The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Mental health advocacy is the cause I care about most in this world. I have lived with depression, anxiety and a panic disorder, and I have extensive experience with suicide, both preventing it and surviving loss. When I was younger, I read 13 Reasons Why, and while I appreciated that it brought to light the gravity of teen suicide, I felt like it dramatized the issue to an extent. Little did I know that several years later, a television series inspired by the book would dramatize the subject even more.
I don’t have to watch 13 Reasons Why to know about its harmful effects on viewers. As soon as it came out, people I follow on Twitter expressed their outrage over the lack of proper trigger warnings for each episode and for the show’s focus on Clay and Hannah’s love story rather than on the mental health issues its creators claimed to prioritize. Mental health organizations including NAMI and To Write Love on Her Arms have released official statements critiquing the way 13 Reasons Why approaches suicide and stressing the life or death importance of raising awareness about the realities of mental health issues. Crisis Text Line, a service I volunteer for, had its busiest week ever directly following the show’s release, and several texters I talked to mentioned 13 Reasons Why as their motivation to reach out to us, usually citing it as the catalyst for their suicidal ideation.
Let’s be clear: speaking up about mental health conditions and suicide is imperative to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental illness. However, it is just as imperative to be sensitive when addressing these subjects to avoid triggering people who have lived with them. Perhaps the creators of the show meant well when they included the graphic scene where Hannah completes suicide, but for people already struggling with suicidal thoughts, that scene could be what motivates them to take their own lives. Viewer discretion and trigger warnings are not the same thing, and the show creators’ inclusion of one over the other has had devastating effects on viewers, and will continue to affect viewers who have not been warned about the show’s explicit content.
As someone who has experienced suicidal ideation, I would not wish that kind of pain and hopelessness on my worst enemy. Mental health struggles are not some beautiful quirk to romanticize; they are debilitating conditions that impair millions of people’s ability to function. It is also harmful to perpetuate the narrative that you can cure someone from their mental health condition by loving them. Supporting your loved ones with mental health issues helps them heal, but it is not the only factor in their recovery. If someone dies by suicide, it is counterproductive to shame them for losing their battle with their mental health condition or to place blame on others who might have mistreated them or who might not have supported them enough. Depression can happen to anyone at any time, and it is problematic to frame it as other people’s fault, like 13 Reasons Why does.
If anyone asked me whether they should watch the show or not, I would warn them about its triggering content and encourage them to research organizations such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to take steps toward reducing the prevalence of suicide. In the interest of being conscientious consumers and engaged citizens, we must be aware of the issues facing us and our peers. However, we must balance awareness with self-care, and the way that 13 Reasons Why addresses mental health negatively impacts its largely young and impressionable audience and viewers’ perception of mental health conditions.
If you are struggling, text HELLO to 741741 to be anonymously connected to a trained Crisis Counselor.
Helmi Henkin is the Vice President of her university’s NAMI chapter, the Connection Support Group Facilitator and Ending the Silence Presenter for her local NAMI chapter, a member of the JED Foundation Student Advisory Council, a Field Advocate and Talk Saves Lives Presenter for AFSP, and a Crisis Text Line Crisis Counselor.