I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about the importance of showing mental health issues in fiction. A lot of people might find it a strange idea – because we read for escapism. Why would anyone want to read about depressing (sorry!) topics? And why do I think it’s so important to write about them?
For me, it’s because mental illness is such a prevalent issue: more than 1 in 4 people will experience mental health issues each year. We live in an amazing and brilliant world filled with fantastic and wonderful experiences. But for all the love, joy and celebration in the world, it can also be a place of great challenge, stress, anxiety and sadness. And I believe that needs to be reflected in fiction so that:
1) People don’t feel alone, and
2) People get the opportunity to see some of the different truths of mental health issues – whether it applies to themselves, or to someone they care about.
Fiction can provide people with a safe space to explore topics and thoughts that they’re not ready or able to face in reality yet – and what could be more important than mental health?
We need stories in our lives. They can make us feel things, or help us to escape (sunny beach away from viruses and lockdowns anyone?). But they can also teach us, and give us opportunities to gain understanding of different situations and topics – and develop empathy. Understanding yourself, and the people around you, and being able to interact and support one another better is only ever going to make the world a better place.
Mental Health Issues in My Writing
I didn’t set out to write about mental health issues, but when my main character in Ever Yours was faced with the loss of his wife – it seemed natural that he would experience a period of depression. I certainly did when we lost my Mum. And it felt that glossing over that experience would have been doing a disservice to the experience, and to my readers.
Because life is messy, and sometimes painful, and there will be times when we struggle more than others – and sometimes we need a bit (or even a lot) of help with that. And that’s completely normal and perfectly OK.
So when sad things – like death or trauma – happen in my writing, I let my characters experience the most realistic reactions possible. And sadly this sometimes includes mental health responses. My characters have questioned their own abilities and beliefs, and felt real sorrow, pain and fear. They’ve been depressed (in the clinical sense of the word), and I’ve let them experience panic, PTSD, isolation, and full on breakdowns. Because sometimes that’s what life throws at you.
It’s not the main theme in any of my books – just like I don’t believe it should ever be the main overwhelming theme in life. It can feel like it sometimes – and there are chapters (just like there are periods in life) when it does get more of a focus than others.
But the good news is: I believe in happy endings. For my characters, myself, and anyone experiencing mental health issues. It’s certainly what I’ve experienced, and definitely what I write.
Stay safe, stay well, and keep reading (and travelling!) towards that happy ending!
Xx Ella
