Homeland: Living with Bipolarity

Gaurika Kumar

Homeland is a TV show about Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes) who has Bipolar Disorder and has been critically acclaimed for being one of the best representations of mental illnesses on television in recent years The show revolves around her life and the challenges she faces while tackling international crises. It discusses themes of counterterrorism and espionage, and takes place in different locations including America, Pakistan, and Germany. Despite the unreliability and unpredictability that accompanies bipolarity, Carrie is at the top of her profession as a high-ranking agent at the CIA. It is an important show to discuss and dissect because the disorder isn’t used as a tool to progress the storyline, or as the main plot, but is rather carefully curated as a part of Carrie’s character.

Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder in which a person experiences episodes of both depression and mania. Genetic and biological factors have been known to play a part in the existence of bipolarity. Neurochemical imbalances, abnormalities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and disturbances in biological rhythms all play important roles in bipolar disorders[i]. Although this genetic predisposition does make a person vulnerable to this disorder, environmental stressors also contribute to, and often provoke, these emotional excesses. Carrie Mathison, being a daughter of a man with bipolar disorder, and a CIA agent, always finds herself in high-powered, high-stress situations. This makes her case especially interesting because due to the constant presence of stressors in her life it is difficult to gauge what is her inherent personality, and what behaviours occur because of her disorder. Is Carrie a good spy because of her genius and acumen for the profession, or does her bipolarity contribute to it?

In bipolar disorder, the symptoms of mania and depression manifest in different ways. In manic phases, people have euphoria or heightened irritability, rapid thoughts, a surplus of ideas, inflated self-esteem, unusual energy and impulsiveness[ii]. This can make people dysfunctional, but in some cases can increase their productivity. As shown in the show, Carrie has had several breakthroughs in her work during this manic phase which becomes evident in season one of Homeland, when she willingly goes off her meds to track a terrorist, and successfully manages to do so. Another trait shown in Carrie is her strong sense of self-belief, and intuition. It almost borders a self-centred nature where anyone who goes against her, or opposes her is perceived as an enemy. It is difficult to determine whether this confidence and narcissism arises because of her self-awareness of her intelligence and genius as an espionage spy, or is caused by her bipolarity. Furthermore, examples of impulsive and reckless behaviours in patients of bipolar disorder can be seen through activities like excessive spending, substance abuse, promiscuous sex, inter alia. Throughout the show, Carrie also engages in sexual activities with her colleagues and suspects. For example, in season one, she seduces Nicholas Brody, a prisoner of war who has been suspected of being turned into a terrorist, and in season four, Ayan, a Pakistani medical student related to a family of terrorist who were murdered in an air strike launched by Carrie and her team. It is not known whether these advances made by Carrie were well thought-out tactics to get close to the suspects, or promiscuous behaviours caused by her bipolarity.

While her mania is depicted well, Carrie’s depressive phase is also brilliantly recorded by the show. When she is depressed, she indulges in binge drinking, sleeps for days, and isolates herself from her family and friends. In one instance when confronted by Brody to stay away from him and his family, Carrie seemingly break down and is taken to the hospital for treatment. In the hospital she goes through severe depression and repeatedly bangs her head against a bathroom mirror, is anxious, and obsessive. Despite this, even in the hospital she is dedicated to her work, but when her trustworthy green pen dries out, we see her spiral and obsessively trying to replace it with a new green pen. Moreover, her bipolarity also shown to sometimes manifest in mixed episodes, where she’s ecstatic one minute, and because of a sudden stressor starts crying and screaming uncontrollably.

Overall the depiction of bipolarity in Homeland is accurate, and has been appreciated by people who suffer from this disorder themselves making the character interesting from a dramatic as well as clinical perspective. Dealing with hostage situations, terrorist plots, murders, pregnancies, and deaths of loved ones, the show explores different emotions and different ways in which Carrie deals with them. In an environment where the media is filled with inaccurate depictions of mental disorders, a representation based on true experiences with bipolar disorder is refreshing and much needed.

References:

Hannah Jane Parkinson. (2014). Does Homeland Sensationalise Carrie Mathison's Bipolar Disorder?. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/01/homeland-carrie-mathison-bipolar-disorder-claire-danes

Jeffrey Lieberman. (2014). Homeland: A True Portraual of Mental Illness.  Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/shrink-speak/201411/homeland-true-portrayal-mental-illness

[i] James N. Butcher, Susan Mineka, Jill M. Hooley. (2013). Abnormal Psychology, 15^th ed. p. 264

[ii] American Psychiatric Association. Treatment of Patients With Bipolar Disorder. 2^nd Edition. https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/bipolar.pdf