If you’re like me, you couldn’t wait for the Netflix show "13 Reasons Why" to come on so you could start binge watching it. When watching it, the show got me to start thinking about how depression actually is and whether or not the main character on the show, Hannah, portrayed the symptoms of depression correctly. In my opinion, they were able to show these symptoms correctly.
The American Psychiatric Association has a series of symptoms listed that would categorize someone as being depressed. They categorize this as the DSM-5 category. The number 5 means that the individual has to have 5 of this symptoms lasting 2 weeks or more. The symptoms would be:
- Depressed mood most or every day
- Loss of interest or pleasure
- Significant weight loss or weight gain
- Insomnia
- Fatigue or loss of energy every day
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Inability to think or concentrate
- Thoughts of death or dying.
The main character Hannah I believe did show most of these symptoms. The reason she started showing these symptoms though was because they were caused by different situations she had going on in her life. The symptoms I thought she showed were depressed mood, loss of interest, loss of energy, worthlessness feelings, inability to think and towards the end thoughts of death. There were certain situations I believed showed the symptoms more. The first one I noticed was loss of interest when she had no interest in doing anything such as going to parties and thought she was feeling nothing. Another situation I saw was when she was talking to the counselor and said how she had thoughts of dying.
I thought this show showed how depression can be in real life very well. They were able to show the different symptoms correctly. They also made it relatable to people with depression. They were able to show what a person with depression may feel and how their life might be going. This show was able to bring this mental illness to life and show that someone who has this doesn’t have to go through it alone.