The Issue with Mainstream News Coverage of a Celebrity Suicide

I promised myself that I would not write anything about depression, mental health, or Robin Williams this week. I swore that I would not throw myself onto the bandwagon. However, it has become increasingly clear to me that there must be some sort of push back against the mainstream media coverage of these matters, and that those with a voice of any kind must speak out. As someone with close ties to the mental health field, the effects of what can only called blind journalism over the past week have been made too obvious to me to ignore. The impact that bad media coverage can have must be put under the spotlight and we must learn from our mistakes. I know that I am writing this on day that is, perhaps, too late for some. My hope, then, is that in writing it I may bring to our attention issues that must be taken into account if something like this were to happen again. I believe in the advancement of knowledge on the foundation of research and, though I wish I could go back and write this article before any of this had happened, I wish even more that it may prevent similar things from happening in the future.

At the beginning of this week, news broke that actor Robin Williams (age 63) had committed suicide. I am sure that, by now, you have been exposed to all of the details of these events repeatedly and so I will not waste time by focusing on reporting these facts to you. What I want to focus on is what happened the day after these initial, matter-of-fact, news reports were published.

If you are on social media at all, which I am sure the majority of you are, then you will know that Tuesday morning marked the beginning of a series of tribute-articles and posts for Robin Williams, as well as a more in-depth look at the events that had transpired the day before. By the time that the initial shock had worn off, people flooded social media to pay their respects and share their favorite Robin Williams stories or moments. Perhaps the most talked about example of all was the Tweet sent out by the Academy. It featured a screenshot of Williams’ character Genie from the Disney film Aladdin, along with the line “Genie, you’re free.” It was quickly shared across social media and, as of this morning, has 327 499 ‘retweets’.

But did we really stop to think about what tributes like this might be doing?

***Before I really dive into the heart of the matter, I want to make clear that I do not think The Academy had any twisted motives in posting this tweet. In the same way, I do not think that the tributes made by other news websites and video-sharing profiles were made in order to create these effects which I am highlighting. Intent, however, is not the problem. The problem is the effect that these actions, whether from a place of genuine admiration or violent desire, can create. Furthermore, while some of you will undoubtedly bring up the Right to Free Speech, I want to emphasize that I am not, in this article, stating that the media cannot post things like this. What I am saying, and by the end of this article I would hope you agree with me, is that, if our goal as a society (and their goal as media) is to lower suicide rates, ease the suffering of those going through depression, and proceed towards a healthier society, then we should not post things like this.

So, now that we have that out of the way, what’s the problem?

Poor media coverage of a celebrity suicide can actually have a significant effect on the suicide rate of a population. I have had many people try and disagree with this, going so far as to say things like “They would have committed suicide anyway”, so I will point you to both this Meta-Analysis of the data, as well as the works of Durkheim which examine the critical point in a fight with depression in which someone is actually at risk of attempting suicide.

NOTE: Since posting this, a great article summarizing the contagious effects of suicide by The New York Times came to my attention. Check it out here.

The truth is that this media coverage does make more people commit suicide, according to the research. It is not a made up argument that can be chalked up to opinions. It is objective. We cannot ignore the science behind it just because we want to fit everything into our stubborn view of the world.

The evidence seems clear to me. Our media coverage can do more harm than we realize. I know that some of you may ignore the evidence under the defense of “I don’t understand how that is possible. It must not be true.” In fact, I’ve already had people present me with an argument like this. However, let me remind you that not understanding how something works does not change the fact that it works. It may inhibit our ability to fix it, and for that reason more research must be done and more regulations must be adhered to, but we cannot ignore that this effect exists just because we do not know why it exists.

Why has the news coverage this week been so awful? 

The answer to me seems simple. It is an overcompensation. For the past few years the media and population has been criticized viciously for creating a stigma surrounding mental health and this past week was the chance to show that isn’t true. The issue, however, is that we didn’t just make up for the mistakes of our past, we tried to go above and beyond.

Here is a great article on how this past week has seen suicide glorified in the media. It has been talked about like it is an answer. Like it will bring peace to the sufferers. The amount of times I read variations of “Be at peace” or “I am glad you are at peace now” in my various news feeds has exceeded my ability to keep track.

People are right in saying that we need to make sure we do our part to eliminate the stigma of mental illness in the world today. We must also acknowledge, however, that it is possible to take it too far in the opposite direction.

So what do we do now?

Let me put it this way:

We have shown that we can be extremely confident, through a meta-analysis of the literature, that poor media coverage of a celebrity suicide can increase the suicide rate of a population significantly.

As a society concerned with helping those suffering from depression and other forms of mental illness, we have sworn to do our part to aid in the healing process. We regard suicide rates as something which we should aim to lower.

Therefore, we should avoid such poor and blind media coverage. We must be careful. We must do more research. And we must pay our respects to celebrities in a way that doesn’t convince our suffering friends  that it would be better for everyone if they left too.

Media attempts to raise awareness of mental illness.

This past weekend I went to the theater to see a production put on by the Sudbury Theatre Centre. I was lucky enough to catch a repeat production of Black Dog – 4 vs The World: the story of four teens, each suffering from mental illness, that meet and befriend one another as they go through the trials of life together.

I’m not writing this to review the acting or overall production. What I want to focus on is the way that the writer chooses to portray mental illness. There is a common problem that arises in the mainstream discussion of mental illness which, I believe, can be blamed on years of misdirection. Below I will discuss this problem which I believe exists, and hopefully show you the dangers of being swept up in the emotions of a standing ovation for a play like Black Dog.

Help vs. Medication.

This is a common shortcoming of modern thought regarding mental illness: the romantic notion that emotional support is a far better service than medication. Especially to teenagers, medication and psychiatrists are often designed to take the place of the ‘enemy.’ Pop-culture, instead, focuses on things like love and care as the great qualities which can conquer the despair associated with mental illness. Medication is more commonly associated with the feeling of ‘numb’ than the idea of getting better. That can cause a lot of problems when it comes to the treatment of mental illness. Who wants to go see a psychiatrist that’s going to give them medication which will make them miss out on the joys of life?

There is a part in the production in which each teen reveals all of the medications they are on at the time. Of course, the message of this feels a lot like “look at all these medications I am on, which I hate, and how I still don’t really feel that great about things.”

It is important to note that there is a time and place for listening, as well. Community is a key component to recovery. We must be willing to listen to those that are suffering from mental illness. We must seek to better understand what each individual around us is going through and experiencing. Medication cannot be the automatic go-to for every single case of mental illness.

That said, promoting it as something that is lesser than ‘love and kindness’ in the grand scheme of treatment is a very dangerous statement to make. By turning the parents in the crowd away from medicating their children, it reinforces the idea that, if we can just be there for people suffering from mental illness, it will all be okay. The truth, however, is that some people really do need medication. Some people need to stabilize the chemical processes in their brains before they are ready to adjust their patterns of behaviour.

It is great to listen, but at some point we must also act.

 

 

Share Your Story

It wasn’t long ago that #bellletstalk was trending on Twitter. During the campaign I posted, in less that 140 characters of course, that after the day had ended we should be encouraged to continue sharing our stories using the hashtag #letstalk.  Now, I’m not writing this blog post to encourage us all to get back on twitter and cause a new trend, but I am writing to point out that it hasn’t exactly gone the way we all would have hoped for. What I mean is this: The purpose of my tweet was to encourage us to not only support mental health with lip service, but to continue to have an active discussion and community of sharing. Instead, those brave people that shared their stories during that day, or shared their support, have slowly withered and crawled back into the caves of the world. I want this post, and what I am about to say, to encourage those people to once again step out into the light, and to re-establish the sense of community that we had towards mental illness on that day.

Let’s Talk.

 

The first thing that I want to do is establish something that many people have been arguing for a long time and yet we seem to deny: Mental Illness is as real an illness as the physical diseases we come across every day. 

I think that, because the symptoms of mental illness are often internal rather than external, we are resilient to accept mental health as a legitimate concern in the world today. For example, if one of your coworkers were to call in sick to work and then you saw them out at a grocery store, what would your reaction be? 

“You don’t look sick.”

“You sound fine.”

“Last time I called in sick I could hardly get out of bed.”

First, a lot of mental illnesses, when at their strongest, really do interfere with activities like going out for groceries. They also can greatly inhibit performance on other tasks like concentration. So, while it may very well be possible for them to go to the grocery store and pick up a frozen pizza because they had no food at home, sitting at a computer or working in retail could really be an impossibility to them. There are very real external symptoms of mental illness. It isn’t a question of will power or of resolve like we assume it is.

Secondly, there are many physical symptoms or characteristics of mental illnesses that we cannot possibly see from the naked eye. We’ve all used the statement, “It’s an actual chemical imbalance that I can’t control” before, but have we really examined just how concrete these differences are? Here are some examples: 

Depression: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_of_depression

Pay special attention to changes in the Subgenual Cingulate, as well as the effects of Serotonin levels. 

Anxiety: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_disorder

Pay special attention to the activity in the Amygdala.

Note: I used Wikipedia articles because, truth be told, the majority of people that read this have no interest in the gritty details of psychology. Truth be told, though, that’s also the point of this article… to make us care and do our research before we start to judge. Even behavioral disorders like OCD and ADHD have identifiable characteristics in brain development.

 

Why do we ignore these truths? I think one answer is quite simple. We like to believe that our bodies are not related to our emotions. We have this built up sense of mind/body dualism, an acceptance of the soul, and mind > matter. The truth is, and as much as we don’t like to admit it, our emotions are as controlled by our bodily functions as morning sickness. 

 

Moving On.

 

The second thing I want to emphasize is the importance of community and of sharing. 

Sharing your story and building a supportive community around you are key to battling mental illness. The responsibility for developing and sharing is on both those suffering from mental illness and those around them.

The stigma associated with mental illness has created a fear for those that are either diagnosed, or suffering in fear of being diagnosed. The idea of taking medication because you’ve been feeling sad or because you’ve been having panic attacks is completely unheard of to many people. This is a problem, as a sense of community can be one of the greatest assets to a person suffering from any kind of mental illness. Sharing their story and not being afraid to admit their struggles can aid in a person’s fight through mental illness. 

Michael Landsberg, who many people know from his sports show Off the Record, has become an avid supporter of sharing stories of fight and recovery. He encourages people to engage with him on Twitter, daily if need be, and actively responds to ensure people know that there is at least one individual listening to him. On that note, here is his Twitter account, and I highly recommend engaging with him if you are struggling:  @heylandsberg

Here is an article documenting the impact that sharing and inclusion can have on mental illness (parental support AND peer support): http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/abn/113/1/155/ 

and another: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:QURE.0000015288.43768.e4

The responsibility for creating this community is on us, and by us I mean everyone. It means that if you are not suffering from mental illness, you need to be opening your arms and your ears to those that are. If you are, you need to know that you are not alone in your trials. Many people, including some of the most successful people in the world, are going through some of the same things as you. None of our stories are going to be identical, but pushing through trials can be a lot easier when you connect with people that have made it to the other side, and people that are making the walk through right next to you. 

So, here are the two things that I want you to take away from this:

1. Mental illness is rooted in biological factors. Though we may not always see the symptoms, they are there. It isn’t because people need to be tougher, in-fact, I bet that if you had the same chemical imbalances and brain activity, you’d be suffering from depression to. Actually, I know that’s the case.

2. Building a community is key in the fight against mental illness. Supporting those around us that are suffering from mental illness, and seeking support when we need it (medical or social) are some of the most important steps to take. The responsibility is on all of us.