13 Reasons Why: Season 2 starts mental health debate

The issue of mental health has taken centre stage following the release of the highly anticipated 2nd season of Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

With the new series touching on many difficult subjects including sexual assault, mental illness, and suicide, organizations are putting together toolkits and advice for parents and teens to help them understand the content of the show - and also provide guidelines for people so that they can identify individuals who could be at risk of mental health related issues.

Netflix had been criticized when the first season came out as many felt there was a lack of information available to viewers to help them with some of the difficult topics portrayed in the show.

After the launch of 13 Reasons Why, a number of studies revealed a large increase in search volume on Google for terms such as “how to commit suicide” and organizations including the American Medical Association reported a significant rise in patient volume.

Today, the show shared a website with a variety of resources and phone numbers for different organizations to call. A PSA was also released from the cast of the series addressing the subjects of season 2.

13 Reasons Why: Season 2 PSA

“This series may not be right for you or you may want to watch it with a trusted adult.” - Alisha Boe

With the topic of mental health being discussed more openly in the entertainment industry, a number of Hollywood actors have come out publicly and talked about it including Dwayne Johnson, who recently revealed his battle with depression. These difficult subjects are being addressed in the movies and shows such as 13 Reasons Why to inform people about the risks and encourage a debate so others may find help and support.

13 Reasons Why stars Dylan Minnette, Katherine Langford, Brandon Flynn, Justin Prentice and Christian Navarro and is produced by Brian Yorkey. Selena Gomez serves as an executive producer.

To access mental health hotlines and resources in your state, check out the phone numbers and listed organizations here for further information.