ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses suicide, which can be a painful trigger for readers who have struggled with mental health issues, readers whose loved ones have struggled with mental health issues, and readers who are survivors of a suicide attempt. It discusses the relationship of mental health to the category of disability. The reality is that psychology, biology, and culture are all environments that are acting on our lives and impacting the way that we think and feel. There is at least a strong chance that interactions between mental health and social stimuli—such as a threat, an assault, a rape—could produce the causal moment that leads to suicide. The chapter examines how the commercial entertainment industry tells stories about disability and creates meanings about different types of disabilities. It looks at how disability shapes the labor force for the industry and how disability impacts the process of interpretation for audiences.
