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The Importance of ’13 Reasons Why’ and Its Reflection of Teen Mental Health [PsychCentral.com]

 

Warning: This article does include spoilers for the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why”.

On March 31, 2017 Netflix released a new series titled, “13 Reasons Why”, based off the book by author Jay Asher. This series depicts a young man, Clay Jensen, and his journey to bring justice for his friend Hannah Baker. Hannah, a seventeen-year-old high school junior with nothing but the future before her, took her life on a seemingly calm afternoon. Why is this important? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death.



[For more of this story, written by Haley Elizabeth Roberts, go to https://psychcentral.com/blog/...-teen-mental-health/]

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I just started watching it after hearing about it from a client...I do 8-10 week trauma intervention sessions with children, adolescents and adults.  I already knew what it was about, and my client's intense interest almost obsession with the series made me realize it was pretty urgent that I watch it.  I made her guardian aware and she is now watching it so they can have open dialogue about it.  I think the major point is it doesn't really matter if you think it's a positive or negative series.  Our kids are watching it and it can give us a glimpse into the inner world of adolescence today.  It is a chance to connect, and we need to take it.

Yes Cissy, i too am worried about students watching it without having a dialog with adults about it. It is graphic, and really hard to watch graphic - I encourage you to watch the interview with the directors, producers, etc which is available as well). 

I also think that school staff REALLY need to know about this (I talked with a jr high teacher here in town and he hadn't heard about it but upon hearing about it said he felt like it was important to watch as well.  

I think it is imperative to be aware that this stuff is out there and that at least in my town, our youth are watching it and we as caring adults need to tune into what they are seeing (and i think will need help processing).

 

Gail:

I've not watched yet though we've been talking a lot about this one. A LOT of kids are watching it and there are big issues. I've heard some of the scenes are pretty graphic and some who have worried that it makes it seem like suicide isn't forever because there's the after story. I have yet to watch so I don't know if that's so but I really appreciate hearing another mom's perspective. Cis

This is a powerful, though very hard to watch, series that I watched. I strongly encourage parents of teens to ask your teen about it (i have heard that youth in my daughter's high school have been watching it and talking about it and I am glad that also watched it). It is a great opportunity to have discussions with your teens about these important and very difficult topics.  

I really like last paragraph of this article about the series:
We, as a society, need to slow down and pay more attention to those around us. We need to listen and not discount what people share with us. I love this quote by Catherine M. Wallace, “Listen earnestly to anything your children tell you, no matter what. If you don’t listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they will not tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff”. In addition to listening, let’s be models of behavior. Children learn through imitation of what they see us do. Be intentional. Be thoughtful. Be brave in reaching out to others.

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