In recent years shows with heavier content and topics have come to the forefront of entertainment, with gritty teen dramas taking hold of the youth and having a heavy impact on the mental health of our nation.

Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why have become popular for many reasons: the A list cast, the cinematography, the compelling plots, and the incredible amount of violence, drug use, and nudity throughout.

One example of this violence is the season finale of 13 Reasons Why. In the finale they showed a scene in which the main character ends up tragically taking her own life.

Educators and psychologists  warned that the choice to show this scene could lead to copycat suicides. Now, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health shows that those concerns may have been warranted.

According to NPR, “In the month following the show’s debut in March 2017, there was a 28.9% increase in suicide among Americans ages 10-17, said the study. The number of suicides was greater than that seen in any single month over the five-year period researchers examined. Over the rest of the year, there were 195 more youth suicides than expected given historical trends.”

Though a direct causation cannot be proven, the show’s graphic scenes had an indelible impact on viewers like junior Rachel Ogbonna. She said, “I think… the producers of this show were not thinking when they decided to air that scene of Hannah. I was in middle school when it first came out and when I first watched it. I was heavily traumatized due to what I saw and how graphic it was. Considering who the audience of that show was they should’ve never aired it and made a conscious choice to portray mental illness in a better light, not in a revengeful, romantic kind of way.”

Because of how graphic the scene of Hannah, the main character, was and the increase in suicide after the show came out, Netflix decided to cut the scene entirely. A choice that one took two years to make and two could have saved many lives if they decided not to air it in the first place. The edited version, now on Netflix, shows Hannah looking at herself in the mirror, full of emotion. It then cuts to her parents finding her body in the bathroom and reacting to her death.

Health.com says that ”Shows with heavy and graphic content not only affect viewers mentally and emotionally, but they can also have long lasting effects physically.” Viewers can get wound up or “antsy,” for hours, after watching a tv show, when they should be winding down for sleep. Many enjoy the drama, tension, suspense, and action a good TV show has to offer, but these shows also increase your heart rate, blood pressure, and adrenaline.

TV shows also can heighten or trigger anxiety and depression in their viewers. The Foundry, a mental health treatment center said, “TV producers almost count on this reaction. They want to keep people tuning in for the next episode, to see the resolution of what happened. This may seem counterintuitive, it does not make sense that someone would want to keep watching a show that makes them feel anxious or depressed, but viewers are drawn to it, drawn to the resolution, like a moth to a flame.” When the show ends, viewers can feel reassured that the victims survived and that the bad guys were punished.

A medical blog, The Little Things, said, “When watching a TV show or movie, we empathize with fictional characters as we would with another “real” person right in front of us. So, when we see our favorite characters in emotional situations on our screens, our brains release oxytocin, a neuropeptide that makes us feel empathy, which means you can feel what someone else is feeling — even if the person in question is a fictional character.”

This heightened empathy allows members of the audience to relate to the characters in the movie and feel what they are feeling, they may even use it to relate to something happening in their own life.

Watching shows with heavily emotional, dark subject matter can have a severe and long-lasting effect on your mental health, an effect that should not be taken for granted. It is okay for shows to make viewers feel empathy and other emotions, but it is not okay when it is done in the wrong way and becomes emotional manipulation.

If your favorite show makes you feel uncomfortable there are many alternatives on how to view it, keeping the lights on while watching, sitting on a comfortable couch, eating a snack, cuddling with a pet, or watching with a family member or friend are only some of the available options.

When choosing to watch a show viewers should not forsake their mental, physical, and emotional health for it. Choose a show you know you will enjoy.

Do not be afraid to ask for help.
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