WARNING: This blog post includes many mentions of depression and suicide. If you are sensitive to these topics, proceed with caution or do not read this if you feel uncomfortable. If you struggle with any of these issues and need support, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline:
800-273-8255.
Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why is a show meant to raise awareness and start a conversation about the heavy topics of suicide and depression. Although there aren’t quite 13, there are some reasons why this show could be damaging to the prevention of suicide.
After watching this show, I began to think about how this issue is treated in my school. We do have counseling services and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is printed on the backs of our ID’s. However, just talking to some students around campus makes me and likely others to wonder if our school is doing enough. For example, a few of my peers, all of whom will remain anonymous, have developed or increased mental health problems with the start of their college career. One friend with this issue went to counseling for help. However, UCS told them that the next appointment would be in 3 weeks, which may have been too late if their mental health issues had been even more escalated. Though we do hold events such as Mental Health Awareness Week, the action taken to prevent and treat the issues is lacking. This shows in our statistics. In 2013, just five years ago, a survey was released showing that Truman students were more likely to have intrusive and suicidal thoughts.
According to the 2013 Missouri College Health and Behavior Survey, 19.1 percent of Truman students responding to the survey experienced a depressive episode, compared to 17.6 percent of other Missouri student responders. Truman students also commit self-injury more often than other survey respondents at nearly a 2-to-1 ratio. (Mika, Rottgen)
Even a few years later (enough time to start solving these issues) three suicides within a year occurred on or near campus (Jost). Clearly, there is a problem with our awareness and prevention. Would a TV show raise awareness of mental health and suicide prevention? The right one might, but 13 Reasons Why is the wrong show for this conversation.
Though 13 Reasons created a wider scope for the suicide prevention conversation, the show doesn’t exactly portray the issue correctly or realistically. In fact, Hannah Baker’s story is quite romanticized. Though she was bullied and isolated in her life, she was glorified after her life ended. Her peers set up memorials for her around her locker and spread the word about her apparently good impression on them. This glorification of a student after her death is dangerous to portray. Thee pep rallies, memorials, and city-wide recognition in memory of someone lost to suicide feeds the need for control in someone’s mind whos impulse control is lost (Psychology Today). Portraying only the sadness and grief around the death of a loved one may not be the correct option, but taking the route of glamorizing the emotionally devastating event is not the answer either.
In the first 45 seconds or so of the first episode, the actors explain what exactly 13 Reasons Why is meant to do. They say it is meant to start a larger conversation about depression and suicide prevention across the globe. With the explosion in popularity, this series did just that. More people are talking about the issue. However, the actual content of the show gives the viewer false perceptions of suicide. There is little to no mention of any mental health issues in any episode of the series. However, 90% of all suicides are a result of badly treated or untreated mental illness (Psychology Today). The show also never mentions any way of preventing the suicide. Without the mention of any true causes or prevention methods for suicide, a significant part of 13 Reasons’ conversation is lost.
Works Cited
“13 Reasons Why: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 16
May 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/two-takes-depression/201705/13-reasons
-why-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.
Mika, Dan, and Ingrid Rottgen. “Truman Ranks High on Students with Depression.” Truman Media
Network, 1 Nov. 2017, tmn.truman.edu/blog/news/campus/truman-ranks-high-on-students-
with-depression/.
Jost, Ashley. “Third Suicide in Less than a Year at Truman State Sparks Discussion on Campus.”
Stltoday.com, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12 Apr. 2017, www.stltoday.com/news/local/edu
cation/third-suicide-in-less-than-a-year-at-truman-state/article_c4eab84f-c073-5cda-80
06-c458ef8ae090.html.
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