Bad Representations of Mental Health in Media
What is Considered Poor Representation of Mental Health?
After the airing of the final episode of Emerald Hill - The Little Nyonya Story, a highly publicised Singaporean Chinese drama revolving around a Peranakan family, criticism started pouring in online, expressing disappointment with the pacing of the story and the development of characters on social media. One recurring comment was on the ending of the antagonist, An Na.
The TV series introduced An Na as a girl whose parents sent her away to live with her maternal grandparents until she was 10 years old, believing her fate would clash with theirs at the advice of a fortune tellerWhen she reunited with her family, the viewers witnessed various crimes An Na committed since her youth – laying traps to cause her aunt’s miscarriage, instigating riffs amongst family members and other characters, and eventually killing her brothers and potential fiancé. She received a diagnosis of schizophrenia and remained in a mental health institution for the rest of her life, as explained in a liner by the female lead.
There was no buildup of symptoms relating to schizophrenia in the characterisation of An Na throughout the show, leading to backlash on the lazy and harmful writing. Dr Charmaine Tang, a senior consultant from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), took to The Straits Times forum to express her concerns, stating that “misrepresenting persons with schizophrenia as threats risks discouraging help-seeking and deepening their social isolation.” The executive producer has since apologised and stated that they are working with mental health experts for their upcoming productions “to support responsible storytelling”.
The media has been reported to be one of the contributing factors in increasing mental health literacy for Singaporeans, especially youths. Despite Mediacorp’s experience in releasing shows dealing with mental health in the past decade, this blunder committed by the national broadcast corporation serves as an important reminder that accurate representation of mental health in media is an ongoing effort to be treated with care and respect.
Representation of mental health in streaming sites’ shows
Nowadays, movies and television shows are available on online streaming sites like Netflix and Disney+, allowing Singaporeans greater accessibility to shows from around the world almost simultaneously. Streaming sites, like TV channels, also produce their own shows that will be uploaded on their respective platforms.
A few years back, 13 Reasons Why, a US TV series by Netflix, was quite popular in Singapore upon its premiere. While there were praises for the show's first season in highlighting the issues faced by teenagers, it also drew concerns, including parents from Singapore, due to its execution on the topic of suicide. The show was criticised for its glamorisation of suicide, showing the protagonist Hannah Baker committing the act as a form of ‘revenge’, as well as several graphic scenes, despite the intent to raise awareness on mental health. Viewers were worried about how the show might lead to copycat behaviors. In the United States, where the show originated, youth suicides rose by 28.9% after the show’s premiere, although a direct connection between the two could not be determined. The said scene of Hannah Baker’s suicide has since been cut. Disclaimers, which help to protect the viewers who might be vulnerable to the topic, were only added later, after the broadcast date of the first season, as well as for subsequent seasons of the series.
Representation of mental health on social media
Social media, one of the most widely used forms of media today, has been helpful as a mental health resource, especially as people with lived experience share their stories online. However, the negative impacts of social media are also equally felt by users, incurring issues like cyberbullying and body image on the flip side of the coin.
In Singapore, there was once a trend of TikTok users pretending to be doctors from IMH, commenting on videos showcasing out-of-ordinary behaviours, asking them to visit a mental health specialist or take their medicine. What could be seen as humorous for some of the younger folks had been lamented by mental health advocates as pushing misinformation about mental health, which could inhibit people from getting the help they need.
The content available on social media can also be seen as romanticising mental health at times, including with the Gen Z (1997 to 2012) users. One example is users linking themselves with film characters with serious mental health conditions as “literally me”. These characters included Patrick Bateman, the serial killer from American Psycho, Joker, and Kabir Singh from the Indian film of the same name.
Content on mental health can also be oversimplified or overdramatised to generate more engagement in a landscape where content creators are rewarded for “the shareability of their content”, which may lead to misinformation and misdiagnosis.
Impact of bad representations of mental health in the media
Harmful portrayals of mental health can lead viewers to believe that this is the lived reality of people diagnosed with mental health conditions, perpetuating stigma. Already, they are often portrayed as violent. The romanticisation of mental health also contributes to misinformation about mental health and prompts users to take the wrong actions.
Collaboration with mental health professionals helps to minimise stigmatising content in film and television. As much as there has been media content to raise awareness of mental health, the right representation of mental health remains a continual work-in-progress that we must all be mindful of.
References
Ahuja, J., & Fichadia, P. A. (2024). Concerns Regarding the Glorification of Mental Illness on Social Media. Cureus, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.56631
Forum: TV producers working with mental health experts to ensure responsible storytelling. (2025, May 12). The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-tv-producers-working-with-mental-health-experts-to-support-responsible-storytelling
Forum: TV series’ portrayal of schizophrenia can affect understanding of condition. (2025, May 8). The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-tv-series-portrayal-of-schizophrenia-can-affect-understanding-of-condition?ref=inline-article
Hee, J. (2017, May 9). WHY Singapore parents are worried about suicide content like Blue Whale and 13 Reasons Why. theAsianparent. https://sg.theasianparent.com/suicide-content-singapore-teens#:~:text=But%20the%20way%2013%20Reasons,away%20as%20a%20life%20lesson
Here are the top 10 Netflix shows Singaporeans Binge-Watched in 2017. (2017, December 29). Harper’s Bazaar Singapore. https://www.harpersbazaar.com.sg/lifestyle/netflix-singaporeans-binge-watched
Kiesewetter, A. (2022, August 5). Mental Health Representation in Television & Film. Seattle Anxiety Specialists. https://seattleanxiety.com/psychiatrist/2022/8/5/mental-health-representation-in-television-amp-film
Lee, L. (2023, September 19). TikTok trend of users posing as IMH doctors ‘worsens mental health stigma’, but some social media users find it funny. TODAY. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/tiktok-users-posing-imh-doctors-worsen-stigma-mental-health-social-media-2256206?cid=internal_inarticlelinks_web_13072025_tdy
Limbong, A. (2019, July 16). Netflix Edits Out Controversial Suicide Scene From “13 Reasons Why” Season 1. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742386829/netflix-edits-out-controversial-suicide-scene-from-13-reasons-why-season-1
Loo, Y. K. (Director). (2025). 《小娘惹之翡翠山》 Emerald Hill - The Little Nyonya Story [TV]. Mediacorp.
Mae, M. (2022, January 21). The Importance of Respecting Disclaimers in Media for Your Mental Health. L’Officiel Singapore. https://www.lofficielsingapore.com/culture/disclaimers-in-media-mental-health-zendaya-euphoria-13-reasons-why
Orbe, M. P. (2013). Media and Culture: The “Reality” of Media effects. In Inter/Cultural Communication: Representation and Construction of Culture (pp. 235–256). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781544304106.n11
Seah, S. (2022, October 6). More Singaporeans keen to learn about mental health and seek help. CNA. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mental-health-week-singaporeans-awareness-misconceptions-2991536
Srivastava, K., Chaudhury, S., Bhat, P. S., & Mujawar, S. (2018). Media and mental health. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 27(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_73_18
US youth suicides up after 13 Reasons Why, cause unclear: study. (2019, April 30). AsiaOne. https://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/us-youth-suicides-after-13-reasons-why-cause-unclear-study
Wang, H., Yue, Z., & S, D. (2023). Challenges with using popular entertainment to address mental health: a content analysis of Netflix series 13 Reasons Why controversy in mainstream news coverage. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1214822
Yamanouchi, Y. (n.d.). #Relatable: Glamourising and Over-simplifying Mental Illnesses Online. Calm Collective Asia. https://www.calmcollective.asia/blog/glamourising-and-over-simplifying-mental-illnesses-online?rq=media
Yorkey, B. (Creator). (2017). 13 Reasons Why. Season 1. [TV]. https://www.netflix.com/title/80117470