April 28 : It may be important to watch ‘The Simpsons’ for reasons other than having a few laughs, for a new study has revealed that the humour of the show can help overcome mental health problems or at least ‘normalise’ the illness.

Australian trainee psychiatrist Dr Hannah Mendelson and director/cinematographer Gil Poznanski from Melbourne conducted the study.

The researchers picked up various examples from the show’s episodes to explain how humour can be a vehicle to address important health issues.

For example, in one episode, lead character Homer attempts to cure his depression with his ‘homemade Prozac’ mixture of chocolate and ice cream after he is unable to get help.

“Homer says ‘My last chance is homemade Prozac’. Even though he’s an idiot, he acknowledges that an antidepressant could help,” Poznanski said.

Numerous episodes of the show have portrayed psychiatric institutions and mental health problems, including depression, phobias, alcoholism, stress, self-help groups and ‘nervous breakdowns’.

Another example is psychiatrist Dr Marven Monro, one of the strongholds of the fictional community of Springfield, and an alcoholic becoming an astronaut when temporarily off booze.

“Episodes focusing on mental health have actually been quite sympathetic, but sometimes throwaway lines have been derogatory showing stigma, such as the normally sensible Marge saying ‘it must’ve been a mental patient’ or references to a loony or loony bin,” she said.

Poznanski believes that ‘The Simpsons’ is so effective as it ’shows it like it is’ strategy, which is not politically correct.

“They accept it as part of real life. Other shows might gloss over it but the program deals with it head-on using humour,” Poznanski said.

The findings of the research will be presented at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Congress next month. (ANI)