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Mental disorders are behavior and thought patterns that interfere with an individual's cognition or emotional regulation, impairing their day-to-day lives. These include behavioral or chemical dysfunction, abnormal disorders, intense fears, chemical dependency and, natural to comics, exposure to substances which affect a person's thought process and actions.

It is a common attribute of characters in comics and a somewhat poorly-aged trope in fiction. Many comic book supervillains, particularly members of Batman's rogues gallery, are written as being mentally ill as a way to explain or justify their actions, which has attributed to the increased stigma surrounding mental illness over the years. However, more modern media often shows superheroes struggling with their emotional and behavioral well-being as well, painting a more accurate and respectful picture of those who live with these disorders.

Identifying mental illness in comic books requires notice of a character's behavior as it is or becomes irrational to the social norms of the comic book. For instance, Hoppy the Marvel Bunny may act in strange ways to our eyes, but within the context of his story, he is perfectly normal.

Types of disorders[]

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