Discussion I found this cartoon infuriating. Am I over-reacting?

[Ironweed]

Seen on Twitter.

• Stopped "partway through" a suicide attempt yet needed no medical intervention?
• Drove to a "Crisis Center" that is apparently not a mandatory reporter?
  • This kind of thing can get very ugly, at least in an American Context - See Here
  • What even is a "Crisis Center?" Never actually heard of such a thing. You can just...drop in, no appointment needed?
• LMAO, the teeth and eyeballs signifying being suicidal...WTF was that?
• How many fucking "Safety Plans" have I had through the years, again?

Maybe the intent here was to be helpful, but man, this one pushed my buttons.

 

[Life_and_Death]

LMAO, the teeth and eyeballs signifying being suicidal...WTF was that?

i dont think thats "signifying being suicidal" i think its suppose to be more like fear. wide eyes, teeth chattering kind of thing

other than that, yeah

 

[katattack]

Yep I understand that you're annoyed. It's so belittling to me and so shallow for understanding what suicide is and why people make the choice.

 

[Pluto]

It turns out that being suicidal is a Halloween mask.

 

[azukigirl]

i've been to a crisis center when i was in middle school intervention for me. they are the most unhelpful people ever but i know they can help some people too. you go in, fill paperwork, wait, and a social worker will talk to you. my social worker said i need to focus on school instead of being sad. i left feeling horrible. there's a reason it's free. mostly homeless people would benefit, since it would be the start of getting aid. (and therr were a couple in the waiting room) if you share suicidal thoughts with them they have to tell authorities though

 

[kunikuzushi]

Ew it infuriates me too. It portrays being suicidal as a silly feeling that can be stopped with "help" and "love". "You are loved" is one of the most annoying things someone could say. Not everyone is loved.

 

[cats333]

Seen on Twitter.
View attachment 123298

• Stopped "partway through" a suicide attempt yet needed no medical intervention?
• Drove to a "Crisis Center" that is apparently not a mandatory reporter?
  • This kind of thing can get very ugly, at least in an American Context - See Here
  • What even is a "Crisis Center?" Never actually heard of such a thing. You can just...drop in, no appointment needed?
• LMAO, the teeth and eyeballs signifying being suicidal...WTF was that?
• How many fucking "Safety Plans" have I had through the years, again?

Maybe the intent here was to be helpful, but man, this one pushed my buttons.

i think the person from the drawing was incredibly lucky to get an actual support system because its such a small percentage of people who actually get help instead of being ignored and to have been able to be in a condition to drive themselves just further proves what im trying to say, maybe it wasnt meant wrong but its definitely privileged of them

 

[jessisme]

Yeah it seems really simplistic and inaccurate in what it represents. First, what are these "crisis centers?" If they exist I have never heard of them and I have been suicidal for a LONG time. Just because you are suicidal doesn't mean that you have depression. Depression isn't resolved just by a quick talk with a stranger asking about your feelings towards anime and neither is suicidal ideation. Some people don't have people in their lives that love them and that is part of all of the reason they want to ctb. So to say that the reader is loved may be a false assumption. This kind of quick fix narrative is so, so wrong and shows no real understanding of depression or auicidality. This cartoon does more harm than good as a result of all of this. Both in miseducating people on what it means to struggle with suicidal ideation and that there are easy quick fix "solutions." Definitely infuriating.

 

[thewalkingdread]

Ew it infuriates me too. It portrays being suicidal as a silly feeling that can be stopped with "help" and "love". "You are loved" is one of the most annoying things someone could say. Not everyone is loved.

Yeah... It just feels like their lying to your face.

I hate lying.

 

[ohyouknow]

Seen on Twitter.
View attachment 123298

• Stopped "partway through" a suicide attempt yet needed no medical intervention?
• Drove to a "Crisis Center" that is apparently not a mandatory reporter?
  • This kind of thing can get very ugly, at least in an American Context - See Here
  • What even is a "Crisis Center?" Never actually heard of such a thing. You can just...drop in, no appointment needed?
• LMAO, the teeth and eyeballs signifying being suicidal...WTF was that?
• How many fucking "Safety Plans" have I had through the years, again?

Maybe the intent here was to be helpful, but man, this one pushed my buttons.

• Stopped "partway through" a suicide attempt yet needed no medical intervention?

You make a good point. That doesn't seem to make sense. Like, they're equating almost attempting with partially attempting?

• Drove to a "Crisis Center" that is apparently not a mandatory reporter?
  • This kind of thing can get very ugly, at least in an American Context - See Here
  • What even is a "Crisis Center?" Never actually heard of such a thing. You can just...drop in, no appointment needed?

There are crisis centers in my area. They are supposed to be a sort of middle ground. The idea is that not everyone in need of immediate crisis counseling needs to go to the hospital. They are open 24/7. You can walk in and get counseling. They assess your needs. You might get counseling then leave. You might spend the night there or up to five days. If they feel you need more than they can offer, they will get you transportation to the ER. They also have sobering and detox units. Better to go to the crisis center to sober up than to jail. (I'm not sure why you couldn't go home though. Homeless? Any other reason?)

• How many fucking "Safety Plans" have I had through the years, again?

Yeah, I always think there must be some other breed of depressed or suicidal people. People who don't actually want to die but just think about it a lot? Or people who get depressed once in their life, then recover? Idk.

 

[tiger b]

It looks like meaningless fucking bollocks to me, in practice, and I'm sorry to mince words and not say how I really feel.

Didn't like the teeth. Glad the safety plan sorted them out.

 

[Golden]

Ew it infuriates me too. It portrays being suicidal as a silly feeling that can be stopped with "help" and "love". "You are loved" is one of the most annoying things someone could say. Not everyone is loved.

Yes and being loved doesn't mean you still couldn't suffer enough to want to ctb

 

[𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆]

Damn guys, let's just all go to crisis center and it will cure our depression and suicidal thoughts! It's truly so easy and shallow hehe

 

[tiger b]

Do you like anime?

There, I've saved you the trip.

 

[sleepyhollow]

I do think that it is unrealistic that the person in this poem, or any person for that matter, could recover so quickly, but maybe that is the point of this comic. To be honest, my first impression was that the comic was a satire of how society deals with suicidal individuals and expects them to act in order to do the "right thing" and "save" themselves. Though there is help available, I have found that it is often only superficial and surface-level, and that it does not always treat the legitimate issues that a person in this situation would probably be dealing with. This is supported by the face that, in the end of the poem, the gray-ish figure is still there. I hope this makes sense, and its okay if you all don't agree with me, but I just wanted to share an alternate point of view.

 

[SilentSadness]

That's a really disturbing comic and reads like propaganda. It's oblivious to all the problems there are with everything it says.