Breaking the Silence for Suicide Survivors
This Ted talk is discussing suicide and how people who have survived suicide attempts may not have the resources or enough help to rebuild their lives. The Speaker, J.D Schramm, talks about a man called John who, despite having a lot of money, a new house, and a new job, was depressed. This led him to jump off the the Manhattan Bridge, attempting to end his life. He floated down the East River and was spotted by a man on a boat. Eventually John was lifted out of the river by The Coast Guard. After he was rescued, he decided to try to rebuild his life, instead of trying again. Research shows that nineteen out of twenty suicide attempts fail but those nineteen people are thirty seven times more likely to succeed the second time. The people who go through this find it very hard to get their lives back on track due to society's taboos of suicide- they're not sure what to say or how to approach it, so they just ignore it. This furthers the isolation of the people who have tried to commit suicide. The speaker explains how he, in fact, is John who tried to commit suicide. He realized after two people he cared about committed suicide, he must speak out and share his story. He urges the audience that if anyone has contemplated, attempted, or knows of someone who has tried to commit suicide, to talk about it and get help because it's a conversation were having and an idea worth sharing.
The speaker of this Ted Talk is trying to convince the audience that there are many survivors who need help, and who need resources to get their lives back on track. He is trying to show that suicide is very common and serious, and can happen to anyone. The Speaker add credibility to the story by showing that he is the man he talks about, who survived a suicide attempt. This helps the audience to see how he has brought himself up from a hard place in his life, and is living out exactly what he is trying to portray through his talk. The audience can trust that even though it's hard, sharing about about suicide is helpful and possible for suicide survivors, and they can trust this through John telling his story publicly. This creates bias in his story because it is describing his life. What he is saying makes sense but may not be possible for all people who have survived suicide. this weakens his argument because his method may not work for all people. However, it strengthens his argument by stating that he, and two of his friends tried to commit suicide. It shows that he has a personal connection to what he's saying, and makes it easier for those who have attempted suicide to trust him. The speaker appeals to the emotions very much during his presentation. He creates sympathy in the reader, and from that sympathy, it is easier for the audience to want to help people who have attempted suicide. However, he tells the audience only at the end that his story is the one he is describing, and this makes room for the audience to form emotions without directing them anywhere. Once they realize that the speaker is the one who tried to commit suicide, they can use those emotions to realize the importance of the issue, because it can happen to anyone.
Although I do not have any experience with suicide, I have always been moved by people discussing it. I am a very sensitive person so I wanted to choose a Ted Talk which interested me and moved me. It also reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale, and how Offred thought about committing suicide in the end of the book. It reminded me of the Appearance vs Reality dichotomy because even though this man had a lot going for him in his life, he was still depressed and considering suicide. It brings up the idea that you never know what someone is going through.
