Revisiting: 7 Tips to Characters With Mental Illness

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Charles Yallowitz

(Going WAY back to November 14, 2018 for this one.  Ironically, I was touching on this subject within weeks of my divorce kicking off.)

Yahoo Image Search

As I said on Monday, this can be a very sensitive topic.  So, I’m going to try to rein in the urge to crack jokes as much as I can.  Still, this is a 7 List, which tends to have a few guffaws.  Let’s get right into it.

  1. Research.  This is hands down, without question, rule 1, the most important thing when it comes to writing a character with a mental illness.  Maybe you have personal experience or helped a loved one through an issue, which can help.  Yet, many people don’t have the specific hands-on knowledge of whatever they are going to use.  This means you read up on the mental health topic and, if possible, talk to experts or sufferers to learn more.
  2. Not every villain needs to suffer from a mental illness.  We seem to think that this gives them more sympathy because ‘they could not help themselves’.  In reality, the author can perpetuate the stigma that those who suffer from mental illness are inherently dangerous.  You can offset this with a hero who suffers or simply don’t make it clear or note that the villain has an issue.  Those are simpler, riskier versions that not doing it in the first place though.
  3. You don’t always have to make the mental illness a big deal.  It can be a secondary personal situation for the character.  Otherwise, the main plot might get overshadowed or hampered by you putting more attention on this one thing.  Now, this isn’t to say it should be ignored completely, but you should only make it the main focus if it’s the main obstacle of a story.  For example, an adventuring party could be on a quest to slay a dragon.  The priest suffers from OCD, which gives them specific habits that can cause some problems.  Yet, the audience will turn on the character and story if they repeatedly impede progress. So, it needs to remain a personal hurdle.
  4. Make sure you know the terminology.  This could just be me having a pet peeve, but I do get irked when depressed is used for sad.  Yes, people with depression can be sad, but it’s not the same.  Many times, you don’t even know the source of the sadness. If you need to use the term then you should make sure the degree of sadness meets the weight of the term.  Same goes for anxiety even though it does get dicey with the word ‘anxious’.
  5. Try to avoid characters doing psychoanalysis on their friends unless it fits their personality.  You can’t always do this because sometimes dialog is how real people can come figure these out.  I mean, that’s what therapy is.  At the very least, you can minimize it and have them figure things out then move on.
  6. Jumping off #5, be careful with how you have the other characters respond to the one with mental illness.  If they dote on them too much or act with horror then that can weaken all of them.  There can be a period of confusion, fear, or other negative emotions, but this should be an obstacle instead of the norm.  Eventually, they need to accept or cast away the character instead of always acting like they’re in shock.  The former has an interesting example, which is the character Brick Tamland from the Anchorman movies.  Played by Stever Carell, he does appear to suffer from a mental health issue, but nobody treats him any differently.  It’s done to the point where he’s just one of the gang and his ‘oddities’ are part of the social norm.  This is a comedy and might not be the perfect example, but it does work as an ideal.
  7. Not every mental illness can be removed completely.  It can be inspiring to have a character take on such a challenge and come out ‘cured’, but that’s fairly unrealistic.  It is much more common for people to get a handle on these issues and find a way to live with them.  This can be medication, therapy, change in living situation, or other coping mechanisms.  As the author, you have to decide what they will do and how it will work in the story.  After all, it’s kind of difficult for a warrior to get a handle on their OCD when they’re in the middle of a battlefield or on a quest.  The stereotypical ‘snap out of the illness’ might have dramatic effect, but it almost never happens.  I’d say total fiction, but there could be one case out there somewhere.
Unknown's avatar

About Charles Yallowitz

Charles E. Yallowitz was born, raised, and educated in New York. Then he spent a few years in Florida, realized his fear of alligators, and moved back to the Empire State. When he isn't working hard on his epic fantasy stories, Charles can be found cooking or going on whatever adventure his son has planned for the day. 'Legends of Windemere' is his first series, but it certainly won't be his last.
This entry was posted in Thoughts and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

37 Responses to Revisiting: 7 Tips to Characters With Mental Illness

  1. L. Marie's avatar L. Marie says:
    May 20, 2026 at 10:20 am

    Great tips! Research is always good as is personal experience. I immediately thought of the show Monk. One of the co-creators used his own experience with OCD. But I wonder if viewers who don’t know the backstory might be tempted to think some things are exaggerated for TV due to having seen some less-than-accurate portrayals of OCD elsewhere.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Ionia Froment's avatar Ionia Froment says:
    May 20, 2026 at 11:05 am

    Do you think it’s more difficult to write a character that is mentally ill but doesn’t know they are mentally ill?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Charles Yallowitz's avatar Charles Yallowitz says:
      May 20, 2026 at 11:39 am

      That’s a challenge. Although, I guess it would require a level of denial. That or you show signs without making it clear. While not an illness, many people think Sheldon Cooper from ‘Big Bang Theory’ is autistic due to habits.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  3. noelleg44's avatar noelleg44 says:
    May 20, 2026 at 2:52 pm

    My latest book has someone with a severe and murderous psychosis. But I did some research before introducing it, gradually.

    Like

    Reply
  4. John W. Howell's avatar John W. Howell says:
    May 20, 2026 at 6:36 pm

    Well thought out, Charles.

    Like

    Reply
  5. coldhandboyack's avatar coldhandboyack says:
    May 21, 2026 at 7:32 am

    I appreciate these tips. I don’t see myself going down this path, but we never really know.

    Like

    Reply
  6. DebyFredericks's avatar DebyFredericks says:
    May 21, 2026 at 9:46 pm

    I would be pretty mad if an author gave a villain mental illness instead of creating a well thought out character with strong motivations. I would not feel sorry for the character.

    Like

    Reply
  7. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 10:27 am

    Abdominal true. Never give up , as I did over the years. But now I get up every day to challenge myself

    Like

    Reply
  8. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 10:41 am

    Absolutely

    Like

    Reply
  9. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 10:43 am

    I’m a bit of a artist. I have mild cognitive problems and possibly end up with some sort of dementia. But it doesn’t stop me from art.

    Like

    Reply
  10. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 11:00 am

    I’ve sold to pictures of copies of a famous artist . To a friend.

    Like

    Reply
  11. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 11:51 am

    How is your day. It’s very hot and sunny day hearing England.

    Like

    Reply
  12. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 1:54 pm

    How’s your weather

    Like

    Reply
  13. nightoriginal41d828a593's avatar nightoriginal41d828a593 says:
    May 23, 2026 at 4:15 pm

    Hope it changes soon

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment