17 shows that positively discuss mental health

You’re the Worst

The series that focuses on burnout in younger working adults. You’re the Worst comments on professional fatigue in most of its run. You’re the Worst also normalizes mental health similarly to how it normalizes millennial malaise.

At its core, You’re the Worst is a comedy. Though it uses Gretchen’s depression and Edgar’s PTSD as humorous material, the series depicts their mental health conditions with accuracy and sensitively. As Gretchen explains her depression to her boyfriend, Jimmy, she notes that he can’t fix her and their relationship won’t resolve her depression because there’s no cure.

While some shows often use happy moments to distance characters from their diagnosed depression, You’re the Worst reiterates that depression can’t be cured with a happy ending or uplifting plot twist. The series doesn’t treat mental health as a venture to be fixed, Gretchen’s depression and Edgar’s PTSD are just there and they aren’t someone’s quest to fix (besides their mental health professionals, of course).

The show’s naturally comedic overtones help balance the severity of the characters’ mental health. To be honest, we’re thankful that a comedy can depict mental health accuracy and use it to portray humorous scenarios without poking fun at a symptom or otherwise.