Brent Potters from Limburg, Belgium dealt with mental health issues for a very long time. When he watched the first season of the TV show 13 Reasons Why, his dark feelings resurfaced. Brent was sent in a downwards spiral: “It was really hard for me to reminisce those thoughts.”
Brent Potters: "It was like I relapsed, like I fell back into my old train of thought."
“When I watched the first season of 13 Reasons Why, I started wondering how I was actually doing. It made me think about how I felt when I was younger and how I felt at the time watching the show. Definitely the bath-scene was difficult for me to watch. I lasted for 5 seconds and then I had to look away. I just listened to it," Brent says.
13 Reasons Why is a show that talks about depression and suicide. At the end of season one, the main character, Hannah, commits suicide in a bath, on screen. There were no trigger warnings in the beginning of the episode, nor did the makers refer to any helplines for people who are dealing with negative thoughts.
The lack of trigger warnings caused the show to receive a lot of criticism. From the second season on, trigger warnings and helplines were incorporated. By now, Netflix has removed the triggering scene from the episode.
“It gave me flashbacks to a time when I had the same thoughts as Hannah. It was really hard for me to relive those thoughts. I honestly didn’t think it would have such a big impact on me.”
No trigger warning “I felt really bad for about 5 months after seeing that one scene. It was like I relapsed, like I fell back into my old train of thought. That scene in the bathtub caused all of my old wounds to be ripped back open again," Brent reminisces. “What angered me was that there weren’t any trigger warnings in season one. There definitely should’ve been one.”
"I think a trigger warning subconsciously protects you from what's to come."
“I’m not sure trigger warnings always work, though. There’s often a trigger warning and you’ll still watch it, knowing all too well that it might trigger you. But I do think that it subconsciously protects you from what’s to come and what you can expect. Without a trigger warning, you don’t know what you’re in for.”
“Everyone is responsible for their own actions. If there’s a trigger warning, the responsibility falls on the viewers shoulders.”
In all its gory details “Personally, I don’t mind 13 Reasons Why and how they did things in the first season. They showed suicide with all its gory details," Brent reasons. “I’m a fan of showing it, despite the repercussions that might follow. There’s still a big taboo around mental illnesses, so I think it’s really important that they showed it.”
“There are lots of people who feel the same way as Hannah did. But because it’s becoming less of a taboo, people are coming out with their own problems. They can get help sooner. On one side, it brings along negative thoughts, but on the other side, those negative thoughts are talked about more.”
“If you’re a person with a predisposition for mental illness and you start binging a show, you eventually get stuck in a spiral. After a while you sink deeper and deeper and before you know it, you’re at rock bottom.”
Adopt behaviour “I binged 13 Reasons Why to a certain degree. I watched maybe four or five episodes on end. I’d realise that it was already 4 a.m. and I should get some sleep. The day after, I binged the other episodes," Brent says.
“I think I binged the show because I wanted to stay in the story. Looking back at it, it wasn’t the best choice because I consumed a big chunk of negativity all at once. You start to recognise yourself in the characters. You may adopt certain behaviour or project the things you saw in your daily life. That’s dangerous.”
Brent continues: “If you’re a person with a predisposition for mental illness and you start binging a show, you eventually get stuck in a spiral. After a while you sink deeper and deeper and before you know it, you’re at rock bottom.”
There are other solutions to the problem. Brent could think of a few. “It would be better if there was a pause between each episode. Netflix shouldn’t have uploaded the whole season at once. Instead they should’ve uploaded one episode a week. This gives the viewers time to think about it. Viewers will also start to discuss the episode online. Which would be good, because then people wouldn’t get stuck in their own head.”
“Another solution would be to have a skip-option," Brent thinks. “Once the difficult scene approaches, Netflix would pause the show automatically and give the viewer the option to skip to right after the triggering scene.”
"Don't watch the show on your own. Watch it with someone you trust: your parents, your lover, maybe even your psychologist."
Talk about it When asked if Brent would watch it if he knew how he’d feel afterwards, he says: “I think I’d still watch it. It made me into who I am today. I’d recommend watching it, but I’d say it with a warning: don’t watch it alone. Watch it with someone you trust: your parents, your lover, maybe even your psychologist. Just don’t watch it alone if you’ve suffered from a mental illness before. And talk about it afterwards. Get it out of your head.”
“Right now, I’m doing extremely well. I feel happy and I’m glad I’m still here. It took me a couple of months to get to this point, though. I lived from day to day and as time passed, I started to heal.”
If you ever think about suicide or self-harm, and are in need of a conversation, then you can always contact the Suicide Hotline on the number 1813 or www.zelfmoord1813.be for Belgium. For international helplines, click this link.
Text and photo: © Janne Schellingen
Comments