Next To Normal Themes

Mental illness is a significant disease that plenty of people deal with today. The musical next to normal written by Brian Yorkey is about a family who manages a crisis trying to get their family the closest thing back to normal, if not normal. There are many themes present in the musical. Of those themes present, the theme that I found most interesting is mental illness. Mental illness is a broad range of conditions that affects the mood, thinking, and behavior of a person. Throughout the musical we experience the negative affects of what it is like for a family to live and deal with a parent and a wife that suffers from a mental illness. By looking through the lens of the characters in next to normal we can develop and understand why they

act the way that they do by examining how Gabe is Diana’s mental illness and how that relationship affects the family.
Mental illness is a disease with an unknown origin.

According to the South African Journal of Psychiatry article “Depressive symptoms among children whose parents have serious mental illness: Association with children’s threat related beliefs about mental illness” “Sixty-eight percent of women and 57 percent of men with mental illness are parents”. As mentioned on nami.org, “Genetics, environment and lifestyle combine to influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life makes some people more susceptible, as do traumatic life events” (¶ 3). Diana has the mental illness of bipolar disorder that she developed because of the death of her son Gabe. Gabe died of an intestinal obstruction at eight months old as mentioned in the song “Maybe” sang by Natalie and Diana. Although Gabe is dead

in the musical, he is alive in Diana’s head. In her head, she hears Gabe singing to her. Gabe is the voice of her mental illness. In the song “I’m alive” sang by Gabe, “ And though you made me,/ You can’t change me/ I’m the perfect stranger who knows you too well” (42). These lyrics represent Diana’s mental illness because most times when people have a mental illness they often might hear voices in their head. According to www.mind.org.uk article “How to cope with hearing voices says”, “ you may hear voices if you have a diagnosis of psychosis, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or if you are severely depressed” (
¶ 2). Gabe is the voice of Diana’s past and although he died at a young age he still ages in her head. She is unable to get him to leave her alone because of how well he knows her. Throughout the musical Gabe makes some of the decisions for Diana.
Diana’s mental illness bipolar disorder has many symptoms.

In the article, Mental Illness and the Family: Recognizing Warning Signs and How to Cope by www.mentalhealthamerica.net writes, “ Adults, Young Adults, and Adolecents may suffer from prolonged depression, delusions, hallucinations, suicide thoughts, and substance abuse” (
¶ 10). This is significant because Diana suffers from all of these symptoms” (¶ 3). Throughout the musical, Diana’s relationship with her husband Dan has been sporadic. Dan wants the family back to normal however, he knows that is going to be very hard. In the song “ It’s Gonna Be Good” sang by Dan, Gabe, Henry, and Natalie. Dan sings, “ It’s gonna be great!/ It’s gonna be great. The sex is still amazing/ And we don’t stay up that late./ It’s almost been a month and she’s happy as a clam…/ Do I look great? I am.” (28). It’s been awhile since Diana’s last visit to the doctor and everything seems to be going fine. Then Diana begins to wonder why is Dan is staying with her through her illness in the song “Why Stay” sang by Diana and Natalie; the song says “ Why stay ?/ Why not simply give in/ And get on with livin’,/ so everyone knows you tried/ But somehow something died/ On the way. / So tell me why you stay?” (84). Diana is questioning why Dan would stay with the problems she put him through. Diana feels as if Dan will be better off leaving her because now he can experience his own happiness and interest in

life.
In the musical, Diana has these episodes of where she goes from reality to hallucinations. This hurts her daughter Natalie because it is hard to cope with when she has her own issues. Natalie believes that Diana cares more about Gabe then she does her. As mentioned in the song “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” sang by Natalie, Diana, and Gabe; Natalie sings “ Superboy and the invisible girl.../ Son of steel and daughter of air./ He’s a hero, a lover, a prince/ She’s not there.” (36). Natalie relates Gabe to steel because steel is a physical object, and she relates herself to air because you can not see air. Basically, Natalie feels as if Diana believes that Gabe is physically alive and that she is not; since everything Diana does revolves around Gabe. She feels alone because she thinks that nobody cares or is there for her.