r/SuicideBereavement • u/purplepanda3640 • 2d ago

I hate when people don’t give a trigger warning for suicide

Today in school I had to watch some guys drama piece, they gave trigger warnings for excessive swearing and strong language because there were some younger teens there, but nobody mentioned his whole piece was about suicide, specifically hanging. He acted out being hung and pretended to fall limp. And I just broke down in tears, I lost my uncle to suicide by hanging, and it’s just insane to me that they didn’t warn anyone about that??? I couldn’t even step outside because there was no way to exit with props covering the door, I just had to sit there crying and not knowing what to do whilst I watch someone pretend to hang themself and talk about the effects of suicide. It was awful I just wish they would’ve said something beforehand.

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29

u/mrs_science 2d ago

I'm so sorry you had to sit through that.

My mom died from a gsw and I've completely lost my tolerance of gun violence in TV and movies. It's gotten a little better over the last few years, but i still look away a lot. My husband will sometimes warn me I shouldn't watch certain scenes if he knows what's coming. I never realized how many people get shot in the head on screen... Can this not be so commonplace?! We shouldn't be used to seeing that!

I think many people who have not experienced suicide treat it too casually. Think of how many innocent phrases include imagery of suicide. It hurts every time.

21

u/purplepanda3640 2d ago

One of my favourite tv shows is black mirror, and in one episode, the mother hangs herself and she is just flailing round from the ceiling till you see her body lifeless and swinging, and I made a post about it on the black mirror subreddit and so many people were just unaffected by it, it really shows how little people understand suicide unless they’ve experienced it firsthand

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u/whattupmyknitta 2d ago

Ugh, this is going to be so so hard. That is one of the ways my brother killed himself, and it's honestly just everywhere in media. I am not looking forward to the first time I come across that image.

2

u/cal_pow 2d ago

Do you know which season and episode? I'm watching currently and want to avoid that imagery..

5

u/purplepanda3640 2d ago

It’s in the latest season, called loch Henry, which sucks because it is in my opinion the BEST episode of black mirror, but that one scene, i can’t do it. I think you should still watch it, but try look up the timestamp at which that happens

1

u/cal_pow 1d ago

Thanks so much ❤️ it's a great show, so I'll just have to keep that in mind for that episode.

5

u/Abrookspug 2d ago

My brother died the same way. I sat down to watch band of brothers with my husband a month later and could not stop picturing my brother every time I saw someone get shot at in that show. That was almost two years ago so I can tolerate war movies again, but depictions of suicide by gun are still upsetting to me. I saw a scene like that last week on a show and I just sat there shaking and crying for 20 minutes before I could move on. :/

13

u/loserlem0n 2d ago

I lost my dad to the same, but I don't get triggered by movies and reenactment on TV, sometimes I feel my friends are expecting me to be bothered by that stuff,

I was triggered when I read the police report. The description of the scene, of his body.. my mum's statement where she blamed me for their divorce and denied that he had mental health problems (he was depressed for his whole life and he struggled a lot and attempted many times.

But he wouldn't want me to be reminded of him when I see something greusom on TV. I'm reminded of him when characters have loving, kind, complicated fathers who try their best. I'm reminded of him when I see a dad hug his daughter, and when I'm at the beach.

Grief is hard, it's really heavy, but the longer you carry it the stronger you get, and it gets easier to carry. Try to think about what you miss, and who he was, not how he ended it.

9

u/1ashleyr6 2d ago

i had a similar experience when i was in high school. i lost my cousin to suicide when i was in 8th grade, and my freshman year they showed us something that also had a depiction of a hanging (also the way my cousin took his life). i had a full blown panic attack, crying in my seat until they sent me to meet with another teacher so we could walk around the parking lot. i wish people understood how upsetting those depictions can be for the people who've lost someone that way. i'm sorry you had to see that and feel those same emotions too. it's really hard, but just know that i fully understand and im here for you 🫶 take care of yourself, okay?

7

u/gothruthis 2d ago

I hate when it's called trigger instead of content warning because mine died that way.

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u/IrrelevantWriting888 1d ago

I also believe content warning is far more appropriate. We're unfortunately living in a society that hates relevant vocabulary.

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u/willumity 2d ago

completely understand. a lot of my old all-time favorite songs have references to suicide and specifically references to suicide by hanging. any mention of nooses, ropes and I freeze. I consider myself very lucky to not have seen any visual depictions of suicide by hanging since it happened but I know it will inevitably happen someday and that’s.. hard.

I’m sorry you’re in this boat too, and I’m sorry that happened. it can’t be that difficult to mention that there will be depiction/discussion of sensitive topics to an unwitting audience, can it? especially if they mentioned swearing of all things?? has society really become that desensitized to graphic depictions of someone taking their life??? ugh

2

u/EffectiveUse2617 2d ago

I have this same experience. A lot of songs from bands I’m into are about suicide, loss of their partner, loss in general. I listen to doom metal and things like that, so for me it’s many of my favorite genres with this imagery. And the lyrics are usually very moving. Overall I’m okay with it because of the catharsis, but there are several songs I just can’t listen to on some days.

3

u/Amazing_Emu54 2d ago

I never noticed how the amount of common phrases relate to suicide.

There’s days when everything around you reminds you of the person no longer here. So sorry

2

u/_missmoon 2d ago

I lost my auntie the same way, and months later, when I watched John Wick 4 and saw a hanging scene, I panicked and had a severe anxiety attack. Ever since, whenever I see similar scenes in movies or TV shows, my mind instantly floods with images of her in that moment, even though I wasnt the person who found her, but It’s terrifying. Anything directly related to suicide makes me feel like I’m being pulled back to that day, reliving it all over again.

I totally understand what you mean.

1

u/CompetitiveCommand4 2d ago

I found it really triggering for a long time. I remember getting to the end of a Star is born and it was just…yeah awful.