MENTAL HEALTH Edition Exercises
Anxiety / Depression / Self-Harm
(R, 2006) — A quirky family road trip reveals hidden despair and unspoken self-harm attempts beneath comic chaos, portraying depression and existential frustration.
(PG-13, 2010) — A high-schooler checks himself into a psych ward for suicidal thoughts, finding hope among others struggling to overcome various mental health conditions.
(R, 2011) — On the eve of a planet’s collision with Earth, a woman battles major depressive disorder.
(R, 1980) — After surviving his brother’s death, a teen struggles with guilt and emotional repression, exploring depression, grief, and self-harm.
(R, 2001) — A Harvard student’s struggle with major depression and medication dependence mirrors the early Prozac era’s ambivalence about pharmaceutical treatment.
(PG-13, 2002) — Three women across time battle depression and suicidal ideation, connecting through Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway and shared existential suffering.
(R, 2014) — Estranged twins reconnect after near-tragedies, confronting shared depression, suicidal ideation, and family dysfunction.
(NR, 2021) — A young woman with a history of self-harm battles intrusive self-critical thoughts, exploring trauma recovery and self-compassion.
Psychosis / Schizophrenia
(R, 2010) — A ballerina’s obsessive pursuit of perfection devolves into psychosis, hallucinations, and self-harm fueled by anxiety and performance pressure.
(PG-13, 1996) — Pianist David Helfgott’s brilliance is undermined by trauma and mental collapse, exploring psychosis, breakdown, and creative recovery.
(R, 2011) — A husband’s terrifying apocalyptic visions blur reality and delusion, raising fears of inherited schizophrenia and the toll of untreated psychosis.
(PG-13, 2001) — Math genius Paul Nash struggles with schizophrenia, learning to distinguish delusion from reality.
(PG-13, 2020) — A teen with schizophrenia hides his diagnosis while navigating school and love, illustrating psychosis, anxiety, and social stigma.
Abuse / Grief / Trauma / Survival
(R, 2016) — A man haunted by past tragedy returns home to care for his nephew, facing debilitating grief, guilt, and suicidal rumination.
(PG-13, 2002) — A young sailor with violent outbursts begins therapy and confronts his childhood abuse and abandonment, exploring trauma recovery and self-worth.
(R, 2016) — Across three acts, a young man’s identity is shaped by abuse, neglect, and unspoken desire, exploring trauma, emotional isolation, and depression.
(R, 2009) — A teen survivor of horrific abuse finds empowerment through education and support, illustrating PTSD, dissociation, and depression.
Bipolar Disorder
(R, 2014) — A father with bipolar disorder struggles to care for his daughters while managing manic episodes, showing resilience amid instability.
(R, 2012) — A man with bipolar disorder rebuilds his life through dance and connection, examining recovery, stigma, and the role of love in stability.
(R, 2015) — Two poets with bipolar disorder meet in a psychiatric hospital and fall into a passionate but destabilizing relationship, exploring mania and love’s volatility.
Eating Disorders
(NR, 2017) — A young woman enters a residential treatment program for anorexia, exploring family dynamics, control, and recovery from self-destructive patterns.
OCD / BPD / Delusional Disorders
(R, 1999) — A young woman’s stay in a psychiatric hospital exposes the blurred lines between sanity and illness.
(NR, 2021) — A daughter struggles to help her mother slipping into persecutory delusions, exploring delusional disorder, anxiety, and caregiver burnout.
(PG-13, 2024) — A teen with obsessive-compulsive disorder wrestles with intrusive thoughts and contamination fears.