Can we talk about Caroline?

Yesterday, it was reported in the British media, that Caroline Flack had taken her own life.

I am not going to pretend I know anything about her, because I don’t watch the programs she’s been in. I don’t really like reality TV for reasons which will become apparent later. So whilst I am sad at the loss of yet another life to suicide, I don’t have as much emotional involvement as others may have.

I’ll be honest, I am really angry about some of the reactions to her death. I don’t read the British tabloid papers, for the same reasons that I don’t like reality TV if we’re honest. The main reason being is that they feed into our voyeuristic desires and our love of a good scandal. It’s clickbait for the masses. Sensationalism at it’s worst.

How many people have taken their own lives as a result of online bullying? (I don’t really like the calling them trolls. It hides the fact that this is just plain and simple bullying) I am sure you can think of a few. I am also sure that you can also recall the accompanying rhetoric afterwards about how this should never happen again. But it keeps happening, it’s like we can’t help ourselves. The reality TV programs we lap up feed into that. They can create heroes and villains at the drop of a hat. They raise you up, then smack you down. The behaviour in itself is nothing new, but the speed and ferocity that this happens with is. Literally within seconds of a ‘story’ breaking, you can pretty much guarantee that the knives will be out. The knives are getting sharper and have a greater reach than ever before.

Here in the UK, we’ve recently had The Trial of Christine Keeler on TV. It was a different take on the Profumo affair. One of the central characters, Stephen Ward, was being accused of living off immoral earnings. After it was sent to trial, he took his own life. Ring any bells? That was 50 years ago. The trial, and Stephen’s subsequent death, was a media sensation. The same is now happening with Caroline Flack. Yes, she had been charged with assault; and who knows what the events of that day actually were, but the subsequent media circus has undoubtedly caused a decline in her mental health.

No one other than Caroline is likely to know how she felt over her last few days. No one else is living inside her head. I am sure that a lot of people are genuine in their concerns and their sympathies, but how many will go back to their gossip columns and twitter rants in a few day’s time? This is what saddens me.

There are many people out there who ARE genuinely campaigning and doing the damnedest to drive awareness. Both with mental health issues and bullying. But for some, this is a just a bandwagon to be hopped on (and off) when the need arises. I count the tabloid press in the latter.

My thoughts are with anyone who has been affected by this. Having been in the place where taking my own life felt like the most sensible option, I genuinely feel that pain. Nothing that any of us can say will make this easier. It has to be a wholesale change in how we approach mental health.

Talking is no longer enough. It’s time to take action.