Books themed around mental health or characters with mental health illnesses are becoming increasingly common in our world. Writers are choosing to talk about mental health because it affects every person in some way, and brings realism into a novel. But when writing about sensitive topics, including mental health it is important that you don't offend readers, but rather start a conversation surrounding mental health. Writing about specific illnesses can be difficult, but it is essential for making people feel seen. The following tips describe how to accurately portray mental health in your novel:
Define Why You Want To Include A Mental Illness
Before you begin your novel, it is essential you sit and reflect on why you want to write about a specific mental illness. You should write about mental illness only if it fits a character and is relevant to your story. Mental illnesses can add depth to a character and give your characters opportunities for growth. But, you should never include a specific mental illness just to villainize a character or stereotype a character. Before you write your novel, make sure you know why you want to add a character with a mental illness.
Research!
If you are unfamiliar with the mental illness you are writing, you have to research and get your facts straight. If you don't know what the illness entails or the details of the illness, several online resources will give you information regarding mental illnesses and mental health, so make sure to consult more than one source. Research is important because it prevents misinformation and rumors from being spread and it engages readers who are familiar with mental illnesses.
Consult With Knowledgeable People
Apart from online resources, you may want to speak with specialists and other people who are familiar with the specific mental illness. Specialists and people experienced with the illness can help answer your questions and provide more insight than online sites. Although it may feel intimidating or strange to ask someone about their mental health, most people are willing to share their stories and are open to sharing. But of course, if someone is not ready to talk, you must respect their boundaries.
Focus On The Plot, Not The Illness
Mental health may be a theme in your story, but your story doesn't need to be centered around it. When writing, make sure to focus your story on the plot and story, rather than solely examining a character with a mental illness. A well-rounded story has interesting characters, an engaging plot, and enveloping setting, it shouldn't just be about the specific mental illness of a character. Like people, characters should not be just their mental disorders.
Don't Villainize The Character
As mentioned, you mustn't villainize characters with mental illnesses. Characters with mental health disorders are often stereotyped and villanized in literature, but having a mental illness doesn't make you malicious. If your story includes a villain or evil characters, don't have their (if they have one) mental illness be the reason they are so wicked. Instead, your villains should be in-depth people, like the main characters.
Don't Use Derogatory Language
No matter what type of character you are writing about, it is important to keep in mind the language you are using. Regarding characters with mental health illnesses, you must be aware of your language. Avoid using words like; "crazy," "psychotic," "insane" to describe your characters, but rather describe their actions and personality. Words like these are offensive and derogatory to refer to mentally ill people, so be sensitive when writing and reframe from using these words.
Specify The Disorder
Lastly, make sure to pinpoint the specific disorder that a character has. Even though your character may not be diagnosed in the novel, as a writer you should know the particular illness your character has. Like physical illnesses, every mental health illness has its own behaviors and quirk, so make sure to know the specific disorder. The more you narrow down the diagnoseses, the more you will understand the behaviors, details and actions of a character.
*For example: Even if a character has depression, it is important to know the specific type of depressoin they have. There are many different types, for instance, seasonal depression, major depressive depression, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
When done accurately it is uplifting to read stories with characters with mental health illnesses and brings representation and diversity to stories. I hope with these tips, you feel more prepared to write about mental health and include characters with mental health illnesses.
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