Thread by @VABVOX

#EllieSouter didn't "die"--she committed suicide. Shocking thay her tragic loss is framed as a natural passing.

She chose her 18th birthday to exit this life. Her memory deserves more than #suicide hotline numbers tacked on at the end. Soutter was a star & role model. Do better.

https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1022867749964578816

We need to discuss #suicide
more, not less. Pretending that Ellie Soutter just died instead of having a plan to kill herself on her birthday is bad journalism. Her ex talked about her ongoing depression. Teens are under special stresses, especially those in the spotlight. 2/

Teens are also susceptible to copycat suicide--romanticizing the suicide of an 18 yr old star is dangerous. The suffering people endure prior to killing themselves and the suffering their loved ones endure after their passing is extreme and demands and deserves discussion.
3/

In all these recent celebrity suicides ----#KateSpade #AnthonyBourdain and now tragically young #EllieSoutter-- the discourse has been so superficial. Telling desperately sick people to just call a hotline number or "just reach out" is not nearly enough. We must do more. 4/

There is a stigma attached to discussion of mental illness and #suicide that is harmful and self-perpetuating. Mental illness is no different than physical illness. It demands treatment--often urgently--and it requires compassion. We need to open dialogue, not shut it down. 5/

I read several different articles on #EllieSoutter--all had suicide hotline numbers tacked onto the end but only one stated she killed herself.Eliding the cause of her death from the story just further stigmatizes mental illness and #suicide. It promotes shame--which is wrong.6/

The entire discourse on teen #suicide that could have and should have been opened by stating the cause of #EllieSoutter's terribly tragic death has been shut down. That benefits no one and actually harms millions of teens and others battling depression and suicidal ideation. 7/

I want to thank @karendevine84 for calling me on my initial tweet. I was trying to say all of this in one tweet--a mistake for which I apologize.

Journalists need to listen to readers valid complaints. It makes us better & more compassionate writers. We all benefit from that.
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