I wish we had more schizo-spec representation that was just, y’know. A Guy. A Chill Dude, if you will. A Man In A Situation.
So often, schizo-spec characters are either The Crazy One In The Corner or The Insane Killer, and I think those are just really ridiculous ways of portraying such mental illnesses, y’know? Can’t we have more characters where their mental illness isn’t all there is to them? Like, “Meet Hannah. She’s a lesbian with two cats, a barista girlfriend, and she was diagnosed with schizoaffecfive disorder two years ago. She really likes chocolate muffins.”
To be clear, I don’t want to take away from the fact that some of these conditions can be life-ruining and truly devastating in some cases. These are serious mental illnesses, after all. I’d just like more representation of those who aren’t fully encompassed by that one, singular aspect of their identity.
One idea I had in specific was a sitcom (situational comedy) about a schizophrenic man in his late twenties who moves into a new house. It’s small, but surprisingly cheap, so he decides to take the deal. However, the twist would be that the house is haunted by several spirits which do not want people living in the residence. They try to scare him with all the classic horror movie tricks—but none of them work. He assumes that they’re simply hallucinations, and, honestly, he’s seen far worse. He just jots them down in his mental list of “I should talk to my friends (or therapist) about this” things and moves on. And his friends, most of whom also have stigmatized mental illnesses like BPD, DID, HPD, BIID, etc., are a big help in his life and would be the main side characters. I know that such an idea would have to be handled exceedingly carefully, but, I dunno… I’d like to see it.
Would anyone else? I’d honestly love to know.
