History Main / MentalStory

* ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'''s final season turned out to be a book that Roseanne was writing.

[[/index]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* The most commonly agreed interpretation of the series ''WebVideo/{{Boisvert}}'' is that every video in the series represents some manifestation of social anxiety and/or depression (or perhaps the things in life that lead to both) within the headspace of an unidentified individual.

[[/folder]]

A story where what's going on in someone's head - be it their DreamLand, MentalWorld, [[ImagineSpot imagination]], [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind inner struggles]], conversations with their ImaginaryFriend, or [[PowerFantasy power fantasies]] - is the main attraction, with not much happening in "reality."

!!Examples

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]
* ''Anime/{{Paprika}}''

* ''Anime/WelcomeToTheNHK'' is mostly about the main character's inner strife, and no decisions are reached even in the end.
* ''Manga/OnaniMasterKurosawa'' is a little more plotty, but it's still mostly Kurosawa's head.
* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' combines this with [[spoiler:NestedStoryReveal]] in Episode 8 -- most of the plot is [[spoiler:Toya Hachijo attempting to recreate the events of Rokkenjima 1986 as mystery novels in order to speculate on what happened on the island]].
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' dips into this as the series progresses and everyone's mental stability comes crashing down. The [[GainaxEnding original ending]] became this due to the budget running out. Finally, about 30% of [[TheMovie End Of Evangelion]] is entirely this.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Quite a bit of ''Film/{{Inception}}'' happens in someone's head. Not always the same someone.
* ''Film/FightClub'' is this in large part, but some interesting stuff happens in reality, too.
* ''Film/ShutterIsland''
* ''Film/{{Brazil}}'', partly.
* ''Film/SuckerPunch''
* Possibly also ''Film/SourceCode''.
* ''Film/AkiraKurosawasDreams'', technically.
* ''Film/{{Identity}}'' is also a spoiler-example, as it's presented as being weird events happening in the real world until the reveal.
* ''Film/ABeautifulMind''
* ''Film/UnfaithfullyYours'': An orchestra conductor who thinks his wife is unfaithful to him. We see him take revenge on her and her lover - which turns out to be a very long ImagineSpot type sequence he thinks of while conducting. He then tries to execute his plan, which [[UnspokenPlanGuarantee doesn't work nearly so well]].
* A significant chunk of ''Film/BeingJohnMalkovich'' takes place in Malkovich's head.
* ''Film/EternalSunshineOfTheSpotlessMind'' is kind of a subversion, since although we see them from the main character's perspective via Flashbacks and {{Imagine Spot}}s, most of the events in the story really happened.

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

* "ComicBook/TheTick vs Proto-clown"

[[AC:FanWorks]]
* [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/119688/1/you-obey/the-interrogation You Obey.]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/HermansHead''
* Nearly all the events of the ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "My Life In Four Cameras" take place in JD's head. Only the BookEnds are real.
* ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'''s final season turned out to be a book that Roseanne was writing.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' - "Avatar" takes place in a virtual-reality scenario that's effectively going on inside Teal'c's head.
* ''Series/StargateUniverse'' - "Seizure"
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' - In "Home", the main characters apparently manage to return to Earth, but it's actually an illusion of Earth fabricated from the memories in their heads.
** "The Real World" combines this trope with CuckooNest for Dr. Weir.
* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' - "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide"

** "Revenging Angel" is a TwoLinesNoWaiting episode. One plot is about D'Argo, Chiana, and Jool trying to stop D'Argo's ship from self-destructing, while the other plot takes place inside Crichton's head as he's lying in a coma (and is [[MediumShiftGag a Looney Tunes pastiche]]).
** "John Quixote" takes place in a virtual-reality game based on Crichton's memories.
* Much of ''Series/TheSingingDetective'' involves Philip Marlow playing out one of his detective novels in his head with himself as the protagonist, as well as flashbacks to his childhood.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Creator/JamesThurber's "Literature/TheSecretLifeOfWalterMitty" is about a man who escapes from his humdrum life into a series of daydreams about heroic adventures.
* Arguably the philosophical book ''Literature/SophiesWorld'', with the mains realizing that they are only fictional characters within a book (within ''another'' book) and undergoing an existential crisis because of it.
* The Creator/PhilipKDick novel "Eye in the Sky" takes place in a sort of shared mental world, with the current most-dominant personality warping it to their prejudices and worldview.
* ''Literature/ThePilgrimsProgress'' takes place entirely in two dreams (one for each part) by the narrator.
** On a similar note (due to it being essentially fan-fiction of the previous example), the short story "The Celestial Railroad" was a dream, but I can't remember whether it was only revealed at the end or not.
* Perhaps the most famous book of this sort is ''Literature/CatcherInTheRye''. The plot of the book is a boy taking the train home from prep school and meeting up with his little sister. The book is about the boy's descent into paranoia. His descriptions of places and people become progressively more strange and twisted, showing his deteriorating mental state. He also fantasizes about doing strange things to and with geese.
* The fifteenth book of ''Literature/WingsOfFire'', The Flames of Hope, mostly centers around the visions protagonist Luna gets from Cottonmouth and Lizard about their backstory and later her use of the two's mind-sharing to show Lizard the empathy and kindness of dragons.

[[AC:Music]]
* Music/PoetsOfTheFall's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfvtPTvuFTA Drama for Life]]" is about a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind where the singer attempts to grapple with and embrace his creative GhostInTheMachine, and its aftermath, never really leaving the symbol-filled confines of the singer's head.
* [[{{Music/KAAN}} K.A.A.N]] primarily discusses depression and suicidal thoughts in his music, mostly referring to himself.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' and, to a slightly lesser extent, ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' both take place largely in Wonderland - in this case, the corrupted HappyPlace of a catatonic girl who blames herself for the death of her parents.

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', though its a case where there are many different minds instead of just one.

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]

* The plot-driving half of ''Webcomic/YumeHime'' takes place within the protagonist's dreams and day dreams, with the other half being a quiet SliceOfLife.

[[AC:Web Video]]
* The most commonly-agreed interpretation of the series ''WebVideo/{{Boisvert}}'' is that every video in the series represents some manifestation of social anxiety and/or depression (or perhaps the things in life that lead to both) within the headspace of an unidentified individual.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' and, to a slightly lesser extent, ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' both take place largely in Wonderland - in this case, the corrupted HappyPlace of a catatonic girl who blames herself for the death of her parents.

A story where what's going on in someone's head - be it their DreamWorld, MentalWorld, [[ImagineSpot imagination]], [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind inner struggles]], conversations with their ImaginaryFriend, or [[PowerFantasy power fantasies]] - is the main attraction, with not much happening in "reality."

* Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Dreams'', technically.

A story where what's going on in someone's head - be it their {{Dream World}}, {{Mental World}}, [[ImagineSpot imagination]], [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind inner struggles]], conversations with their ImaginaryFriend, or [[PowerFantasy power fantasies]] - is the main attraction, with not much happening in "reality."

* ''Manga/YumekuiMerry''

* ''Film/{{A Beautiful Mind}}''

* ''{{Series/Fringe}}'' - "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide"
* ''{{Series/Farscape}}'' has a few episodes like this.

* ''Film/FightClub'' is this in large part, but [[{{Understatement}} some interesting stuff happens in reality, too]].

* ''VideoGame/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice''

* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' and, to a slightly lesser extent, ''AliceMadnessReturns'' both take place largely in Wonderland - in this case, the corrupted HappyPlace of a catatonic girl who blames herself for the death of her parents.

* Music/PoetsOfTheFall's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_8wYwvlmBE Drama for Life]]" is about a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind where the singer attempts to grapple with and embrace his creative GhostInTheMachine, and its aftermath, never really leaving the symbol-filled confines of the singer's head.

* "TheTick vs Proto-clown"

* ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' combines this with [[spoiler:NestedStoryReveal]] in Episode 8 -- most of the plot is [[spoiler:Toya Hachijo attempting to recreate the events of Rokkenjima 1986 as mystery novels in order to speculate on what happened on the island]].