Shameless- Agoraphobia and OCD M.Roberts

Blockbuster Project

1. Shameless Agoraphobia and OCD

2. Agoraphobia The fear of inescapable spaces Often develops into a fear of crowded spaces Those afflicted can become confined to their homes

3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Obsessions- irrational, uncontrollable thoughts Compulsions- ritualistic actions as a response to the obsessive thoughts -Often shown as a fear of germs in media

4. The show Sheila is an average suburban housewife, who is unable to leave her house due to crippling agoraphobia and OCD. Other characters on the show display mental illnesses, including alcoholism and bipolar disorder. The characters struggle from external factors as well, including poverty and relationship woes

5. Sheila and Agoraphobia Despite trying very frequently to leave the house, Sheila does not step foot outside for more than five years Attempts to do so leave her cowering in terror (see image below) She is left hungry for details of the outside world, but is unable to experience it Ex- “Will you please tell me what they said one more time? I want all of the details” (Sheila, Season one, episode seven)

6. Examples When the child she is caring for escapes outside the house, Sheila anchors herself to the banister before going into the yard to retrieve the baby (see image on the right) “I have not been out of the house in five years. I can’t. I have this overwhelming fear” (Sheila, season one episode six).

7. Sheila and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Always keeps the doors locked until she is sure who is outside Immediately makes all visitors take off their shoes before entering and place them inside a plastic bag All furniture is covered in plastic protectant that is easy to disinfect Obsessively cleans the house

8. Examples “You’ll have to take your shoes off. I will get you a plastic bag” (Sheila, to a visitor, season one episode six). “She’s got this thing about people bringing dirt into the house. Some kind of phobia” (Karen, Sheila’s daughter, season one episode six).

9. Negative Repercussions Sheila misses out on many of the important moments of her daughter’s life: “How am I supposed to help her be the woman she is supposed to be in I am locked up in this house?” (Sheila, season one, episode six). She misses parent’s night at school which is very important to her daughter. She desperately works with her therapist leading up to this night, but is unable to go (see treatment attempts)

10. Treatment Attempts She regularly sees a therapist who comes to her house and has her wear virtual reality glasses to work towards going outside from the safety of her house -She is unable to even leave a virtual room, and rips off the glasses in a panic She also often claims that today is the day she is leaving the house, gets dressed and ready, but never actually makes it outside

11. Video clip demonstrating agoraphobia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VByc6iAxDI Watch from 4:04 to 5:40

12. Finally, a breakthrough Sheila finally leaves the house in a rage to chase her husband out of the house and beat his car as he drives away. This is due to him being cruel to her daughter and causing her to be extremely distraught. The only things leading up to this point that brought Sheila out of the house were children in danger or emotional distress. She is truly a caring woman, and her mental illnesses do not change that.

13. Interpretation The show sheds light on mental illness and how the challenges that those suffering face can seem truly insurmountable Despite knowing that she was hurting and disappointing others, she was unable to overcome her illness Those who are ill are not so due to a lack of trying She was finally able to make progress with her illness due to her love and compassion for others, and finally making it outside showed her that it was not as scary as she made it out to be in her mind. However, she does not seem to make progress with her OCD, and still uses many locks, bags shoes, and cleans constantly. Progress with one mental illness did not translate to another

14. References https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VByc6iAxDI http://rebloggy.com/post/gif-shameless-shameless-us-sheila-jackson-shamelessedit-s2/81724509749 https://www.charactour.com/hub/characters/view/Sheila-Jackson.Shameless https://openpathcollective.org/topic/agoraphobia/ https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml