For the past three seasons, Big Mouth has delved into its insightful and robust discussion of the most difficult topics facing young people as they go through puberty. However, Season 4 is the first time the series has committed to chronicling the internal truth behind that age-old advice: “growing up is hard”. Growing up is, in fact, hard as it is both emotionally and mentally.

Whenever Big Mouth has embodied mental health struggles it’s been at its best. In Season 2 the audience saw the Shame Wizard, a being who takes any unappealing action and magnifies it to be as internally devastating as possible. Similarly, in Season 3 audiences saw Depression Kitty, a giant cat who convinced the smart and driven Jessi (Jessi Klein) that it was easier to give up than try. These moments were as insightful and painfully funny as Big Mouth consistently balances the unspoken truth of how powerful these emotions are.

On that front, Season 4 completely flips the script. The raging anxiety, puberty, and Hormone Monster jokes are still there, and they’re still raunchy, but for once it’s the mental health of these prepubescents’ that takes center stage. What is particularly intriguing is that each kid’s internal struggle is drastically different than the next.

As Jessi has to deal with the fallout of her parents’ divorce and moving to an academically challenging school, she’s followed by the Depression Kitty and a new character, Tito the Anxiety Mosquito; the two convince her to doubt herself. For Nick, (Nick Kroll) takes the most nuclear option of everyone. As dark thoughts spiral in his head, he chooses to completely shut down. As for Andrew (John Mulaney), his mental health woes become an amplified sense of dread that he could die at any moment, a fear instilled in him by his constantly anxious parents. And Matthew (Andrew Rannells) battles with the fear that if he comes out it will cost him his family.

The most interesting part of these varied responses is that they all come from roughly the same emotional triggers. As each character is pestered by their anxiety, they handle their self-doubt in drastically different ways. It’s rare to see mental illness portrayed this way — as something that affects us all yet convinces us we’re alone.

As smart as all these arcs are, it’s Missy’s storyline that deserves the most praise. As Missy learns from her cousins what it means to be black while her parents tell her that race shouldn’t matter, you watch Missy literally tearing herself apart throughout this entire season. It’s heartbreaking to see a character as lovable as Missy suffer, especially in this complex, emotionally draining way that has no clear solution.

Of course, Big Mouth still is filled with plenty of gruesome jokes to make you nearly gag. But this time around the changes everyone is going through is a bit more abstract.