Watching TV is quite an escape from reality, as most of us would say, but the truth is our television screens, and the portrayal of characters reflect our world vividly.
Whenever we watch our favorite shows, we see a life that is both different and the same as what we’re going through daily.
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Below, we have a list of characters who are just as troubled as us.
If your favorite didn’t make the list, drop us a comment so we can talk about them, too, and spread the love.
Olivia Pope (Scandal)
Ah, the prodigal child of a killer and a terrorist. When you’re living a life like you’re Olivia Pope—being the president’s mistress, solving crises and managing people, having a mind that needs to find a solution to a worldly problem—there has to be a point wherein you’ll lose it. I mean, no wonder she drinks alcohol on a sleepless night because she needs a retreat from life. But alcohol isn’t the solution, Liv! Well, not without us, maybe? And, don’t go killing anybody ever again. Not even your enemies.

Betty Cooper (Riverdale)
Am I the only one who remembers Betty having an episode of a split personality disorder when she was avenging her sister Polly? It was very interesting how that panned out, and very sad as well. If not a split personality, Betty needs to see a therapist immediately to resolve whatever angst and hatred she holds in her heart. We love the sweet Betty too much to lose her.

Hope Mikaelson (The Originals; Legacies)
Honestly, I think all the Mikaelsons deserve to have a therapist, but Hope Andrea Marshall Mikaelson deserves it the most. First of all, she’s a tribrid—meaning, her anger management needs a lot more attention than the rest. Also, being a teenager and having to experience that much loss (practically an entire family dying on you and for you), takes a toll on you.

The Pretty Little Liars (Pretty Little Liars)
Well, what can we say…? It has to be one of the easiest choices on the list. From its very first season, friends Hanna Marin, Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Allison DiLaurentis, and Emily Fields were the subject to the torment of an unknown bully who tried to unravel their dirty, little secrets to the public and destroy most of the personal relationships in their lives. A few twins reveal later, we find out that a secret society is actually behind everything, headed by none other than Spencer’s identical twin sister, Alex. I think, they need not only a psychiatrist for life but bodyguards as well.

Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
Poor Barney Stinson. With a mother who does not care too much about her son’s emotional well-being, it’s no wonder he grew up to be the man he’s become. And, because of having too many expectations about his unknown dad, he was a little too disappointed upon learning that his dad is actually someone who has been in his life for almost his entire life. Talk about being robbed of a chance of getting to know his dad organically. He literally fantasized every aspect of that issue before having to face reality. That would scar you.

Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder)
Who wouldn’t need a psychiatrist if you’re Annalise Keating? Losing your baby in a car crash, which later turned out to be caused by one of your trusted employees/friends; having a cheating husband who would later be killed while trying to cover up the murder itself—Annalise needs a therapist.

Lizzie Saltzman (Legacies)
To no one’s fault but her ancestor’s twisted approach to tradition, Lizzie seems to become the evil twin between her and her fraternal twin sister Josie. I mean, it has been proven that the Gemini coven actually produces those kinds of twins and Lizzie seems to sadly be this generation’s carrier of the illness. Dr. Alaric Saltzman needs more than just meditation exercises for this one.

Teresa Mendoza (Queen of the South)
Oh, Teresa. It sucks to be you, honestly. Remember when Teresa had to run for her life after her boyfriend died? Well, he didn’t actually die. It was just a show. But, imagine having to go through that, it would be traumatic! Then, she was raped by a drug trafficker, became a drug mule herself, and her best friend got killed—all while trying to outwit everyone else for the sake of her survival. If anyone else was in that position, no one would blame them if they’d lose it.

Clay Jenson (13 Reasons Why)
Clay actually had gone to a psychologist. During the first season, it was said that he had medications and one of the scenes showed Duloxetine, a drug for anxiety and/or depression. But, after holding pieces of evidence of a suicide, his life has gotten a lot messier. Hold on tight, Clay. Go and see your doctor whenever you feel necessary.

Mellie Grant (Scandal)
If you’ve seen Scandal, you know that Mellie Grant is a force to be reckoned with. Sure, she’s angry most of the time, but it was for a reason. She was raped by her ex-husband’s father, only to keep quiet about it because her husband was running for a government position. She lost a child because of a shady and covert government organization. She lost her husband to the hands of a person she truly respected. Talk about managing to smile in front of the world while hiding a dark room of gloom in the shadows. Mellie needs more than just a scream to release all of it.

Steven and Fallon Carrington (Dynasty)
Oh, what money can do to people. Fallon and Steven might be one you’d like to call sibling goals. They are caring and sweet towards one another. They’d call each other out on their BS. They’d literally do anything for the other. Mostly, that’s because they were born in a family where infamy runs deep. Having a mother who would, later on, abandon you and a father who would protect their family’s honor more than the family itself? And, sometimes, the Blake acts like the child his children need to look over.

Oliver and Thea Queen (Arrow)
Oliver and Thea probably had one of the most troubled lives. Oliver went from being a playboy to a vigilante after missing for five years from his normal life. He witnessed his father’s death. Soon enough, he also witnessed his mother’s death. Thea, on the other hand, turned out to be her mother’s child from an affair with an enemy. An enemy who son she used to have a crush on. It would be emotionally devastating, to be honest.

JJ Deveraux (Days of Our Lives)
JJ has had mental health issues since he came onto the show after his father’s death, was treated as a criminal after a nervous breakdown where he ended up breaking a window, sabotaged the one good relationship in his life, has had two incidents where he ended up sleeping with someone while drunk, and had a suicide attempt on a holiday. Help from your mom’s boyfriend is not all it takes to cure this.

Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon)
After his first wife and unborn son died, everything was pretty much dark about Riggs. Depression is something hard to run from because your head plays a lot of tricks on you. It would make you recall past memories, even the painful ones, and you’ll go through the same pain again. Sometimes, even deeper than before. Battling through his own demons, Riggs had to step it up to be able to move past what happened. Sadly, he was taken away from us long before we were able to see him recover fully.

Chandler Bing (FRIENDS)
Oh, our beloved Chandler. Who would have thought he’s going to be on this list? With his nailbiting, smoking and using humor to hide his feelings—it’s hard not to see that Chandler is actually suffering from anxiety. Ironic how sitcoms actually hold a lot of flawed characters and portray it in a comical way, because it is the reality. People trying to hide the fact that they are not as comfortable as they may seem. Good thing, Chandler has his friends with him.

Penelope Garcia (Criminal Minds)
A drunk driver killed her parents in a car accident when she was eighteen. She handled that well as she now helps guide the families of murder victims in her free time. But imagine being a firsthand witness to that and having a visual memory of what really happened? It would be tough if she hadn’t seen someone professionally. She even mentioned she dropped out of Caltech and went rogue by teaching herself computer coding. Penelope even had a near-death accident wherein one of her dates turned out to be gun-wielding and shot her. She made it out alive, but the trauma was a lot.

Elliot Alderson (Mr. Robot)
When mental illnesses are depicted by someone on a genius-level intellect like Elliot, it’s no wonder these people resort to drugs. It’s almost like having a perpetual type of intelligence. Mix that with the hallucinations and never-ending voices in your head that define your life, day by day. Elliot is not diagnosed with anything because he isn’t the type of person who would go to people to ask for solutions. That’s one of the problems. He needs to have people in his life who he’d listen to more than he listens to inside voices.

Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones)
Was there ever a term for medieval psychologists? Anyway, Cersei has made it to the list because she’s one troubled character. She has a certain paranoia wherein she needs to be the one with power. She slept with his brother and claimed her children were her husband’s and killed a lot of people. That said, being a mind like Cersei’s while being placed in a patriarchal society is too much on her. Her environment can be considered toxic. If she wasn’t born in such a place, you can only imagine if Cersei would have been a different type of person. She’s also very dependent on alcohol, which is obviously her way to medicate herself out of her problems.

Melinda May (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
When someone’s too unemotional or very stoic as Melinda May, it mostly proves that they’ve had more ill-fated lives than most. That said, while it is apparent that may isn’t the most vocal of all in the group, she feels a lot. Repressed and unspoken feelings tend to escape our system one way or another after being hidden for a long time, and it’s ugly most of the time. Melinda May needs to see a psychologist to take it all out. Sadly, Andrew, her psychologist and ex-husband, died.

Howard Silk – Alpha & Prime (Counterpart)
You know how it feels when you’re being compared to another person? It sucks! But, what if you meet someone who looks like you and is actually considered your counterpart? Alpha and Prime are from different dimensions but are the same person. After meeting each other, it must be hard to see what their lives could have become. That type of comparison has to be doing a number on them.

Joe Goldberg (YOU)
Oh, dear. Watching Joe on my television screen makes me afraid of my life in the real world. He’s a portrayal of a sociopath among us. He’s insane, manipulative, and obsessed. He needs a psychiatrist, ASAP! As someone who loves to read books, Joe makes me fear to go to a bookstore. Who, in their right minds, would meet someone and would want to build a perfect life for them—a life that is totally orchestrated that he would kill someone to get his happy ending? If not a psychiatrist, he needs to be in an asylum, probably with the jacket on.
