There's a problem with the way bipolar disorder is represented in stock images
A Twitter user living with bipolar disorder has pointed out a major problem with stock imagery depicting the condition.
In a tweet thread, @Chrystran posted a series of problematic stock images which claimed to illustrate bipolar disorder.
"I made this thread *as* someone with bipolar who finds these popular depictions of bipolar frustrating, inaccurate & silly," she wrote on Twitter.
According to an NHS definition, bipolar disorder is a condition which "affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to another." People living with this condition have "periods or episodes" of depression and mania, per the definition.
But, as @Chrystran points out in her thread, the representations of the condition through stock imagery don't quite match up to the reality of living with bipolar. Indeed, many of the photos feature extremely reductive and inaccurate portrayals of the condition.
While these images are "silly," as @Chrystran says, the misrepresentation of this condition is deeply problematic. Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at the University of California–Berkeley says "the worst stereotypes" come out in media portrayals of mental illnesses. "The portrayals serve to distance 'them' from the rest of 'us.'" Stock images such as these could further contribute to negative and harmful stereotypes surrounding bipolar disorder.
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Indeed, one of the photos she found bore a strong resemblance to Arya Stark in Game of Thrones.
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Lots of the images feature mirrors "that don't work right."
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"Didn't you know? 9 out of 10 doctors recommend coping with mental illness by playing scrabble exclusively with words & concepts concerning your mental illness," she wrote. (They don't, for the record.)
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Looks like it's high time to start thinking about creating some new stock images.
Topics Health Mental Health Social Good
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
