you know what we really need? a suicidal character whose plot isn’t about being suicidal and who doesn’t magically recover via epiphany at the end
or die?
like, i’m not actively suicidal, but theres a kind of low key quasi-suicidality that’s probably going to be a part of my existence for as long as i exist. an ambivalence, i guess. and i find i can live that way. i wouldnt even describe myself as a an unhappy person (on the whole).
in general, i think the “not recovering as such but being able to go on with life for a while” thing is seriously underrepresented in fiction about brain problems– it lacks the dramatic punch/ definitive ending satisfaction of a character’s death in the story, but it’s a sort of troubling, decidedly non feel-good conclusion to many readers, i think. and if you play up the ways in which that situation is one where a person could still have a lot of joy in their life, a life that’s worth living, etc. then you run the risk of being told off for romanticizing mental illness.
…i’d also like to see more stuff that addresses how impulsive suicide attempts can be. like you might not even feel particularly depressed. you might not have a particular Big Reason you can point to for trying to off yourself. there’s not always a linear, obvious dramatic buildup. sometimes shit’s just been percolating for a while internally, and an opportunity presents itself, and you go for it before even you quite know what you’re trying to do.
I love Next to Normal because the protagonist never recovers. Her plot arc is about coming to accept her mental illness and live with it.
but yes, give me impulsive suicide attempts, give me low-key suicidal ideation, give me people who make a happy life despite never getting better
