Alongside its portrayal of teenage friendships and love, Heartstopper (2022) depicts the impacts of eating disorders in young people.
Heartstopper (2022) is a popular coming-of-age TV series based on a webcomic by Alice Oseman (See below for example character profiles). The story follows Charlie, an openly gay teenager, as he navigates school life and his blossoming relationship with his classmate, Nick. The show covers several notable parts of being a teenager, from exploring one’s identity to friendship dynamics. It also depicts some of the more challenging aspects of adolescence and school life — particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals — such as bullying and homophobia, trouble “fitting in” with gender norms and stereotypes, and mental health difficulties.
In season 3 of Heartstopper, Charlie is shown to experience anorexia, an eating disorder. He often skips meals or makes excuses to not eat and his mental health deteriorates after the bullying he faced earlier on in the show. His friends and Nick become concerned about his change in behaviour. When Charlie opens up to Nick about his struggles with eating, Nick encourages him to speak to an adult and seek help. We then see Charlie share his difficulties and desire to seek help with his parents. He says:
“My mental health has been really bad lately. I’ve been finding eating really difficult. I feel there’s a voice in my head that’s not me, telling me bad things will happen if I eat or do things in the wrong way. That voice has been getting louder and louder. Sometimes it makes me feel really stressed or tired or angry. And I think I’ve been like this for quite a long time, but I didn’t want to admit it. And now it’s gotten worse. So, I was thinking maybe I should go to the doctors about it. Maybe they could help. I want to get better.”
Soon after, Charlie starts meeting with a therapist regularly. By the end of the season, Charlie is shown to be in a healthier place, though his recovery is still ongoing.
Anorexia can often be misrepresented in media, but we think Heartstopper addresses it with greater tact. It showcases the impacts it can have on young people, how it can feel daunting to seek help, and how recovery is a gradual but important process. The show’s production team consulted Beat — a prominent UK charity focused on supporting those affected by eating disorders — to ensure their portrayal of eating disorders felt realistic and was not triggering to people who had similar experiences.
Largely, the depiction of Charlie’s eating disorder appears to have resonated with people who have experienced similar symptoms. Young people appreciated that Heartstopper represents the struggles of a gay boy, given that the LGBTQ+ community and boys tend to be overlooked in conversations about eating disorders.
Nevertheless, some individuals on Reddit indicated that Charlie’s experience of an eating disorder varied significantly from their own. As respondents to these posts suggested, part of the reason may be that there is no universal experience of a mental health problem, and it can be difficult for media to capture this variety.
