This article examines how mental health is discursively constructed in British newspapers. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of power, discourse and biopolitics, the study employs Foucauldian discourse analysis to explore how mental illness is framed across newspapers with different political ideologies. By comparing left- and right-leaning newspapers, our research identifies how these political ideologies shape narratives of mental health, revealing how these representations contribute to normalization, pathologization or politicization of mental distress. The findings suggest that media discourse functions not merely as a reflection of public sentiment, but as a mechanism through which mental health is governed; structuring what is thinkable, sayable and actionable. In doing so, the study can deepen critical insights into how media contributes to the creation of mental health knowledge and highlights the subtle operations of power that underpin everyday representations of illness.
BambraC.LunauT.Van der WelK. A.EikemoT. A.DraganoN. (2014). Work, health, and welfare: The association between working conditions, welfare states, and self-reported general health in Europe. International Journal of Health Services, 44(1), 113–136.
4.
BarryM. M.ClarkeA. M.JenkinsR. (2016). Mental health promotion: Theory and practice. Oxford University Press.
5.
BerlantL. (2011). Cruel optimism. Duke University Press.
6.
BrackenP.ThomasP. (2005). Postpsychiatry: A new direction for mental health. BMJ Publishing Group.
7.
BrooksS. K.WebsterR. K.SmithL. E.WoodlandL.WesselyS.GreenbergN.RubinG. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10224), 912–920.
8.
ChomskyN.HermanE. S. (2002). Manufacturing consent: The political economy of the mass media. Pantheon Books.
CohenS. (1972). Folk devils and moral panics: The creation of the Mods and Rockers. MacGibbon & Kee.
11.
CorriganP. W.WatsonA. C.GraciaG.SlopenN.RasinskiK.Hall.L. L. (2005). Newspaper stories as measures of structural stigma. Psychiatric Services, 56, 551–556.
12.
CossinsD. (2019). The moral panic around digital mental health: The role of media in shaping public perceptions of mental illness. Media, Culture & Society, 41(4), 545–561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443719837663
13.
FosterJ. L. (2006). Media presentation of the mental health bill and representations of mental health problems. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 16, 285–300.
14.
FoucaultM. (1972). The archaeology of knowledge. Pantheon Books.
15.
FoucaultM. (1975). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Pantheon Books.
16.
FoucaultM. (1977). Disorder and the discipline of mental illness. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 13(3), 213–226.
17.
FoucaultM. (1978). The history of sexuality: Vol. 1. An introduction. Pantheon Books.
18.
FoucaultM. (1980). Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings 1972-1977. Pantheon Books.
19.
FoucaultM. (1991). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Vintage Books.
20.
FuchsC. (2017). Critical theory of communication: New readings of the political economy of communication. University of Westminster Press.
21.
FurediF. (2007). The politics of fear: Beyond left and right. Continuum.
MajorS. (2018). The media’s role in influencing mental health policy. Journal of Public Policy, 32(2), 45–67.
24.
McChesneyR. W. (2008). The political economy of media: Enduring issues, emerging dilemmas. Monthly Review Press.
25.
McGintyE. E.Kennedy-HendricksA.ChoksyS.BarryC. L. (2016). Trends in news media coverage of mental illness in the United States: 1995–2014. Health Affairs, 35, 1121–1129.
26.
McTernanN.RyanF.WilliamsonE.ChambersD.ArensmanE. (2023). Using a television programme as a tool to increase perceived awareness of mental health and well-being – findings from ‘our mental health’ survey. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(1), 19–29.
O’NeillM. (2017). Mental health and neoliberalism: Impacts of austerity on mental health policy. Journal of Social Policy, 46(3), 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279416000696
PrattE.HackettS. (2018). The portrayal of suicide in the media: A critical review. Mental Health and Media, 10(1), 23–39.
34.
ProsserB. (2010). Media and pedagogical exchange: Taking ADHD to radio 2GB. Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Available online: www.aare.edu.au/09pap/pro091598.pdf (accessed on 14 May 2024).
35.
StuartH. (2006). Media portrayals of mental illness and their consequences. Journal of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 41(6), 428–433.
36.
ThomasP.Quilter-PinnerH. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on mental health: A report for the UK government. Institute for Public Policy Research.
37.
ThornicroftG.SunkelC.AlievA. A.BakerS.BrohanE.El ChammayR.DaviesKDemissieMDuncanJFekaduWGronholmPCGuerreroZGurungDHabtamuKHanlonCHeimEHendersonCHijaziZHoffmanC…WinklerP. (2022). The Lancet Commission on ending stigma and discrimination in mental health. The Lancet, 400(10361), 1438–1480.
38.
ThornicroftG.RoseD.MehtaS. (2016). Discrimination in mental health services in England: The view of service users. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 134(3), 203–211.
39.
WahlO. F. (1995). Media madness: Public images of mental illness. Rutgers University Press.
40.
WhitleyR.BerryS. (2013). Analyzing media representations of mental illness: Lessons learnt from a national project. Journal of Mental Health, 22, 246–253.
