Inaccurate Mental Illness Representation Is All Media Left Me: OCD in Silvera

Abstract

Having a simple explanation of a much more serious topic, sadly, sells much more than a complicated narrative with an accurate representation of the issue. Oftentimes in media and literature, mental illnesses are represented incorrectly or in a way that barely scrapes the surface of what a mental illness is and stands for. For example, most that suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder have separate obsessions and compulsions, but most literary works focus on one or the other as if the two are not tied into one mental disability. An example of OCD representation in literature would be Mr. Monk, wherein both the books and television series his mental illness is seen as a joke or is used for humor. However, where OCD patients are concerned, many can say that OCD has only been a liability in their lives, or has hindered them from doing daily tasks, such as cooking and sleeping. In the novel History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, the author utilized a few stereotypical aspects of OCD in order to make it easier for the audience to understand, while also trying to represent OCD in the most realistic sense of the medical diagnosis. By doing so, he was able to create a story that not only appeals to the people unfamiliar with mental illness and make it easy for them to understand but also makes those that suffer from OCD feel validated and represented correctly.