History Main / UnhappyMedium

* Issue 7 of ''Webcomic/StrongFemaleProtagonist'' centres around [[BigBadFriend Patrick]]'s past, which Alison learns as part of a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind. After escaping his [[EvilMatriarch mother]] as a ten-year-old boy, he found that his situation and [[{{Telepath}} the nature of his powers]] lent themselves more to crime than heroics. He reconstructed his mind to remove his need for love and affection, and got out of homelessness by gleaning administrative access to the stock exchange, and, by the time other [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Biodynamics]] started to emerge, he had already been accustomed to living as a criminal. From there, he took on the identity of Menace and took the burgeoning villains of the area under his wing.

* ''Manga/XxxHOLiC'' revolves around Watanuki, one of the few people able to see the myriad of supernatural phenomena that exist in the universe. Unfortunately, said supernatural phenomena are also powerfully attracted to him. Having to constantly fend off creatures that other people can't even see has not had a good impact on his life.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' features two sisters who can see the future. One sees only good things but is constantly glum because she's no longer surprised or happy when the prediction actually happens. The other sees only bad things but is [[StepfordSmiler constantly cheery]] because any moment she's not around misery seems good in comparison.

* Imogen Temult from ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'''s third campaign is a sorcerer with incredible psychic abilities. Unfortunately, one of these abilities is mind-reading, and she has next to no control over whose thoughts she hears, so she must spend a huge amount of mental energy consciously blocking out those thoughts. Not only does her unintended invasion of people's private thoughts make her an outcast in her hometown, the noise of the thoughts of everyone around her gives her severe headaches, and makes being in crowds a miserable experience. Her powers are also accompanied by frequent nightmares, which eventually prove to be somewhat prophetic in nature. More specifically, [[spoiler:she has received multiple visions of people who have died. Twice, these dreams have foretold the death of someone close to her]]. Worst of all, her powers come from an ancient [[spoiler god-eating entity]], which threatens to [[spoiler:steal away her autonomy]] if she gives in to the constant draw that she feels from it.

* ''Manga/XxxHolic'' revolves around Watanuki, one of the few people able to see the myriad of supernatural phenomena that exist in the universe. Unfortunately, said supernatural phenomena are also powerfully attracted to him. Having to constantly fend off creatures that other people can't even see has not had a good impact on his life.

* Shion, a shrine priestess from ''Anime/NarutoShippudenTheMovie'' is at first glance a brat and a whiner, but in reality, she is this way because all her predictions have come true. So that means everyone she had previously loved or cared for has died, and in order to avoid that from ever happening again, she stopped making friends and connections with others.

* Satori Deacon in ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'' (explored in issue #18, High Spirits).

** ComicBook/JeanGrey couldn't control her telepathic powers when she was a child, causing her to develop mental problems. Xavier put blocks on her mind designed to let her grow into her powers gradually. Originally the Phoenix wasn't a cosmic entity, but her full potential, unleashed before she was ready for it by extreme duress. Even ''before'' Jason Wyngarde attempted MoreThanMindControl and found out he really, really shouldn't have, Jean had to constantly fight against WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity and was more anti-heroish.
** There's an X-family foe named The Gamesmaster who is a Charles Xavier-class telepath. He also can't turn it off, ever. He is aware of ''every'' thought of ''every'' person in the ''entire'' world at all times whether he wants to be or not. Needing a distraction from the constant chatter in his head is what drove him to villainy. Having something he can put all of his focus into is what lets him stay sane; unfortunately, running a DeadlyGame is what he chose.

* Creator/MattDamon's character in the Creator/ClintEastwood movie ''Film/{{Hereafter}}'' can communicate with the dead, and hates everything about it.
* In ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'', Solitaire has a supernatural power to infallibly tell fortunes through Tarot[[note]] unique for a Franchise/JamesBond film, as they are usually much more grounded[[/note]]. However, her powers make her miserable for two reasons -- she's become the virtual slave of a Caribbean dictator who forces her to use her predictions to keep him in power, but also since the predictions are a VirginPower, she cannot be intimate with anyone for fear that she and her lover would be killed by her "employer". She finally rids herself of the power by sleeping with Bond, who is able to kill Kananga and free her.
* In ''Film/{{Push}}'' people with psychic powers are hunted down by the government and forced to work for them. The precognitive "Watchers" in the film have a particularly bad case of this: quite apart from the fact that Cassie feels [[YouCantFightFate powerless in the face of the persistent visions of her death]], Watchers are arguably the most valuable to the government Divisions -- as Cassie's mother found out. At present, she's locked up, being kept under a constant flow of sedatives to prevent her from rebelling -- to the point that she can't even hold a spoon without assistance.

* ''Film/EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce'': Jobu Tabaki [[spoiler: can see all possible outcomes of every action because she is present in all her alternate selves simultaneously. This has driven her to total nihilism and a desire to destroy the entire universe just to make it stop.]]

* Spider Robinson's ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'' story "Two Heads Are Better Than One". Two brothers have uncontrollable telepathy which makes their lives a living hell.

* Frank Herbert's ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' series. Paul Muad'Dib eventually discovers that having prescience is a trap, forcing you into a predetermined path.
* Flinx, the protagonist of Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'', spends an awful lot of time bemoaning what a problem his emotional telepathy is.
* While passing through a busy courtyard, Dowager Queen Jehana in ''[[Literature/{{Deryni}} The King's Justice]]'' catches the thoughts of the assassins who are planning to attack her brother-in-law Nigel. She agonizes over whether or not to warn him (and save his life) since she believes her Deryni powers are evil (and a threat to her soul).
* The telepathic members of the Kzinti race in Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' setting are this in spades. The rest of their race are disgusted by them, as they are usually unkempt and sickly (the Kzinti are a ProudWarriorRace). When they try to read the minds of humans, they (pure carnivores) are forced to experience eating carrots and other disgusting vegetarian thoughts. Whenever they appear in a story, they are shown as miserable creatures.
* What if you had ''two'' gifts, but one destroyed your ability to enjoy the other? In ''Polar City Blues'', Mulligan's a former surefire baseball recruit whose career is derailed by the adolescent blossoming of his psychic gifts. All he wants to do is play baseball, but no team will draft him because they're afraid he'll get banned immediately. He can't hide it because all psychics are branded with a red P to protect other people. And as a Blanco (white man) in a Hispanic-dominated future, he's got no prospects at all. He's still pretty chipper until he thinks about what he's missing out on.

* Kilgrave from ''Series/JessicaJones2015'' tries to act like being a mind controller is a large burden because no one can ever tell him no as part of a near HeelRealization, but Jessica calls him out on it.
* The title character of the ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is blessed with the particularly sucky ability to predict when people will die. He enjoys it just about as much as you'd expect.

* [[TheCassandra Cassandra]] from Myth/GreekMythology, though not at first. The curse was separate from the prophesy part -- she got prophesy as a blessing from Apollo, then pissed him off, so he added on a curse that she'd never be believed.

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* One statement giver in ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' has dreams in which he wanders the landscape of his immediate surroundings and sees people who are going to die. It eventually gets so bad that in desperation he lies his way onto an expedition to [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_inaccessibility Point Nemo]], reasoning it would be the least likely place he would dream of impending death. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, [[EldritchAbomination the End]] meant for him to go there, and compelled him into hijacking the research ship and piloting it directly into the path of [[ColonyDrop a crashing satellite]], killing everyone on board and finalizing his transformation into [[HumanoidAbomination an avatar of the End]].]]
[[/folder]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', most psykers end up being consumed by the Astronomican or the Golden Throne as a sacrifice. Of course, if you're not put in that, you may [[YourHeadASplode have your head explode]], or turn to chaos, or be possessed by a chaos daemon...

* Alma of the ''VideoGame/{{FEAR}}'' games was actually driven completely insane by her sensitivity to other peoples' emotions.

* A milder Creator/BioWare example is Dawn Star from ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' who is seen as strange and scares people a little because of her ability to see and talk to spirits. Otherwise, she is one of the nicest people in the party and the [[PlayerCharacter Spirit Monk]] can encourage her to make peace with her abilities. In the same game is Wild Flower, a little girl possessed by ''two'' demons. One of them is a big, LawfulGood, shaggy guy she thinks of as her friend. The other torments her and wants to do wicked things, causing her a lot of pain. [[spoiler:The PlayerCharacter evicts one of the demons in favor of another, and if you choose the tormenting demon, her ending shows that she has gone mad from the torture]].
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism''. Satori Komeiji is seemingly ostracized even by the denizens of Former Hell for her power to read minds, and [[BetterWithNonHumanCompany can only get along with animals and animal youkai]]... but she turns out to have [[MindOverManners problems with discretion]] inherent to her species that are apparently actually to blame.

* [[spoiler: Lily]] of ''Webcomic/AGhostStory'' is implied to be this.

* Issue 7 of ''WebComic/StrongFemaleProtagonist'' centres around [[BigBadFriend Patrick]]'s past, which Alison learns as part of a JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind. After escaping his [[EvilMatriarch mother]] as a ten-year-old boy, he found that his situation and [[{{Telepath}} the nature of his powers]] lent themselves more to crime than heroics. He reconstructed his mind to remove his need for love and affection, and got out of homelessness by gleaning administrative access to the stock exchange, and, by the time other [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Biodynamics]] started to emerge, he had already been accustomed to living as a criminal. From there, he took on the identity of Menace and took the burgeoning villains of the area under his wing.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Imogen Temult from ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'''s third campaign is a sorcerer with incredible psychic abilities. Unfortunately, one of these abilities is mind-reading, and she has next to no control over whose thoughts she hears, so she must spend a huge amount of mental energy consciously blocking out those thoughts. Not only does her unintended invasion of people's private thoughts make her an outcast in her hometown, the noise of the thoughts of everyone around her gives her severe headaches, and makes being in crowds a miserable experience. Her powers are also accompanied by frequent nightmares, which eventually prove to be somewhat prophetic in nature. More specifically,[[spoiler: she has received multiple visions of people who have died. Twice, these dreams have foretold the death of someone close to her.]] Worst of all, her powers come from an ancient [[spoiler: god-eating entity]], which threatens to [[spoiler:steal away her autonomy]] if she gives in to the constant draw that she feels from it.
* The "demon seed" mediums in ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'' often went insane from the constant torment from demons taunting them and showing them Hell. Most of the sane ones kept their powers secret, since nobody will want to hear "your relatives are burning in a river of lava for all eternity, and so will you." However, humans find ways to block out the messages and use them to open portals to invade Hell.

* The ''Website/SCPFoundation'' has a several of these. One example is a girl who has the ability to see what changes any object she looks at will go through in the future, which she can't turn off. She has to be blindfolded when she eats because she sees the poop that food will soon become.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism''. Satori Komeiji is seemingly ostracized even by the denizens of Former Hell for her power to read minds, and [[NotGoodWithPeople can only get along with animals and animal youkai]]... but she turns out to have [[MindOverManners problems with discretion]] inherent to her species that are apparently actually to blame.

** Played straight with her younger sister Koishi. It's the reason why she closed her third eye.

* ''Manga/XxxHolic'' revolves around Watanuki, one of the few people able to see the the myriad of supernatural phenomena that exist in the universe. Unfortunately, said supernatural phenomena are also powerfully attracted to him. Having to constantly fend off creatures that other people can't even see has not had a good impact on his life.

* Hisoka Kurosaki of ''Manga/DescendantsOfDarkness'' describes this trope to a 'T'. His empathy make physical contact painful, to the point that he can even pass out from the overload of emotions/memories/dreams. His parents started young with the ridicule and rejection bit [[spoiler:when they locked him away in the basement as a child]] only letting him out at night. Of course, this is what [[spoiler:leads to his rape and eventual murder]] at the hands of BigBad [[spoiler:Kazutaka Muraki]].

* Shion, a shrine priestess from ''Anime/NarutoShippudenTheMovie'' is at first glance a brat and a whiner, but in reality she is this way because all her predictions have come true. So that means everyone she had previously loved or cared for has died, and in order to avoid that from ever happening again, she stopped making friends and connections with others.

** There's an X-family foe named The Gamesmaster who a Charles Xavier-class telepath. He also can't turn it off, ever. He is aware of ''every'' thought of ''every'' person in the ''entire'' world at all times whether he wants to be or not. Needing a distraction from the constant chatter in his head is what drove him to villainy. Having something he can put all of his focus into is what lets him stay sane; unfortunately, running a DeadlyGame is what he chose.

* Spider Robinson's ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'' story "Two Heads Are Better Than One". Two brothers have uncontrollable telepathy which make their lives a living hell.

* Played with in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' with Mrs. Cake. She is definitely a medium and precognitive, but can get splitting headaches when she talks with her precognitive abilities on. The reason: she answers questions before they are asked, but if the other person fails to ask the question, after she just gave the answer, the paradox causes her a serious headache. She is also TheDreaded by all religions on the Disc (and the Post Office for some reason).

* What if you had ''two'' gifts, but one destroyed your ability to enjoy the other? In ''Polar City Blues'', Mulligan's a former surefire baseball recruit whose career is derailed by the adolescent blossoming of his psychic gifts. All he wants to do is play baseball, but no team will draft him because they're afraid he'll get banned immediately. He can't hide it because all psychics are branded with a red P to protect other people. And as a Blanco (white man) in a Hispanic dominated future, he's got no prospects at all. He's still pretty chipper until he thinks about what he's missing out on.

* ''Series/Millennium1996'': Frank Black, whose abilities as TheProfiler edge into PsychicPowers territory, is often morose. He'd be more so without his family, and goes into HeroicBSOD (again) after [[spoiler:he's widowed]].

* In the ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'' supplement ''Countdown'', characters with psychic powers are in big trouble. Their information gathering abilities make it easier for them to see things related to the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, which causes them to lose Sanity (and go insane) even faster than regular investigators.

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': In "Anima", Troloria is the winner of the great war between psychics, leaving her practically omnipotent after absorbing everyone's souls, but also completely alone. When she finally meets some people, she has a hard time ending her loneliness. She's narcissist, paranoid, capricious, threatening, and psychic, which means she automatically ends up reading potential hostile intentions in the mind of just about anyone she meets (since they have good reason to fear her) and instantly eliminating them.

* The "demon seed" mediums in ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'' often went insane from the constant torment from demons taunting them and showing them Hell. Most of the sane ones kept their powers secret, since nobody will want to hear "your relatives are burning in a river of lava for all eternity, and so will you." However, humans find ways to block out the messages, and uses them to open portals to invade Hell.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' features two sisters who can see the future. One sees only good things, but is constantly glum because she's no longer surprised or happy when the prediction actually happens. The other sees only bad things, but is [[StepfordSmiler constantly cheery]] because any moment she's not around misery seems good in comparison.

* [[spoiler: Lily]] of ''Webcomic/{{AGhostStory}}'' is implied to be this.

%%* ''Film/{{Scanners}}''.

[[folder:Film]]

We [[WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}} don't talk about seeing the future... But!]] - this sucks, too. Even if you avoid [[CassandraDidIt accusations of bringing about the misfortune you foresee]], it will probably [[FaintingSeer do a number on your health]]. And it's quite possible that [[TheCassandra no-one will believe you, anyway]], so all your sufferings will be for nothing.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Film/{{Push}}'' people with psychic powers are hunted down by the government and forced to work for them. The precognitive "Watchers" in the film have a particularly bad case of this: quite apart from the fact that Cassie feels [[YouCantFightFate powerless in the face of the persistent visions of her death]], Watchers are arguably the most valuable to the government Divisions- as Cassie's mother found out. At present, she's locked up, being kept under a constant flow of sedatives to prevent her from rebelling- to the point that she can't even hold a spoon without assistance.

* ''Series/Millennium1996'': Frank Black, whose abilities as TheProfiler edge into PsychicPowers territory, is often morose. He'd be more so without his family, and goes into HeroicBSOD (again) after [[spoiler: he's widowed]].

[[folder:Oral Tradition]]
* [[TheCassandra Cassandra]] from Myth/GreekMythology, though not at first. The curse was separate from the prophesy part- she got prophesy as a blessing from Apollo, then pissed him off, so he added on a curse that she'd never be believed.

* A milder Creator/BioWare example is Dawn Star from ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' who is seen as strange and scares people a little because of her ability to see and talk to spirits. Otherwise, she is one of the nicest people in the party and the [[PlayerCharacter Spirit Monk]] can encourage her to make peace with her abilities. In the same game is Wild Flower, a little girl possessed by ''two'' demons. One of them is a big, LawfulGood, shaggy guy she thinks of as her friend. The other torments her and wants to do wicked things, causing her a lot of pain. [[spoiler: The PlayerCharacter evicts one of the demons in favor of another, and if you choose the tormenting demon, her ending shows that she has gone mad from the torture]].

* Stygian in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' was so depressed that only the attention of two dedicated spirits to get him out of bed and eating. [[spoiler: He also gets forgiven for his role in the Sim sabotage, which he took part in only so he would get killed.]]

* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': In "Anima", Troloria is the winner of the great war between psychics, leaving her pratically omnipotent after absorbing everyone's souls, but also completely alone. When she finally meets some people, she has a hard time ending her loneliness. She's narcissist, paranoid, capricious, threatening, and psychic, which means she automatically ends up reading potential hostile intentions in the mind of just about anyone she meets (since they have good reason to fear her) and instantly eliminating them.

-->-- '''Castus Lupa''', Savant Adjunct, ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* When Phoebe of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' first got her empathic powers, she could not control her emotions and shouted out anything that she felt around her. It really annoyed her sisters and caused some very awkward moments at work.

** The Doctor himself in "Planet of the Ood", because he can telepathically "hear" the Song of Captivity. It's as depressing as it sounds.
** Gwyneth in "The Unquiet Dead" gets used by evil aliens because of her powers.
* To say that River Tam in ''{{Series/Firefly}}'' is "unhappy" due to her powers is a ''[[TheWoobie massive]]'' understatement.
* Allison and her children sometimes feel this way in ''Series/{{Medium}}''.
** For example, as illustrated in "Lucky", Allison can't enter hospitals without getting swarmed by the ghosts of those who've died within, so when her job requires her to go to one, she wears headphones and struggles to avoid looking at the ghosts.
* ''Series/Millennium1996''[='=]s Frank Black, whose abilities as TheProfiler edge into PsychicPowers territory, is often morose. He'd be more so without his family, and goes into HeroicBSOD (again) after [[spoiler: he's widowed]].
* Lafayette in ''Series/TrueBlood''.
* ''Series/{{UFO}}''. One episode has a man being treated for Extra-Sensory Perception. His marriage is shown to be under strain because he knows what his wife's thinking before she says anything, and his psychiatrist says that while other people adapt to their condition and make use of it, he's on the verge of a mental breakdown.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' has a several of these. One example is a girl who has the ability to see what changes any object she looks at will go through in the future, which she can't turn off. She has to be blindfolded when she eats because she sees the poop that food will soon become.

* The telepathic members of the Kzinti race in Creator/LarryNiven's Literature/KnownSpace setting are this in spades. The rest of their race are disgusted by them, as they are usually unkempt and sickly (the Kzinti are a ProudWarriorRace). When they try to read the minds of humans, they (pure carnivores) are forced to experience eating carrots and other disgusting vegetarian thoughts. Whenever they appear in a story, they are shown as miserable creatures.

* ''Literature/{{The Traveling Triple-C Incorporeal Circus}}'':

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} 11''. Satori Komeiji is seemingly ostracized even by the denizens of Former Hell for her power to read minds, and [[NotGoodWithPeople can only get along with animals and animal youkai]]... but she turns out to have [[MindOverManners problems with discretion]] inherent to her species that are apparently actually to blame.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebComic/SluggyFreelance'': In "Anima", Troloria is the winner of the great war between psychics, leaving her pratically omnipotent after absorbing everyone's souls, but also completely alone. When she finally meets some people, she has a hard time ending her loneliness. She's narcissist, paranoid, capricious, threatening, and psychic, which means she automatically ends up reading potential hostile intentions in the mind of just about anyone she meets (since they have good reason to fear her) and instantly eliminating them.

* Stygian in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse was so depressed that only the attention of two dedicated spirits to get him out of bed and eating. [[spoiler: He also gets forgiven for his role in the Sim sabotage, which he took part in only so he would get killed.]]