At first, I was skeptical to watch "13 Reasons Why". I had heard about the up and coming series through social media and friends who had read the book when they were younger. Personally, I didn't know a lot about the premise of the story when I first started the show, only that Selena Gomez co-produced it (which didn't sound super promising to me). I decided to give it a try though, and I am so glad that I did.
Recently, I've noticed that a lot of articles have been bashing the series, and it really breaks my heart to see that. In a nutshell, the show depicts 13 reasons a young high school girl commits suicide. It graphically depicts bullying, sexual assault, drinking and drugs, suicide, and shows how kids really aren't getting the help they need when it comes to mental health.
For me, once I started watching the show, I was immediately hooked. I finished the season in a span of 3 days (on a busy schedule). That isn't the reason I'm writing this article though. I am writing this because I think it is important for someone, like me, who has seriously dealt with mental health problems to speak of what I've just seen.
I know that a lot of kids are afraid to talk about their problems. We bury them deep down inside and our issues build up. Sometimes they build up so high that it causes reactions like mental health to decline. I am not ashamed to admit that I've been to therapy. I am not ashamed to admit that I take an antidepressant every day. I am not ashamed to say that I have a history of struggling with anxiety and depression. It is honestly something that I believe, and have believed, for a long time that people need to talk about more.
When I first started struggling, I felt like I could tell no one. I didn't actually know what these horrible feelings I was feeling meant. I didn't realize that I had begun a downward spiral towards feeling like I would never be ok again. When I finally got the help that I needed a year later, and after the worst series of events in my life, I started to feel more like myself. I was lucky...not everyone is.
What I loved about "13 Reasons Why" is that it brings awareness to mental health and that the subject is absolutely no joke. Of course, the television series might have a few quirky moments in it that aren't realistic, but its Hollywood, and we take what we can get. Mainly though, the parts about Hannah Baker felt real to me. I could relate and connect with her feelings of loneliness, emptiness, and feeling like things would never get better.
Once I got to the death of Hannah Baker in the 13th episode, I watched the hardest television scene I've ever witnessed. You hear about suicide. You hear about what the partakers do to themselves, but no one ever really wants to imagine it. Well, this show made me imagine it. It made me witness what millions of people do to themselves at the hands of suicide, and it gutted me. I don't think I have ever outwardly cried that quickly before at the sight of something so graphic.
Some might think it was too much, but I am glad I watched it. It shows viewers that suicide, mental health, and a person's life is NOT something that should be taken lightly. It is something that is precious, regardless of your social status, gender, age, race, sexual preference, etc. "13 Reasons Why" did so much for me. Not only did it do a lot for me, but it did wonders for those who have suffered at the hand of mental disorders, suicide attempts, and died by suicide.
That being said, I want to mention that no one can ever depict exactly what it feels like to go through something as hard as a mental disorder. It is debilitating, and at times you truly feel like your mind and body can't go on. Some of us do and some of us don't. Let's realize that for those who could no longer go on, raising awareness like this television show, is our communities steps to success.
