First, please read this article about 13 Reasons Why that appeared in the Wichita Eagle on Thursday evening.
Could ‘13 Reasons Why’ be a suicide trigger in Sedgwick County?
As “13 Reasons Why” has become the most tweeted-about show in 2017, some members of the Sedgwick County Suicide Prevention Coalition say reports of suicidal thoughts and attempts have spiked among area youths. . .
My Reasons Why Young People Should Not See 13 Reasons Why
Secondly, I want to invite you to reflect with me on the topic of suicide in general and the article in particular. Katherine Burgess has done an excellent job with this article, in my humble opinion. This is a dangerous series. Even though I don’t believe in censoring, the FCC should have banned it from public viewing. Dr. Klaus of the KU Medical Center is spot on with her comments. When it comes to teenagers in particular, there is a contagion effect. There are “copycats” with every teenage suicide. So please, discourage your teenager from watching this movie. Seeds will plant in the soul of the person who watches this movie. Like the sewing of literal seeds, in time, they will sprouts.
As we all know, depression does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, socioeconomic status, gender or any other factor. It can strike anyone at any time no matter our circumstances in life. Therefore, deep depression is to the soul what cancer is to the body. It is a disease. An emotional disease. An emotional cancer. Even with the best of treatment, sometimes the disease wins and the cancer overcomes. The same is true with suicide. Sometimes the emotional cancer is too powerful and nothing can cure the disease and it takes a person out of life against their will.
Words of Encouragement from a Priest: God Can Reach Through
When one of my family members committed suicide, one of the gifts I received was from a friend, a Roman Catholic priest, who sent a card with the following note inside:
God, as Jesus assures us, has a special affection for those of us who are too-bruised and wounded to be touched. Jesus assures us too that God’s love can go through locked doors and into broken places and free up what’s paralyzed and help those who can no longer help themselves. God is not blocked when we are. God can reach through.
And so our loved ones who have fallen victim to suicide are now inside of God’s embrace, enjoying a freedom they could never quite enjoy here and being healed through a touch that they could never quite accept from us.
–Rev. Jeff Gannon