This Netflix series is a great portrait of addiction and anxiety

There are series that work because the plot is engaging, and there are series that work because they delve deeply into how our heads work. ‘Queen’s Gambit managed to do both at the same time, and in fact, five years after its premiere in Netflixcan boast an impeccable and unusual track record: researchers cite her in academic psychiatry journals to explain how addictions work in the real world.

Released in October 2020 and created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, the miniseries already has 112.8 million views according to platform data (it is the most viewed miniseries in its history) and won the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries in addition to the Emmy for Best Directing of a Limited Series. But what makes this sketch of the life of Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) special, a chess prodigy who grows up in an orphanage where she develops a dependence on tranquilizers and, later, alcohol, is that researchers from ‘The British Journal of Psychiatry‘They analyzed it in 2022 as a clinical study case.

What the series does well is not turning the protagonist’s rooms into a decorative element around her genius. According to the publication, hThere are three consistent triggers for Beth’s substance use. throughout the series: shame, anxiety and isolation, all three in a chain. A defeat damages her self-image, anxiety about revenge paralyzes her, and consumption arises as an avoidance mechanism and the isolation that this consumption causes, which aggravates the first two factors. A perfect storm with very recognizable symptoms for psychologists.

And also the solution to the problems presented by the series makes sense: other characters reveal to him the real cost of continuing to drink, others help him restore some of his damaged self-esteem, and the collective support of his rivals allows him not to relapse. According to the study, resolving underlying issues is what opens the door to sobriety. All in a series that not only has a first-class setting and performances, but can also boast scientific support in aspects that are often ignored in fiction.

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