Just like many other young adults around the country, I ended up binge watching the new and popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.The story shows a high school student, Hannah Baker who ends up committing suicide and leaving 13 cassette tapes explaining how 12 people from her school indirectly caused her death. The show and story are based off the book written by Jay Asher, the show is very attention-grabbing which makes it so easy to binge watch it all, due to the main topic of the show – suicide. This show leaves me feeling upset by what is truly being implied to the general audience.

1. Romanticizing Mental Illness

This is one of the main points that I would like to make, as this is major to me. The majority of the show makes it seem as though it is about a boy and a girl that are in love, even to where one of the main characters, Clay ends up blaming himself for her death. If only he had given her the love that she desired, then she could have been saved. This kind of thinking is the kind of thing that should be avoided, as love cannot cure depression.

2. The Portrayal of Mental Health

The way that they tend to portray the mental health going on in the show could be seen as increasingly inaccurate, the more that you watch. It is very blatant in how Hannah most likely did not kill herself just from the bullying alone. In fact, bullying alone cannot cause suicide, other people cannot directly cause one's suicide. "Suicide was the second highest cause of death in youth and young adults ages 15-34."

One's suicide would come from a plethora of other mental health illnesses such as anxiety, depression, or a behavior issue. The words "depression" or "anxiety" are seldom ever mentioned in the entire series, especially when describing how Hannah was or any of the other people that are to blame for her suicide. One of the things that tends to really irritate me about the show, is that the people that are listening to her tapes and are in turn to blame for what happens, never go to seek help for their emotions from it.

Something of that sort of importance would have to effect their health and especially their mental health. Even Hannah's parents were offered to get help from the school's guidance counselor, and they rejected it. This is a show that talks about just how bad bullying can be, yet doesn't show any examples of anyone seeking help from anything of the sort. What bothers me is how the school goes out of their way to put posters and raise awareness against suicide, but doesn't show any of the characters going to get help and being successful in that.

This show portrays how you cannot get help, or it is extremely hard or unachievable, which ends up making things worse because it is possible to get help. If anything, the show tells you what not to do in the case of being suicidal, as Hannah does not go and get help, it shows the never-ending failing system of suffering in silence. Which doesn't help to prevent what the whole show tends to be about preventing and getting awareness of. Hannah's character has lots of flaws, and one of the main ones is how the show portrays her as being a sort of picture-perfect character. Which this helps the plot for the viewers, but very wrongly portrays both suicide survivors and victims.

People that are suicidal, usually tend to have some accompanying mental health issues unlike how Hannah is portrayed. It tends to teach the viewers that the world owes them or it is somebody else's fault, when the reality is that they are sick and the world doesn't owe them. Another thing that is upsetting about the show, is the lack of trigger warnings on the rape or other sensitive scenes.

Although the producers made sure there is a Viewer Discretion is Advised warning beforehand, I feel as though they could have done more to give more of a trigger warning to those watching. This is especially important, as the general audience that the show is geared towards could be those that have significant mental health issues. Since the typical Viewer Discretion is Advised is usually plastered on most anything one were to watch on TV, most people don't really think anything of it, so having a thing after that saying something about a trigger warning, would do a great deal of benefits to those who suffer.

This show bothers me on so many levels because I am a multiple suicide attempt survivor and suffer from depression among others mental health conditions. It makes me feel upset, as the show portrays how there's always someone else to blame – which leads those who suffer to be more likely to not get help. As a suicide attempt survivor, if I had the mindset that is being portrayed by the show, I wouldn't have been likely to go and get help. It would have made me feel like it isn't my fault, it's everyone else's so why would I need to fix the world's problems?? I also strongly feel that the show devalues suicide and bullying, as bullying doesn't directly cause suicide. Suicide is once again usually brought up by other mental health conditions.

If you or anyone you know expresses suicidal thoughts or intentions should be taken very seriously. Call 800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433) or 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255) or the deaf hotline at 800-799-4889.