These Movies & TV Shows Give An Honest Look at the Reality of Living With Clinical Depression

‘Normal People’

Based on the best-selling novel by Sally Rooney, Normal People tells the story of two people, Marianne and Connell, from their high school years and beyond. But as life goes on, both of them experience bouts of depression, relating to Marianne’s troubled relationship with her brother and Connell’s high school friend, who suddenly takes his own life. 

‘Mr. Robot’

Rami Malek’s character in Mr. Robot is undoubtedly a genius, but he’s much more than that. Hired to take down corrupt corporations, his ever-so-dangerous job often overwhelms and overshadows the serious mental struggles and depressive episodes he experiences. 

‘Dead to Me’

Starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini, Netflix’s Dead to Me tells the story of two women who are dealing with depression and grief in their own way. As their bond blossoms and they rely on each other, they become one another’s safe space as old traumas come to the surface. 

‘My Mad Fat Diary’

Having just left a psychiatric ward, My Mad Fat Diary protagonist Rae Earl (Sharon Rooney) continues to deal with the struggles of any teenager, like making friends, having sexual firsts, balancing academics, and more. But with these regular teenage milestones aside, the series also tackles self-harm, the side effects of depression medications and the trauma of going to a psych ward as a teenager.

‘Fleabag’

In the fan favorite Fleabag, Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays a woman struggling to keep her life afloat. Dealing with the loss of a friend, the strained relationship with her family, and her rocky professional goals, it’s one of the most realistic portrayals of depression on TV and, most famously, how one can use humor to heal, and, many times, oppress those symptoms. 

‘It’s Kind of a Funny Story’

In a movie that shows how depression and mental health don’t present the same in everyone, It’s Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of a teen boy who spends five days in a psych ward. There, he makes friends, faces his fears, and deals wiy his mental health head-on.

‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend might be a show filled with over-the-top dance numbers and songs, but the main character, Rebecca (Rachel Bloom), accurately depicts axiety, depression and borderline personality disorder throughout the seasons. 

Plus, there’s even a song about how taking anti-depressants “are so not a big deal.” 

‘Ted Lasso’

While Apple TV+’s hit show Ted Lasso is about an ever-optimistic American coach getting a job coaching across the pond, the show has also impressed fans with its depiction of depression over the years.

Most notably, Jason Sudeikis’ character Ted begins to develop symptoms of depression and anxiety as a result of unresolved trauma from his father’s suicide. Slowly, however, Ted begins to find himself again in therapy.

‘Helen’

Ashley Judd stars as Helen, a successful professor with a loving family who still can’t fight the debilitating effects of her depression as it once again mounts against her. This film unpacks the idea that one requires sufficiently traumatic circumstances in order to suffer from depression and emphasizes depression as an illness, not an emotion.

‘Prozac Nation’

Based on the Elizabeth Wurtzel memoir, Prozac Nation tells the story of clinically depressed Harvard student Lizzy (Christina Ricci) whose outward success and privilege can’t save her from the never-ending feeling that she doesn’t want to be alive anymore. Through psychiatric treatment and medication, Lizzy’s life slowly begins to stabilize to a bearable point.

‘Girl, Interrupted’

Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, and more star in Girl, Interrupted, a 1999 movie about one woman’s stay at a mental hospital after a suicide attempt.

While the film takes on far more than depression alone, Susanna’s (Ryder’s) journey from not wanting to live to ambivalence to a genuine desire to get better is a more honest look at a potential road for recovery than most.

‘Cake’

Jennifer Aniston’s moving performance in Cake offers a look at the depression that takes over one woman’s life when a car accident leaves her with limited mobility and chronic pain, and grimly convinced her world will never get bigger than it is right now. While Cake adds the element of physical pain, Aniston’s character is clearly as held back by the impossibility of wanting to wake up in the morning as she is by her bodily ailments.

‘BoJack Horseman’

BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett) is a washed-up ’90s TV star trying to have a fruitful second act, and this animated Netflix show doesn’t shy away from any of the realities that entails — including his struggle with depression over the course of the series. The show goes out of its way to represent the inner monologue of depression and how it affects your outlook and to emphasize that external trappings aren’t a cure for mental health.

‘This Is Us’

In This Is Us, both Kate Pearson’s partner Toby and Randall Pearson are shown to be struggling with depression at different points, an important (and even more rare) representation of adult men facing their mental health challenges.

From Toby’s insecurities about his medication to Randall’s complete break from character in a mental health crisis, the show shed light on two often difficult-to-understand aspects of living with depression.

‘The Skeleton Twins’

In The Skeleton Twins, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are estranged twins, both suffering from clinical depression.

In this dark comedy that starts with Hader’s character attempting suicide — moments apart from when Wiig had planned to do the same. This film shows how differently depression can manifest in two people as both try desperately to find balms for their persistent unhappiness and struggle with the impossible-feeling demands of their daily lives.

‘The End of the F***ing World’

Netflix’s The End of the F***ing World tells the story of James (Alex Lawther) and Alyssa (Jessica Barden), a couple who’s started to share life together amid their major mental health issues. James suffers from antisocial personality disorder while Alyssa has a severe case of depression and has grown numb to the outside world.

‘Little Miss Sunshine’

In Little Miss Sunshine, Frank (Steve Carrell) has just attempted suicide when he comes to stay with his sister (Toni Collette) and ends up accompanying the quirky family on a road trip so their daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) can make it to her beauty pageant.

Frank’s high self-image as an esteemed scholar sit at odds with his diminished will to live in a way that neatly shatters the perception of people with depression as chronically unsuccessful or insufficiently engaged.

‘You’re The Worst’

The dark comedy series You’re The Worst stars Aya Cash as Gretchen, a woman with self-destructive patterns and a long history of clinical depression who faces some of her biggest fears and doubts throughout her relationship with equally acerbic Jimmy (Chris Geere).

Gretchen’s often unsuccessful attempts to enter therapy and descent into a depressive period that largely confines her to the home in later seasons are a valuable antidote to less-honest portrayals of depression as an easily curable illness for anyone who seeks help.