‘Insecure’ Started The Conversation About Bipolar Disorder and Relationships We Need
Nathan’s vulnerability — and Issa’s willingness to listen — is an important step to ending the stigma
As the season finale of Insecure looms, the HBO show continues to tackle issues of love, loss, and heart head-on. In last week’s episode, “Lowkey Trying,” viewers saw Issa and her ex-partner Lawrence finally back together and looking incredibly happy. Though anxious about breaking this fragile new trust, Issa also decided to meet up with her other ex, Nathan, helping him move into his new apartment — at which point Nathan admitted to her that he has bipolar disorder.
It’s a pivotal moment in Issa and Nathan’s relationship — and for TV in general. We rarely see depictions of Black bipolar people, and Black men’s mental health is a topic we don’t discuss nearly enough.
But depression, and certainly bipolar depression, is much more than a bad mood. Both are dangerous brain and psychological disorders that can be life-threatening.
Last season, Nathan and Issa had connected, and then he suddenly ghosted her for about a month. When he finally returned to Los…
