TV shows featuring bi-polar disorder 'help to raise awareness'
TV programmes frequently place an emphasis on characters with medical conditions, with the most recent being two characters in Eastenders who suffered from bi-polar disorder.
In the UK, one in four people are expected to suffer from a mental problem at some point in their lives, but one expert has pointed out that storylines such as the one on Eastenders may actually help to raise awareness of people who have the condition.
Dr Daniel Smith, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said that one positive to come out of storylines such as this one are that people become far more tolerant of sufferers and also more aware of how to spot symptoms.
His comments come after MDF The Bipolar Organisation revealed that there has been a significant rise in the number of people calling its helpline since the plot began.
In the show, mother and daughter Jean and Stacey Slater suffer from bi-polar disorder and struggle to cope with the condition, and Dr Smith pointed out that soap narratives are obviously one way of helping to put mental conditions in the spotlight.
He explained: "Carrying the story lines in soap operas are very helpful in attacking stigma related to psychiatric diagnosis.
"Anecdotally, I would expect to see an accurate portrayal of bipolar disorder in a young person and how it can be successfully treated and how [people with the disorder] continue to function reasonably well."
According to Dr Smith, bi-polar disorder is one condition which often struggles to get the attention which other, more common, mental problems receive, so the Eastenders storyline may have a positive impact on tackling the stigma associated with it in the near future.
Posted by Stephen Tate
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