First Priority: Recognize that suicide is preventable and depression is treatable.

·   Thoughts of suicide are complex. Depressed or suicidal characters will be much more believable-and, therefore, make more effective characters-if they are depicted with depth and profundity.

·   There can be dramatic entertainment value to depicting characters who survive suicide attempts.

·   Suicidal behaviors are not immediate. Many suicide attempts are driven by long-term depression. Think about this before showing a character who tries to solve a problem by attempting suicide.

·   Substance abuse is often associated with depression and suicide. Consider the relationships between substance abuse and mental illnesses when depicting these issues.

·   People can recover from depression and suicidal acts. Consider what stories can be told about people who have come through the bleakness of depression or a suicide attempt to find hope in the world.

·   Antidepressants can be useful in preventing suicidal behaviors among people with major depression. Likewise, professional psychiatric care, psychotherapy, and especially a combination of the two, can save lives when needed. By showing characters seeking professional help when they need it, viewers will be cued to do the same. This simple depiction may save a real person's life.

Second Priority: Recognize that suicide victims and survivors can be anyone. They come from different occupations, age groups, ethnic groups, etc.

·   Some specific demographic populations are at a heightened risk for depression and suicide (see sidebar: High-Risk Populations); however, depression and suicide can affect anyone.

·   Consider showing people's misconceptions that certain people-for example, those with plenty of money, in seemingly happy relationships, etc.-can't possibly be depressed or consider suicide as incorrect.

·   Think about how one person's suicide or suicide attempt affects other people. For example, when someone attempts suicide, it always alarms friends and family and can even deepen existing depressive tendencies in certain people.

·   While anyone can suffer from depression or can have suicidal thoughts, the stigma surrounding mental illness and seeking help keeps many people from talking about it and seeking treatment, which could prevent suicide attempts. Consider showing how the stigma surrounding mental illness and help-seeking behaviors, even from specific cultural groups, can prevent diagnosis and treatment.

Third Priority:  Show that suicide has consequences.

·   Always try to keep in mind that the effects of a suicide or suicide attempt do not end with one person's life. When someone attempts or completes a suicide, his or her death or near-death compounds the normal loss that loved ones feel when someone dies or becomes terminally ill. Suicidal behaviors involve guilt, shame, fear, and other mental stresses and can result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among people who have suicidal feelings and those around them.

·   Think about the legacy of suicide within a family and its effect on family and friends. Families' coping and the domino effect are often hidden issues.

·   Family members, friends, and acquaintances are often seriously affected by other people's depression and/or suicidal behaviors. Show how depression and suicide affect the family and friends of people who are immediately impacted.

Fourth Priority: People-especially young adults-need to understand what to do if someone they know attempts suicide or shows signs of suicidal behavior.

·   Suicidal behaviors almost always show warning signs. (see sidebar: Suicide Warning Signs.) Keep this in mind, as these warning signs are nuances that will make your characters more interesting and realistic.

·   Think about ways to show depressed or suicidal characters seeking help. This will model help-seeking behaviors in viewers and will make it clear to faithful fans that characters, like real people, often keep looking for help even when seriously depressed.

·   While primary prevention is not easy to incorporate in a story arc, consider showing kids talking about suicide in an honest, helpful way and provide an opportunity for expert advice by another character-a doctor or other medical or psychiatric professional.

·   Take into account visual ways to convey that someone is not alone. People can call suicide hotlines, seek out support groups, and consult mental health professionals available for 24-hour intervention.

·   Bring to the forefront the benefits of friends and support systems, especially peer support for young people.

Fifth Priority: Understand that current research can alleviate concerns about depictions.

·   Be aware of the potential risks of portraying suicide; always relay information responsibly, employing resources to honor accuracy.

·   Depictions can unfold slowly, which will allow viewers to understand the psychology of a character who might develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Alarming, sudden acts of suicide onscreen might risk giving the wrong message that suicide can be a solution to problems that can be otherwise resolved through dealing with problems head-on or by the healing effects of time passing.

·   Horrific, detailed depictions of suicidal acts onscreen have been said to cause "copycat" behaviors in audiences. Keep this in mind when addressing depression and suicidal behaviors. Be sure that careful depictions of these issues can, in fact, inform viewers and make their lives better in the long run by showing how people might realistically cope with these real-world issues in their own lives.

·   Perhaps most importantly, realize that suicide is not a solution to any problem.