How the HBO Hit Euphoria Gets Mental Illness & Addiction Right
Author’s Note: Euphoria spoilers as well as mentions of mental health problems and substance abuse.
The much talked about HBO series Euphoria, written by Sam Levinson, produced by Drake, and starring Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, and Storm Reid, shows the world that tricky topics like addiction, trauma, and mental health can actually be portrayed on television in a way that is not damaging, romanticized, or misleading.
Rue Bennet, (played by Zendaya), is one of the show’s main characters, whose substance abuse and mental health problems are not kept from the audience. Unfortunately, mental health issues are too often downplayed and, when revealed, frequently attacked with accusations, for example, that mental health issues are being faked to “get attention”. This propagates a very dangerous view on conversations about mental health and surrounding issues. By portraying Rue’s mental health journey, including getting the help she needs, Euphoria helps break down the stereotypes and stigmas which surround mental health problems such as depression, generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and others. Through openly showing her panic attack at school as a young girl, Rue’s mental health struggles are not normalized nor trivialized but instead shown as important, complex issues to understand - especially helping those who may feel like they still need to hide their disorders. Euphoria has been praised for not pathologizing or criminalizing Rue, which helps viewers with similar experiences - particularly those of Gen Z - to identify with her.
Rue’s experience is one which many people who are battling substance use disorder (SUD) can relate to; she turned to substances to cope with her ongoing fight with mental health issues. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that roughly 7.9 million adults have SUD and a co-occurring mental illness. The backstory to Rue’s substance abuse portrays the more complex reasons behind why people start to use drugs, which are often for more than to simply “have fun”. This allows the audience to question whether stigma, shame, and punishment are the best ways to help Rue with her addiction. In an extremely powerful scene in Episode 3, we see Rue break down outside Fez, her friend/drug dealer's house, about needing more drugs and begging him to give them to her. Fez tells her not to come there anymore and Rue starts screaming, “You did this to me”. This scene demonstrates the extremity of Rue’s addiction as well as Fez’s compassion. Not only are the effects of addiction shown to viewers, but also what friends and family can do to help someone with an addiction. Fez is highlighted for his concern for Rue’s safety and wanting her to stay clean after rehab, even though he could have continued to profit from her addiction. This scene helps people to understand the severity of substance abuse, rather than glorifying it for the sake of television and entertainment.
In the series finale, Rue relapses after deciding not to run away with her girlfriend/best friend Jules, because she realizes that it would be dangerous for her to be without her medication and that her family would worry about her well-being. Devastated to be without the person she loves, she falls back into a dark place. However, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Rue, even in the midst of her relapse, as her initial decision to prioritize her health and family shows that ultimately she is growing more conscious of her own needs - and that of others around her. Her relapse may be upsetting to watch, but healing is not linear, and neither is Rue’s story.
The creator of Euphoria, Sam Levinson, has also struggled with substance use, he told Entertainment Weekly. Because of this, he wanted to make sure that the show was realistic, without glamorizing Rue's substance use. "If we're pulling our punches and we're not showing the relief that drugs can bring, it starts to lose its impact", Levinson said, "because drugs can - drugs are not the solution, but they can feel like it at times, and that's what makes them so destructive," Levinson remarked at the Euphoria’s premiere at the ATX Television Festival in June 2019.
For viewers who experience substance misuse and/or mental illness, the complex, realistic nature of Rue’s story may resonate deeply. In the show, Rue is allowed to be more than just her substance misuse or her bipolar disorder. We see her as a loyal friend, as a girl falling in love, and as a fun-loving daughter and sister. Rue’s character embodies multitudes that Black women substance users are often denied. So for Rue, a Black teenager struggling with substance misuse, to simply be shown as a kid who needs help, is revolutionary.
Euphoria successfully portrays mental health naturally and honestly, avoiding stereotypes that often arise when depicting disorders on screen. It paints a complex, rounded, compassionate picture of what it's like to experience mental illness and recover from substance use. The show has sparked important conversations between teenagers and adults alike about issues of mental health and substance abuse by displaying raw, graphic, and unfiltered scenes. Seeing the complexities of these issues invites people to question their demonization of people with similar struggles as Rue, and realize why that isn’t the right thing to do.
With the airing of Season 2 around the corner, many fans are looking forward to seeing a continued empathetic portrayal of mental health that they can actually relate to. Mental health awareness is such an important topic, which needs to be properly depicted in media such as tv, movies, and books, etc. Euphoria has set a good example to other shows by demonstrating the capability of emphatically depicting mental health and substance abuse.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP(4357). If you or someone you know is seeking help for mental health concerns, visit the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) website, or call 1-800-950-NAMI(6264). For confidential treatment referrals, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website, or call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP(4357). In an emergency, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or call 911.