HBO's Insecure Approaches the Nuance of Mental Health Awareness in the Black Community

By Jamie-Lee Collman

As the month of July comes to an end, it only seemed fitting to administer an ode to Minority Mental Health Awareness month and reflect on how HBO’s Insecure approached the elements of mental health. Not only generally speaking, but specifically  within the Black community. The series took it one step further, highlighting it from the perspective of a Black man. This was a huge deal to me personally as a Black woman to witness because it seems like an unspoken rule that infers we should never really discuss mental health in the Black community. Let alone acknowledge the way it affects Black men. I found the show’s approach truly admirable.

This is how one of my second favorite characters of Insecure surprisingly became – Nathan. Not to say that his character wasn’t appealing from the instant he stepped foot on the screen, but you could always tell that there was something dynamic bound to unravel in time around his development. Which is likely due to him being a stranger to us and having this mysterious aura about him.

What are we preparing to unpack here?

Shortly after his introduction, we find that he’s enthused about getting close to Issa following the Lyft debacle. Everything appears to be going great between the two. That is, until they share that one intimate moment together at Coachella and Nathan proceeds to suddenly fall off the face of the Earth. We witness the way it has a significantly negative impact on Issa where she spirals so much that she finds herself seeking out any excuse to creep through his home to find some closure over the issue. It was hard to witness how her self-esteem became tarnished to the point that she began to question her worth.

I’m sure we were all thinking it at that moment: He ghosted her! What a jerk!

It was easy at that time to make that assumption, considering the term had just been coined amongst the dating pool as an explanation for other people’s disappearing acts. In the end, it gave us all a reason to hate him. Some of that was also portrayed through Molly’s character when he made an appearance on Issa’s birthday after vanishing for an entire month to bring her some flowers — and apologize for his behavior. Like most though, she wasn’t having it and ultimately running him off. You ended up rooting for her because she’s done what any good, decent, thoughtful friend would do.

Right? Well, it turns out to be wrong.

Issa got what she wanted – a conversation about why he left her. In turn, there was no understanding based on his initial approach.

“Sometimes I just — I get really down and kind of negative. I just can’t talk to people sometimes and I didn’t want to put you through that.”

“So, you…ghosted me and left LA because you were in a bad mood?”

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as we learned later when he eventually confided in her about the reality of struggling with Bipolar Disorder. Although the topic of mental health has become broader in the past couple of years, the stigma remains. Not only in general, but well within the Black community. Bipolar Disorder (BP) is difficult in the same capacity as BPD and before moving forward, many tend to label bipolar with the acronyms of BPD, but that’s incorrect. As mentioned before, it’s simply BP. They may share a few similarities, but they are not the same. People tend to mistake one for the other. The further you get through observation of Nathan’s actions, the more the symptoms of his BP become recognizable.

Some of them include:

Depression (nhs.uk)

• Lacking energy

• Difficulty concentrating and remembering things

• Loss of interest in everyday activities

• Feelings of emptiness or worthlessness

• Self-doubt

• Feelings of guilt and despair

Mania (nhs.uk)

• Feeling very happy, elated, or overjoyed

• Talking very quickly

• Feeling full of energy

• Feeling full of great new ideas and having important plans

• Being easily distracted

• Not feeling like sleeping

• Doing things that often have disastrous consequences

To some degree, you want to be understanding of what he’s dealing with, but also bringing attention to the pain he’s caused someone else unprovoked. Of course, you might think: Well, he could’ve led with that! — maybe. Maybe not. It’s not an excuse, but unfortunately, there is no room created for individuals who experience  BP to feel comfortable enough to express something so personal about themselves in the beginning. I believe if society hadn’t established so much stigma around it, then people would feel more compelled to openly discuss it with others. 

Oftentimes, this topic of conversation feels like a double-edged sword. It doesn’t matter which side of the issue you’re on, it all hurts the same and everyone involved feels it.

If you or someone you love has BP, below are some valuable resources that can be useful for helping to learn more about the disorder. Support them and yourself while navigating the complexities that come with it:

• SAMHA’s National Helpline

• Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIH)

• Mayo Clinic