A Writer's Guide to Mental Illness

Mental Illness 101

Mental illness is defined by the Canadian Oxford Dictionary as "disordered functioning of the mind", but that does little to answer questions stewing in the minds of writers hoping to including a character suffering from one.

What's the difference between anxiety and an anxiety disorder?

There's no specific point at which a psychiatrist with stamp a label on it and henceforth and forevermore refer to it as an anxiety disorder, nor will you be completely dismissed if you don't meet criteria. Simply put, anxiety becomes a disorder when it impedes your ability to function day-to-day.

Stress is a part of life—be it exams or taxes, everyone will experience it. However, not everyone will experience it to the same degree and in the same respect. When it persists—sometimes with a cause and sometimes without—to the point where you must make concessions to get through the day, then you might call it a disorder.

What's the difference between being sad and being depressed?

Depression and sadness aren't the same thing.

I'll say it again.

Depression ≠ sadness

It's commonplace to assume that depressed people are sad all the time, but in reality, that only begins to scratch the surface. Sadness is a part of depression, yes, but it's nothing more—a small piece interlocking with negative emotions and internal conflicts all meshing together to create a web of dysphoria and negative thinking. 

That being said, suicidal ideation is not always a given with depression. People who are suicidal usually have experienced long spells of depression and/or anxiety, but that in no way means that everyone who has experienced depression wants to kill themselves.

Bear this in mind while writing.

Above all, mental illnesses must be written with tact and sensitivity. Depression is not romantic. OCD is not whimsical. Anxiety cannot be magically cured. In order to effectively write characters with mental illnesses, you must research, understand and respect the reality of those living day in and day out with crippling disorders.