(Via
Dave Herndon, The News-Herald Newspapers)
About
20 people gathered in Taylor recently to discuss the new Netflix television
series “13 Reasons Why” and how that is helping to raise awareness of mental
health issues.
The
series is 13 episodes long and focuses on a teenager, Hannah Baker, who commits
suicide by slitting her wrists. Each episode shows off some of the reasons, or
more specifically people, who caused her to get to the point of suicide.
The
character in the show identified the 13 people in her life that gave her
reasons.
“This
is a very popular series,” Taylor Schools therapist Sandra Kluk said. “It is
Netflix’s most talked about series of all times.”
It
tackles several themes that helped to lead up to Baker’s suicide in the series.
In
the show, Baker was shamed, having a graphic photo of her shared around the
school, teased, picked on and more.
“Our
teens are watching this and not processing it with anyone,” Kluk said. “It’s
very graphic. Each of these characters in the show she blames as a contributor
to her suicide.”
The
specific discussion at the event was kept private, so names in the story of
people other than officials have names to protect their identities.
Is
suicide anyone’s fault?
“I
don’t think it is,” a woman who will be referred to as Mandy said. “My niece
committed suicide, and I blamed her parents.”
Mandy
said after a while she realized that her niece’s parents weren’t at fault, it
was just something that happened.
“I’m
sorry that it happened to you,” a woman called Susan said. “A lot of these
teens want to reach out and talk to someone. They have a fear of being judged
or making their parents look bad.
Susan
said that she feels that some people are at fault.
“My
son came home the other days and told me about the girl around the corner
having slits on her wrists,” she said. “Now I have to figure out how to deal
with that and help her.”
Another
woman, Michelle, said that there hasn’t been a month go by in recent memory
where she didn’t hear of a child committing suicide due to pressures, real or
perceived, put on them through school or other methods.
Officials
with the Community Care Services center in Taylor said there is no reason why
one child commits suicide and another doesn’t. They said every student reacts
to things differently and each case is unique.
Hannah
talked to no one. CCS officials said that was the key point missing for Hannah
Baker. There were many key points in the series where she became a victim and
seemed to feel like she deserved it.
“Hannah
talked to no one,” Kluk said. “She didn’t talk about her problems with anyone.”
The
characters were “far too adult” to be “real” according to officials running the
meeting, however their stories are real.
“We
work in the high school,” Kluk said. “We see these things, kids go to parties,
kids get raped.”
Officials
said that talking about their issues is the first step to getting help for
people.
What
do good friendships look like?
“Do
good friendships keep suicide plans a secret or do they risk shaming the family
by getting help,” one of the officials asked.
The
group consensus was that it was better to seek help than to keep a secret. The
group said that sometimes people, especially teens just need time to get out of
the headspace they are in, and by seeking help they often help the other person
get that time.
Officials
said it’s better to seek help than to attempt to be the person’s therapist on
their own.
May
is Mental Health Awareness Month, the event was put on as part of the
continuing education and raising awareness for people with mental health
problems.
(see
accompanying story tracking “13 Ways to Reach Out)
