Ian Gallagher from Showtime’s “Shameless” was officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder in Season 5, Episode 6. However, we had gotten notes of his mental health struggles much earlier on. In Season 3, he decided to enlist in the army––under his brother’s name––without telling anyone. He began an illegal affair with his older sister’s boyfriend’s father and later became a nightclub stripper. Having seen the show, fans were quick to identify these symptoms. Ian’s mother, Monica, was seen doing incredibly similar things since her introduction, nearly ending her life at Thanksgiving during a severe bout of depression.
Since its inception, Shameless has gained popularity for showcasing unique/strong family dynamics. Such dynamics became especially interesting when Ian was finally diagnosed with BD. While clearly loving him, relatives kept him at arm’s length and constantly worried about him. Even his closest sibling, his near-aged brother Lip, routinely substituted old conversational jabs with questions of whether he was on his meds.
Despite not being central to this part of the show’s storytelling, it is worth noting that Ian is gay. Throughout the show, he has had an on-and-off relationship with a local thug named Mickey. Although tumultuous, their relationship is often the best indicator of Ian’s health. During manic episodes, we see him frequently cheat on Mickey and attack him for showing concern over his well-being. Later on, he stole Mickey’s infant child during a manic episode.
As a brief aside, we should note that the LGBTQ community has a troubled history with psychiatric care due to the latter’s outrageous malpractices. As Stephen Vider writes in his book Clinical Activism in Community-based Practice: The Case of LGBT Affirmative Care at the Eromin Center, Philadelphia, 1973–1984, for many years, gay people could not seek psychiatric care without staff presuming it was related to their “curable” sexual orientation. The passage of time between 1984 and this show has done very little to bridge this divide, as seen when Ian runs a non-profit supporting at-risk and otherwise unaided mentally ill LGBTQ youth.
While Ian evens out as the show goes on, mainly due to Lithium use, his bipolarity remains a constant factor. Initially, he hated taking it. According to him, they made him ‘feel like nothing,’ something many can attest to. Even while taking them, his employer initially prevented him from becoming an EMT despite perfect scores due to fears that he would be reckless. Despite proving her wrong, his coworkers are still constantly wary of him.
Another vital factor to consider is Ian’s family’s socioeconomic status. The Gallaghers are, crucially, poor. Without the privilege attached to upper-class Americans, many of their solutions require DIY ingenuity or outright aggression. Unfortunately, we see this point converge with previous paragraphs’ when Ian becomes incarcerated for setting a homophobic man’s van on fire while unmedicated. Unsurprisingly, poor and mentally ill individuals are significantly more likely to face jail time, as many scholars have noted.
We see some of the least palatable parts of mental illness history through Ian’s story. With Ian being both gay and poor, he understandably has a tenuous relationship with organized care. Despite loving him unconditionally, his family members initially lack the knowledge necessary to care for him properly. The chaotic Chicago South-Side world that he lives in only exacerbates his issues. Regardless, Ian’s resilience allows him to remain one of the most likable and inspirational characters on the show.
Works Cited
Clinical activism in community-based practice: The case of LGBT affirmative care at the Eromin Center, Philadelphia, 1973-1984
Mills, Alice, and Kathleen Kendall. Mental Health in Prisons: Critical Perspectives on Treatment and Confinement. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2018.
Steadman, Henry J., and Joseph J. Cocozza. Mental Illness in America’s Prisons. Seattle, WA: National Coalition for the Mentally Ill in the Criminal Justice System, 1993.
