History Main / DrivenToMadness

* Norwegian author ''Creator/IngeborgReflingHagen'' had this as a common trait in her early production. Most of her main characters were either Driven To Madness, DrivenToSuicide ''[[UpToELeven Or Both]]''!

* In the play ''Gaslight'' (and the two film versions of the play) the husband plays tricks on his wife in order to convince her she's going crazy. It became a TropeNamer.
* ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'': Stanley to Blanche.

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'': This is one of two ways that the enemies can kill your party (the other being relentless murder). The entire dungeon is one big stress-fest, with critical hits that crush morale and enemy attacks solely dedicated to freaking your party out. If they reach the breaking point, they go insane. If they reach the breaking point twice, ''they literally die from stress''.
** Good news is, there is a tiny chance that their insanity will be of the [[HeroicSecondWind positive type]], effectively making them even ''better'' than in normal mode.

May be an aspect of the MindGameShip if the reasons for the sanity breaking were FoeYay related.

-->-- '''ComicBook/TheJoker''', ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''

''Manga/ElfenLied'' is a disturbing example of how bullying, abuse, torture, and [[badPeopleabuseAnimals animal cruelty]], can drive a [[TheDogBitesBack victim]] like Lucy to mass murder and genocide.

* This is the origin of Tomura Shigaraki from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. [[spoiler:Years of abuse from his father, coupled by him killing his family followed by All For One's manipulations, drove him insane and transformed him from Tenko Shimura to Tomura.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Elfen Lied}}'' Nearly every form of abuse Lucy experienced drove her to murder all humans in such inhuman ways.

* In ''Manga/{{ElfenLied}}'' Nearly every form of abuse Lucy experienced drove her to murder all humans in such inhuman ways.

** Electro started off as a typical JerkAss criminal but years of verbal and physical torment had enough of a toll that he is now relegated to asking his mutant girlfriend to shapeshift into Spidey during sex so he could feel in control.
** While [[ComicBook/DoctorOctopus Dr. Octopus]] was driven insane by the accident that turned him into a villain, it has been noted that Spider-Man's constant taunts and beatings drove him farther over the edge. Also, in two separate incidents, he was mentally scarred after pissing Spider-Man off. One of those times involved Spidey ripping his mechanical arms off.

** Spidey drove Eddie Brock (aka ComicBook/{{Venom}}) insane by exposing the real identity of a killer after Brock had identified a compulsive liar who'd taken credit for the crimes. This was the only case in which Peter drove someone insane without meeting him.

* The film ''Sleep, My Love'' with Claudette Colbert.

* Norwegian author ''Creator/IngeborgReflingHagen'' had this as a common trait in her early production. Most of her main characters were either DrivenToMadness, DrivenToSuicide ''[[UpToELeven Or Both]]''!

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' Tobi's talk with Sasuke about Itachi's true intentions ultimately led to Sasuke becoming AxCrazy and joining Tobi's side.

** [[spoiler: Ironically, ''Akito'' herself was driven to madness upon years of monstruous psychological abuse coming from her mother Ren. As a little kid, Akito was naive and bad-tempered but not evil; however, she completely SNAPPED and became a massive {{Yandere}} with some of the worst issues in the whole cast.]]

* Happens to [[WhiteCollarCrime Warren White]], a white-collar criminal who [[OnlySaneMan finds himself in Arkham Asylum]] in the limited series ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell''. As the story progresses, Warren is continually tortured, abused and terrorized by the other inmates, until finally, he is locked inside Mr. Freeze's empty cell by an inmate trying to steal his identity, where he loses his nose, his lips, some of his fingers, and his ears to frostbite. Now a "freak" himself, Warren transforms himself into the villain The Great White Shark.

* In ''ComicBook/TheBoys'', [[spoiler:Black Noir, the clone of Homelander,]] drove Homelander insane by mailing him photos of Homelander [[spoiler:actually Noir dressed up as Homelander]] eating babies, eating hearts, and committing violent murder-rapes. Homelander became an insane monster because he thought he was already a monster and just didn't remember it.

* Used to be part of ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'s modus operandi. He stopped doing that, but by that time [[TheDogBitesBack he had earned himself two formidable enemies in the form of one of these victims and the son of another.]]
* Dr. Eggman in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' started suffering a massive one following having his greatest victory - defeating Sonic, capturing just about everyone and turning Knothole Kingdom into a crater - swiped from him. He would ultimately snap after one last victory by Sonic pushed him over the edge.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DeadSpaceDownfall,'' Hanson finally loses it after being nearly EatenAlive by a pack of Swarmers and then being attacked by a Lurker not 10 seconds later. He was screaming from stress and fear before the fight, but this is what finally pushes him into [[LaughingMad giggling]] [[AxCrazy psychopath]] territory, opening him fully to the Marker's MindRape.

* The main theme of ''Film/ShockCorridor'', where the hero has himself declared insane and sent to the asylum to solve a murder case. But things are going the wrong way.
* ''Film/TheScreamingSkull'': In which a man attempts to drive his wife insane in order to get unrestrained access to her money. It shares [[InNameOnly very little]] with the F. Marion Crawford short story of that name besides the title.
* ''Let's Scare Jessica to Death''

** ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'': Bane destroys Batman's city via anarchy, threatens to trigger a nuke in its heart, fractures his spine, and leaves him stranded in the middle of the world's largest dry well which only one child has escaped via climbing. By the end, Batman is shown psychologically broken enough to kill people - starting with Bane - by firing explosive rounds via Bat-Jet to Talia's face.
* The Skeksis render their captives near-mindless servants and steal their living essence by exposing them to ''Film/TheDarkCrystal''.

* ''Film/HushHushSweetCharlotte'': Attempted semi-successfully with [[spoiler: one part {{gaslighting}}, one part drugs, and one part FakingTheDead with a StagedShooting.]]

* In ''Film/{{Gaslight}}'', Gregory is using all sorts of {{Gaslighting}} methods to convince Paula she's going mad.
* By the end of ''Film/AsylumBlackout'', this seems to have happened to [[spoiler:George]] due to the events of the blackout.
* ''Film/FullMetalJacket'': Pvt. "Gomer" Pyle is targeted by [[DrillSergeantNasty Gunnery Sgt. Hartman]] because he can't keep up with the other recruits. [[FromBadToWorse It gets worse]] when [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure Gunnery Sgt. Hartman decides to punish everyone whenever Pyle messes up.]] It comes to a head when [[EtTuBrute Joker joins the other recruits in blanket party]] and Pyle actually improves in his training, but Joker becomes concerned when [[CompanionCube he starts to talk to his rifle]] and becomes more and more disconnected from reality. It all ends when [[spoiler: in their final night before deployment, Pyle recites the rifleman creed at the top of his lungs, [[TheDogBitesBack and shoots Sgt. Hartman, after Hartman delivers one more insult too many.]] [[AteHisGun Pyle then turns the rifle on himself.]]]]

* In Alexander Dumas’ adventure novel ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' Monsieur de Villefort, a corrupt royal prosecutor responsible for the title character’s unjust imprisonment goes mad after his past crimes get publicly revealed and his sociopathic wife poisons herself and the rest of de Villefort’s family, including his young son. What triggers Villefort’s breakdown is the revelation of who stands behind his downfall -- a man he sent to rot in prison.
* In a somewhat unknown Swedish novel, ''Simon's Family'' by Marianne Freddriksson, the character Isak is training at a boot camp. His squadron leader tries to break the spirit of him by being his antisemitic self (Jewish Isak had been molested as a child by Nazis- no I'm not making this up). Isak begins to go numb almost to the point of no return.
* This is the final fate of the protagonists in Creator/AlexanderPushkin's ''The Bronze Horseman'' and ''The Queen of Spades''.
* ''Literature/TheBookOfLostThings'': A common result of the Crooked Man's tortures, usually after being ForcedToWatch.

* [[Series/{{Firefly}} River Tam]] is driven mad by the government and the knowledge she learns from the officials who come to see her.
** Not to mention the show's Reavers, who will occasionally keep one victim alive and force said victim to watch their shipmates be raped to death, skinned and eaten. The survivor will ultimately go mad from the experience and will only cope by becoming a Reaver themselves.

* In ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' Number 6 goes to work on the Number 2 of the week in "Hammer Into Anvil". (Arguably, breaking Number 6' sanity is the point behind the whole series.)
* In ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' the episode "Crazy Witch Lady" has the titular Lady driven to madness by the citizens of Camden treating her like an evil witch. It is implied she was just a regular quirky [[EccentricTownsfolk Camden resident]] before this.
* Dr. Prospect does this to Daido Katsumi in ''[[Series/KamenRiderDouble W Returns: Eternal]]'' by [[spoiler:slaughtering the entire village he was trying to save and then rubbing salt in the wound by explaining how this happened because [[NiceJobBreakingItHero NEVER took them out of the village in the first place]]. Katsumi ''snaps'' completely as a result.]]

* In Creator/{{Euripides}}'s tragedy, ''Theatre/{{Bacchae}}'', the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology god Dionysus]] drives his aunts --and many of the women of Thebes-- mad because they dishonored his mother and refused to acknowledge his divinity. The play ends with [[DownerEnding tragic results]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' the [[CreepyDoll blue dolls]] are capable of driving people insane. Late in the game they attempt to do this to [[spoiler: Garry]] and if they succeed the damage may be [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan temporary]]..or [[DownerEnding permament]], all depending on your [[MultipleEndings previous actions]].
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, finding inventive ways to drive people to complete madness is within the realm of Sheogorath, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[MadGod Madness]]. He even considers it ''[[MadHatter a blessing]]'':
--> '''Sheogorath''': ''"Madness is a bitter mercy, perhaps, but a mercy nonetheless. It is better to be seen as mad than hopelessly despondent."''

* ''VideoGame/TheWedding'': Jack begins to become insane and mentally unstable, the longer the portal in his basement is open. Lack of sleep was part of the reason why the demons and monsters roaming his house made it easier for him to go insane. His notes also indicate that his wife apparently summoned some extra demons, specifically to terrify him, but [[UnreliableNarrator exactly how accurate that is, given Jack's mental state when writing that part]]...

* In ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', King Croacus in chapter 5 was driven to madness because of the trash the Cragnons threw in the water the Floro Sapiens had to drink. That caused him to abduct and brainwash the Cragnons for the sake of his people and to build a palace filled with gems. Mario and Co stopped and defeated him, prompting the Floro Sapiens to scold them by explaining what was going on. The Cragnons promised to keep the water clean, putting an end to King Croacus' madness and tyranny.

* Many WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes characters end up doing this to their antagonists -- of particular note are the mice Hubie and Bertie.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'': Sam and Max do this to MoralGuardian [[PunnyName Kent Standit]] in "The Glazed MacGuffin Affair". When he banned the titular snack food, Sam and Max went on a crusade to make him lift by getting him to taste one, following him everywhere he went and trying to trick him into eating one. This escalates into a cross-country chase, ending when Kent realizes he's arrived at the factory where Glazed {{MacGuffin}}s are made and snaps.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'''s Discord favors this as a method of BreakTheCutie.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': A RunningGag on the show is to have this happen to Kaeloo (the culprits usually being Stumpy and Mr. Cat), and for the ResetButton to make sure that her sanity is back by the next episode.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', Joker does this to Detective Bennett in a situation clearly inspired by ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''. Unlike his comic counterpart, this Joker actually succeeds and turn Bennett into a supervillain.
* Stan Smith of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' is such an idiot he repeatedly forgets his anniversary despite how terrifying his wife Francine gets when he does. In "American Fung" he hastily gets Francine committed to a mental hospital for a few days so he can have more time to plan. Again, Stan's such an idiot he keeps forgetting the reason Francine was locked up and by the day she's released he has nothing prepared. When Stan greets Francine with a bucket of fried chicken and offers an incredibly half-assed explanation of how he did everything "for love," Francine not only states she genuinely hates Stan she goes insane for real and gets committed indefinitely.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Deborah "Debbie" Domaine was forced into the role of the second ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} by Kobra, and eventually went mad due to their control and manipulations of her life.

* Dr. Eggman in ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' started suffering a massive one following having his greatest victory - defeating Sonic, capturing just about everyone and turning Knothole Kingdom into a crater - swiped from him. He would ultimately snap after one last victory by Sonic pushed him over the edge.

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

** Arguable. Outside of his eponymous short story, Nyarlathotep doesn't just randomly harass anybody. In the ''Haunter of the Dark'' he seeks to kill his summoner, because he didn't provide an appropriate sacrifice, in ''The Dreams in the Witch-House'' he just played a role as a guardian to the secrets beyond human ken who receives sacrificial tribute in return of allowing individuals to cross that veil, and in the ''Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'' he is seeking retribution against Randolph Carter for trying to see Earth's god's he had sworn to protect (and dominate) for unknown purposes.

* ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'': This is the Joker's objective towards both Batman and Superman after gaining godlike powers from Mr. Mxyzptlk. He basically succeeded with his arch-foe, torturing Bats to death and reviving him each day to do it over again. Supes is half-way there when the comic starts, hunted down as a dangerous criminal by Bizarro each day when he discovers that the now all-powerful Joker is responsible for turning the world into a dark parody of itself.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} and Character/GreenLantern villain Hank Henshaw, better known as the Cyborg Superman, was once a normal scientist (hell, he was an {{expy}} of [[Franchise/FantasticFour Reed Richards]]) until an accident changed him. He watched his friends die, his body disintegrate and, when he had built a robot body for himself, watched his wife commit suicide. When he escaped using a small rocket he built from Supes' Birthing Matrix, he drove himself mad through the incredible loneliness, reasoning to himself that he didn't leave Earth because he was a threat, he was driven off by Superman because he (Superman) was ''jealous''.

** Arguable. In none of Lovecraft's works does Nyarlathotep just randomly harass anybody. In the ''Haunter of the Dark'' he seeks to kill his summoner, because he didn't provide an appropriate sacrifice, in ''The Dreams in the Witch-House'' he just played a role as a guardian to the secrets beyond human ken who receives sacrificial tribute in return of allowing individuals to cross that veil, and in the ''Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath'' he is seeking retribution against Randolph Carter for trying to see Earth's god's he had sworn to protect (and dominate) for unknown purposes.