Home and Away fans have taken to social media to defend a current storyline, after fans were initially upset that one of their favourite character’s lives was hanging in the balance. Recently Summer Bay icon Alf Stewart suffered a medical emergency, which saw Dr Bree Cameron freeze at the hospital when it came to treating him and needing Dr Levi Fowler to step in and save his life.
Lately, Bree has been acting extremely erratic, particularly after Felicity Newman’s shock death from an aneurysm. The doctor has been slowly spiralling out more, working long shifts, making strange calls at the hospital, and barely sleeping. The character also suffers from PTSD after an abusive relationship that saw her husband kidnap her, and try to kill her, before she struck him with a shovel and got him first. She’s been through it.
With her PTSD likely flaring up again after being unable to save Felicity’s life, Bree now seems to be struggling with OCD symptoms, particularly at work, and while fans were previously wondering what the hell was going on, others have stepped in to defend the storyline and praise it for being a realistic take on mental health.
Home and Away fans praise mental health storyline
Initially, after Alf’s episode, fans were disgruntled with Bree’s behaviour, saying they would ‘riot’ if anything happened to Alf. However, after the storyline played out, other fans have stepped in to defend it.
“This is a fab storyline of what real OCD is. What people go through and how the anxiety controls you in a vicious circle, you freeze, then you’re obsessed and anxious, and repeat. Well done Juliet Goodwin [and] thank you Home and Away,” one fan commented in a Facebook group.
“Thank you for sharing this post it is about time that some people see how trauma and grief work, as some people think Bree is just doing this for the fun of it…” another agreed.
“I think Bree is doing a great job, sadly a lot of people don’t seem to understand how bad it can get for someone who has experienced trauma, grief or even fear,” another person commented. “It really is not a good place to be in.”
“It’s a good storyline if I remember they did an OCD one years ago involving Sally,” another fan said. “Just hope Alf isn’t too hard on Bree like Marilyn was.”
“Marilyn’s behaviour and lack of understanding (even though not given an adequate explanation on Bree’s situation) is a good, good representation of the grief we feel when someone we care for goes through something life-threatening,” someone else pointed out.