Reporting on mental health problems and suicide

Reporting on mental health problems and suicide is an aspect of journalism that journalists should handle with care. Any offensive word could harm readers who are concerned in the issue having mental problems or surrounding people with mental problems. When reading about their own mental stages described in words that could not do any effect but to make them feel worse about themselves and their lives.

When mentioning mental health problems, we are talking about schizophrenia, depression, bi-polar, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder…etc.

The role of the media is strong. It is a double-edged sword. It could be kind to mentally ill people or could give them offensive names, including loony, maniac, nutter, psycho and schizo. Journalists could say “a schizophrenic patient” or someone “who suffers from bi-polar”.

The way the media handles the issue emphasizes the stereotype given to those people. One in eight people would not live next door to someone with a mental health problem as 50 per cent think they are dangerous and scary. This segment of the society is the most excluded.

Moreover, 1/3 of mental health stories published in the media connect these problems with violence. The concept is also illustrated in films connecting mental problems to violence. In films, such as Psycho, Hannibal and Silence of the Lambs, mentally ill characters were depicted as massacres.

This leads to a more dangerous social-economic crisis. People with mental health problems are often rejected in workplaces or sacked after they develop mental illness and thus stay jobless not being able to make a living and feed their children. Their living standards get worse and so does their health condition. Mental health problems cost the United Kingdom government £77bn a year.

Being more positive when reporting on mental health problems could reduce the stigma as well does reporting on suicide. Being more open when talking about suicide could encourage people to seek help. Killing one’s self is a legitimate newsworthy subject to tackle.

The way of reporting it could save someone’s life or drag more people toward it. Including help lines could make people who have suicidal thoughts wanting to seek help. On the other hand, romanticising suicide and giving excessive details could urge copycat suicides. For example, after several newspaper reports of suicide by the unusual method of antifreeze poisoning mixed with lemonade caused nine cases of deliberate antifreeze self-poisoning within the next month of reporting.

One in four people in the UK develop mental health problems. The issue is not only a matter of concern to a minority. They should not be alienated when talking about them.