Is a mentally ill person violent?

Browse movies, tv shows, books and more where a mentally ill person is violent.
Showing a mentally ill person committing violent acts is a very specific and very focused trigger for mentally ill people, and people who love someone who is mentally ill. This is separate and distinct from demonizing mental illness. Many mentally ill people are shunned, abused, and murdered because people are frightened of them. Many mentally ill people are extremely poorly treated or even killed because so many people equate mental illness with violence. It is extremely upsetting for a mentally ill person to see a movie that tells them they are frightening and dangerous. Mentally ill people have enough to deal with without having to deal with terror and prejudice. Further, it is extremely upsetting to watch someone you love who has a mental illness watching a movie that shows someone like them being dangerous and violent.
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Movie • 2019 Report
Yes
225
No
2
22
hanzabananza
Dani’s sister has bipolar disorder, and in the beginning of the movie she kills both of their parents before killing herself
Movie • 2022 Report
Yes
162
No
0
21
Gaveston
Yes, though that is caused by possession and not the mental illness itself
TV Show • 2021 Report
Yes
129
No
0
25
cherry
a character who struggles with likely ptsd and psychosis traits is violent sometimes. she is portrayed sympathetically. + honestly i’d say she isn’t the only character with mental health issues in the show. many of the characters are shown in fights at some point.
Movie • 2000 Report
Yes
128
No
0
16
diningatdorsia
regardless of the end and what it might "change" in the events of the movie, the main character 100% has an antisocial personality disorder and is violent, has harmful behaviors and is depicted as a killer. (tw: he calls himself a "psychopath")
TV Show • 2019 Report
Yes
128
No
1
12
greencow
Rue is diagnosed with a number of mental illnesses at the beginning of the series, and she is shown having severe mood swings in which she is irritable and lashes out at her loved ones, throwing things and threatening her mom with broken glass (it should be noted that some of these outbursts are due to her being an addict and not necessarily her mental illnesses).
Movie • 2022 Report
Yes
115
No
0
16
Anonymous
Main villain is mentally ill, both explicitly stated and referred to with the word “cr*zy.” The movie seems to be exploring and maybe critiquing the trope rather than playing it straight, but she is presented monstrously, violently, and inhuman throughout.
Movie • 2022 Report
Yes
111
No
1
12
Mkosmorama
The main antagonist is heavily implied to be mentally ill, and is a serial killer.
TV Show • 2020 Report
Yes
101
No
3
6
nonamestartingwithr
Many of the main characters are mentally ill, and most of them are violent as hell given the nature of this show
Video Game Report
Yes
95
No
2
19
meowww
While Wilbur’s character in the actual canonical story is an overall very well written mentally ill man that doesn’t play into any harmful stereotypes, in many fanworks he is often depicted as creepy and unpredictably violent, contrary to how he canonically behaves, which can be pretty uncomfortable.
Movie • 2023 Report
Yes
93
No
3
19
Littleolme
Mike, who has PTSD, beats up a man because he mistakenly assumed that he was trying to kidnap a child. Nothing similar happens after that, though.

Maybe William Afton too, but that's arguable.
Movie • 1996 Report
Yes
91
No
4
12
Anonymous
a lot of calling people psycho and psychotic as a word for being a murderer
TV Show • 2005 Report
Yes
90
No
6
2
wpc25
many of the unsubs are mentally ill. multiple have ocd that causes them to kill people, which is deeply harmful given that many people with ocd are incredibly afraid of hurting someone (this is far from the only harmful portrayal of mental illness on this show, it’s just something i can speak to personally)
Yes
89
No
0
14
the_girl_in_the_box
Main villain is driven by grief and depression, she kills more people than anyone else in this film, and rarely gets any sympathy at all.
TV Show • 2021 Report
Yes
88
No
3
12
ChristinaC
SPOILERS
There is a Character who was on medication for some unspecified psychiatric condition. When she gets off her medication she turns into a ring leader and leads other characters in acts of violence.
TV Show • 2019 Report
Yes
86
No
2
8
cha0ticneutralsys
Pretty much every character is mentally ill. Vanya has violent outbursts due to her powers and kills/injures many people, there is also multiple scenes when Diego is in a psych ward and has violent outbursts an is then sedated and put in isolation
Movie • 2021 Report
Yes
86
No
0
11
sammylee
[SPOILERS] One man has schizophrenia and in a couple different instances he attacks the others with a knife.
Movie • 1999 Report
Yes
86
No
0
8
glastozasto
Lisa is consistently agressive and occasionally violent throughout the whole movie.
Movie • 2018 Report
Yes
84
No
11
20
sapphicswords
A character (who dies in the beginning of the film and is only shown in photos) is diagnosed with DID and had some abusive tendencies. Given the context of the film however, it’s very likely that this character was possessed and never actually had the disorder.
Video Game • 2017 Report
Yes
84
No
0
16
JudgeAngels
Yuri is very obviously mentally ill even though she's not violent towards others she is violent to herself
Yes
80
No
1
22
byakuyautistic
There's the "DID system has a murderer and cr*zy alter" trope, so...... yeah.
Movie • 2022 Report
Yes
79
No
0
4
DeadGoldfish
Pearl, the old woman, is a character with an unspecified mental illness, and [spoliers] is one of the film's killers.
Video Game • 2020 Report
Yes
77
No
2
12
It should be noted that no instances of violence ingame are used to directly demonize any characters.
TV Show • 2018 Report
Yes
76
No
7
15
zoolover
that is like. the entire show.
TV Show • 2011 Report
Yes
75
No
4
2
Anonymus
(tw!! self harm and violence) a bipolar mother and son act out a lot. for example the son burns a van, gets into fights, and threatens to shoot people. the mother causes self harm and slits her wrists.
TV Show • 2013 Report
Yes
73
No
0
8
Amy17
In the first season, a character suffers from Cotard syndrome and she's been thinking she's already dead since childhood. Now she's an adult and she becomes violent. She kills a woman (her old friend) in a very crude way, trying to understand if she's real or not.
TV Show • 2023 Report
Yes
72
No
21
14
Aimeebun
S1
 E1
Yes but not due to their mental illness specifically, an old woman with dementia has become infected by the fungus and this causes her to attack her family.
Movie • 1989 Report
Yes
72
No
0
TV Show • 2014 Report
Yes
70
No
1
3
eridanliker
A few scenes in Season 4 shows someone with dementia drug one person, and attack another
Yes
70
No
1
TV Show • 2005 Report
Yes
69
No
8
1
Vitya
S2
 E2
A character implied to be mentally ill/delusional keeps a bank hostage