'13 Reasons Why' is a major trending topic online right now. The hit Netflix series is being discussed everywhere, on social media and in person. I've never seen so many of my own friends watch the same show in the same week before. I devoured it in the first three days after it came out, and while I thought it was heartbreaking, poignant, and had a well-delivered message about bullying, it ultimately missed the mark elsewhere. (Possible spoilers ahead).

Mental health, which is one of the leading causes for deaths from suicide, was not touched on at all by the show or the book. All of Hannah's 'reasons' were related to bullying, rumors, and ignorance. Depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder are all common mental illnesses with high rates of suicide, and none were mentioned even once. The University of Washington put out a statistic saying more than ninety percent of people who commit suicide have a mental illness. This is a huge number. And yet, in a show that's entirely about suicide and the effects of it, this major fact is overlooked.

This is not to say the show didn't have an important message: it did. The points it made about the bullying, rape, and other traumatic events are not to be ignored. Bullying is a major problem in high schools and if this show can help even one person, it will be a positive thing. However, to not include even one conversation about depression or another mental disorder? To portray the message that there always have to be 'reasons' to feel suicidal? That's such a large thing to overlook, I truly don't know if it's ignorance to the problem or an intentional choice.

One could argue that it wasn't covered in the book, so it wasn't up to the show's writers to talk about it. BUT, they expanded on the book in so many colossal ways, would this one really have been the dealbreaker? To include a talk from say, Clay's parents about his clear distress, or to have the counselors mention the possibility between themselves? I'm no show writer, but even I can think of possible ways to work in such a crucial topic relating to suicide.

'13 Reasons Why' succeeded in many ways. It covered a large amount of pressing topics, it was both racially and LGBT diverse and almost never made that a plot point. It makes a heartbreakingly sad statement about how the smallest things can take a toll on someone. And yet, in the end, they didn't cover the most common cause of the very thing the show hinged on.