Suicidal ideation is lonely and can feel impossible to talk about; it’s hard to describe if you haven’t been there. I remember being desperate for a character who understood what I was feeling, so they could articulate the words I couldn’t. I found comfort in shared experiences, but it can also be triggering when suicide is depicted in mainstream media. If you’ve dealt with, or currently deal with suicidal ideation, I encourage you to check in with how you’re feeling before engaging with any of the below content. But if you’re looking for a shared experience, I hope you find it here.
1. Book/Movie: “It’s Kind of A Funny Story” by Ned Vizinni This is my favorite book, because while it’s painfully honest, it’s also funny. The fictional story of a suicidal teen is based on the author’s own stay in a psychiatric hospital. I found so many parallels between my psychiatric stay for suicidal ideation and the character’s. Unfortunately, the author died by suicide years after the book’s release.
2. Book/Movie: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky“ This book, told through a series of letters from the protagonist, depicts suicidal ideation in more implicit ways. Charlie is depressed and dealing with the suicide of his only friend as he enters high school. Near the end of the movie adaptation, Charlie has a mental breakdown with disjointed flashbacks. It’s overwhelming and reminded me of the intense feelings that arise when suicidal ideation is bad – a million things run through your mind so quickly that you can’t make sense of any of them, and you desperately want it to stop.
3. Movie: “Aashiqui 2” This is the Bollywood adaptation of “A Star Is Born,” about a famous musician who is dealing with suicidal ideation. It
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Stephen Chbosky
