who exhibits multiple personality-disorder (includes several prequels or sequels or remakes)
Marnie, a 1964 American film which features a woman with obsessive fear and distrust
The Soloist, a 2009 film depicting the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musical prodigy who develops schizophrenia during his second year at Juilliard School, becomes homeless and plays a two stringed violin in the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.
Silver Linings Playbook, a 2012 film about a bipolar man and his relationship with a depressed young widow.[37]
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.
The game Silent Hill 2 of the same genres contains three major characters struggling with mental illness. Though their conditions are never named, two of these characters exhibit symptoms which, together with their backstories, may suggest acute dissociative amnesia; while the third character most definitively approximates body dysmorphic disorder. (The topic of dissociative amnesia is revisited in later installments of the series.) In addition, both this game and Silent Hill 3 mention various former patients of the now-abandoned town's local psychiatric hospital, with one said patient making an appearance in the latter game.
Life is Strange deals with depression, suicide most notably, as the main character Max tries to prevent the suicide of one of her friends. One of the characters exhibits concerning behaviors and is prescribed medicines most often associated with bipolar and schizophrenia. It is implied he is seeing a psychiatrist.
Final Fantasy VII implies numerous times that the main character, Cloud Strife, has some form of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder as well as post-traumatic stress disorder.
Myst III: Exile features a character named Saavedro, full of despair and a justified grievance, who has been trapped alone for twenty years, certain that all his people are dead. In his journal he writes of a mental fog that he can lose himself in from time to time (he suspects for months sometimes), when he "can barely remember what I've done". He describes this fog as eating his mind and writes that he sometimes struggles to bring memories back to the surface.
^The assumption of a clinical diagnosis of insanity has been repeatedly questioned in recent years, most notably by D. A. Boruchoff, who notes that in early modern times the concept of madness was associated with physical or moral displacement, as seen in the literal and figurative sense of the adjectives eccentric, deviant, extravagant, etc. See "On the Place of Madness, Deviance, and Eccentricity in Don Quijote,” Hispanic Review 70.1 (2002): 1–23,
^"... '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 Cuckoo's Nest (1975). ..." (Source: Liukkonen, Petri. "Anton Chekhov". Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010.). An online version of the story can be found at Project Gutenberg. [1]
^Challenger Deep, by Neal Shusterman, 2015 National Book Award Winner, Young People's Literature, nationalbook.org/nba2015_ypl_shusterman.html#.WutLKYgvxRY.
^“Challenger Deep Summary & Study Guide.” BookRags, BookRags, www.bookrags.com/studyguide-challenger-deep/#gsc.tab=0.
