Our colloquial language suggests that suicide and self-harm are things that can be casually referenced in order to make a joke or hyperbole.
Last week, I was sitting in my child and adolescent psychology class when my professor made a shocking comment. While expressing his frustration with parents who do not vaccinate their children, he gestured cutting his wrists and said "It just makes me want to cut myself."
Although most students in my class chuckled, I was appalled. As I was sitting near the front, I very directly told him that what he did was not funny because a lot of people struggle with self-harm, and it is not something to be taken lightly. He responded by telling me that he wasn't a politically correct person, as he had told us on the first day of class, and then continued lecturing. I was livid, embarrassed and hurt. I could not believe that he, as a practicing therapist and mental health professional, could stand in front of a classroom of college students and promote the stigma surrounding mental illness.
Suicide isn't funny. Self-harm and mental illness are not funny. I don't think anyone believes that they are. And yet, our colloquial language suggests that suicide and self-harm are things that can be casually referenced in order to make a joke or hyperbole. These references occur so frequently I believe we've become deaf to the actual words spoken.
"I'd rather kill myself than right this paper." "She's taking 20 credit hours this semester, which is basically, just, like, a shortcut to suicide." "If I had to do that, I'd kill myself."
I understand what these phrases are trying to say. I have said them myself in the past. These sentiments express dread or feeling overwhelmed. And while it is healthy to vent or complain about things in life that are undesirable or hard, it is wrong to compare this to wanting to take one's own life. Suicide and mental illness are very serious topics. What's more, we have no way of knowing who around us is affected by them. By making these casual references, we promote the stigma. We promote ignorance and a lack of understanding. We unknowingly tell those around us that we don't take the issue seriously. We could even close ourselves off as possible supporters to those who are suffering by undermining their struggles.
Perhaps I am being oversensitive. Perhaps I am taking light hearted remarks too seriously. But I just don't think something so serious, so heavy, so devastating should be mindlessly thrown into conversation. I urge you to please think before making a similar remark, or even putting two fingers two your head and pretending to pull the imaginary trigger. Further, please spread this around. Post it on social media. Respectfully inform people that these kinds of comments are not OK. I want to raise awareness about this concern, but I cannot do it alone. As cheesy as it sounds, together we can fight the stigma.
Laura Chase is studying pre-social work at Ohio University.
