How to properly report on suicide and mental health, explained
A short guide to find your way in life-or-death editorial decisions.
I come from a place where suicide rate is relatively low. Before being in my 20s, I had never heard of anyone close to me who committed suicide. I barely knew anyone who was in treatment and often visited a specialist.
As a teenager, I thought that psychologists were for crazy or weak people. “It’s something I will never need” I used to believe.
Then I saw everything first-hand.
I saw strong and driven people falling and striving to stand up again. I saw contingencies destroying stable and calm lives. I saw people losing their compass. I’ve also understood that if you live in poverty, psychological issues are more likely to be part of your life.
In general, I understood that psychology is a complicated story and realized that we all can fall.
However, the way I used to look at mental illness and suicide show that they still are a taboo in Western societies. Even more, the way journalists cover these topics shows we’re far from being okay with mental issues.
Robin Williams.
There’s an example I always mention to explain what I mean. You all probably remember of Robin Williams’ death, right? Well, it tells a lot about what we journalists should avoid.
The Daily News’ front page was: “Hanged,” with an accurate description of the way he passed away. I still have shivers down my spine, honestly. The Daily Mirror wrote: “Tortured,” explaining that Williams “hanged himself when money worries pushed him to despair” and that “two failed marriages cost him 20 million pounds, his luxury ranch and vineyard.”
In the US, even The New York Times described the method he used. In Italy, the country I’m from, the media coverage was even worse, if possible.
Words matter.
Scientists found that a wrong coverage can easily result in a higher suicide rate and other forms of bad societal impact. Psychologists warn that journalists should never explicitly describe the way one has taken his own life, nor mention the word suicide in headlines.
This is especially true when victims are celebrities, as Jennifer Michael Hecht explains on Vox. “Studies measuring the presence of stories concerning entertainers and political celebrities are more than 14 times more likely to find a copycat effect than their counterparts” experts found.
Experts also suggest avoiding the description of suicide as a solution. Prepackaged sentences such as “this life was too hard for her”, “he was covered in debts”, “the pain was too much” imply that in some extraordinary occasions we may consider the possibility to kill ourselves.
Well, suicide is no solution.
For this reason, we journalists should focus on who’s alive to tell the pain, the guilt, the sense of confusion and regret people are left with when someone close to them commit suicide. In general, we should never encourage anyone in trouble to think that suicide is an option.
Asking for help is a solution, suicide isn’t.
We also should stop considering depression, mental breakdown and burnouts like something for rich and peaky people. They’re bloody real and journalists should tell what’s behind these serious issues.
A wise word choice is necessary: depression is not about being sad, burnout is not about working too much, anxiety is not about being nervous. We really must think twice about the words we use.
After all, we have great responsibilities. Four months after Robin Williams’ death, suicide rate in the US experienced a 10% increase. In the same period the number of people committing suicide with the same method Williams used had a 32% increase.
Is this all the media’s fault? I don’t know, but we surely didn’t do our best.
How to responsibly cover suicide and mental health.
So, okay. Covering mental problems and suicide properly is important. But how shall we do it?
In 1989 a pool of experts presented a list of dos and don’ts to encourage a responsible media coverage for suicide. Don’t mention “suicide” in the headline, Don’t “glorify” the act, Do understand with authorities the things to be said and so on.
In 2017, the World Health Organization has released a 26-pages guide to help journalists prevent suicide through their job. The book presents some features a responsible reporting should have (here you can download an abstract or a quick reference).
For example, “educate the public about the facts of suicide and suicide prevention, without spreading myths” and “Do not use language which sensationalizes or normalizes suicide or presents it as a constructive solution to problems.”
The guide also suggests not to use sensational headlines, provide details about the site/location, describe the method used and use photographs or social media material.
Some virtuous examples. In 1994, The New York Times wrote this headline: “Kurt Cobain, Hesitant Poet Of ‘Grunge Rock,’ Dead at 27”. The Washington Post’s Steven Petrow wrote a piece explaining the good impact a piece he made had on people with suicidal thoughts.
In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of a responsible reporting is including information about where to seek help. People with suicidal thoughts, in fact, could be strongly attracted by your story. It is important to guide them towards a reliable structure or phone line where they can get the help they need.
For instance, you can mention the Samaritans or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (depends on the country you’re in). Also, consider local NGOs or associations.
My personal experience.
Honestly, I would have never thought of any of these things without a story I made. It was April, 2019, and I went to Central Italy to investigate an uncommon suicide rate peak in the areas affected by a violent earthquake in 2016.
The photographer I was working with and I were surprised to realize how authorities’ failures were generating a depression wave among a population that was already affected by PTSD.
“If in a moment you lose your friends, your family, your house and your job and then the State that should help you starts working against you, death is an option you should put on the table” a person told us.
In my mind, I substantially agreed.
Days later, when I was in the process of writing the actual piece, I asked myself what other earthquake victims would have thought while reading my piece.
“Will they take their lives as well?”, “Will this piece somehow encourage them?”, “Will they emulate the people I’m reporting about?”.
I was obsessed and terrified, I literally couldn’t sleep for nights.
I was about to give up and refuse to tell that story, although interesting and necessary. But one day, while trying to deal with my own frustration, I’ve finally found the WHO guide I was looking for.
In that moment I realized how important writing that story was. It was just a matter of method, of doing it properly.
I came up with a three-episodes editorial series titled “The earthquake, inside.” Its main theme is the suicide rate peak, of course, but it focuses on survivors rather than victims. It talks about all the people whose relatives took their own lives and the way they deal with the pain. Also, interviews with experts explain what happened in earthquake victims’ brain and present a way out of depression. I’ve also reported about successful stories that were born out of Central Italy’s rubble.
In other words, I’ve been trying hard to denounce a problem without putting victims in a spiral of pain and depression. I’ve tried to tell their stories without convincing them that their future will necessarily look like their present.
And it’s not a lie, the way to get out of that situation does exist and we all have to shed light on it.
The final piece was a success. Locals were happy about it, authorities reacted, and we have been shortlisted for an important award in Switzerland. Nothing of this would have been possible without some help from experts. And, most importantly, without some human empathy.
In fact, it’s just a matter of human sensibility. I think it’s important to slow down a bit and remember that our job has potentially astounding effects and we therefore have great responsibilities. In some ways, human lives are depending on us.
Please, respect them.
If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800–273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to 741741. Both work 24/7. If you’re in an emergency, call the 911. Additional resources are available at SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
Please note: phone numbers may vary depending on the country you’re in.
