Jul 26, 2015

J-dramas - The suicide issue

Now I'm going to "rant" about something I noticed in a recent drama. A woman in her early twenties (she was probably a bit younger) was admitted in a hospital because she tried to kill herself. She doesn't want to be treated, she doesn't want to see a therapist so the medical staff gets mad at her and bluntly tells her that the hospital is for people who want to live and that if she really wants to kill herself again (which she does) she should find a way to not bother people in any way.
This was a very insensitive remark from a doctor, I don't like it. That and making the girl look like an immature and spoiled drama queen who just got heartbroken. Suicide is a serious issue in Japan, there have the highest (or close to that) rate of suicides in the world. Writting such a script is ridiculous and insensitive. I mean, their high suicide rate isn't all about mere heartbreaks, this is obvious. Why not talking about the more serious issues of the nation, right?
The collective spirit tend to prevail over the individual, especially in Japan it seems, which means individuals should think about the comfort of the group before their own. The thing is, it is impossible to not bother people. Impossible. Where can she die without bothering people ? In her appartment ? She'll make it hard for the landlord to sell it later. In the street ? She'll shock random people. Our mere own existence bothers those around us to an extent. If people really valued life and are against suicide, they would be more empathetic to depressive and suicidal people in order to listen to them and make them feel heard and non judged.