Suicide attempt survivor, author is keynote speaker at fundraiser
Central Kitsap ReporterMay 05, 2018
"He has a phenomenal story to tell about his own journey through mental illness and bipolar disorder, and what eventually drove him to try to commit suicide," KMHS'
"He said … as soon as he jumped, he realized he wanted to live. He did survive, and since that time he has used his story to educate other people on not only suicide itself, [but] what leads people to that and how to recover from an event like that."
In
As the keynote speaker, he will speak candidly about the pain of living with mental illness and the complex conditions that contributed to his decision to attempt taking his own life.
Hines has since authored the book "Cracked, Not Broken: Surviving and Thriving After a Suicide Attempt." Learn more about Hines at www.kevinhines.com.
Proceeds from this event will support the
This event is being held during Mental Health Awareness Month and will include recognition for the volunteers at the
"Our community, like any other community, has a number of people that are challenged with mental illness," Bernhard said.
"There's a lot of people struggling silently with depression and mental illness. (This event is) an opportunity for individuals, family members, friends — anybody who's struggling — to really get that insight on the act of suicide and what leads people to that, to broaden our understanding of the pain they're dealing with."
Mental Health Aware-ness Month, Bernhard said, is nationally recognized.
"It's intended to try and help de-stigmatize mental illness," she said. "A lot of people either feel alone in their mental illness, not realizing how pervasive it is … or they think of it only in the extremes."
She said mental illnesses are much more "pervasive" than most people think. One in five adults in
"It's really much more common than people think, and I think people are often afraid of mental illness (because) there's a tendency to associate mental illness with violence, and that's one of the big misperceptions. (However), people with mental illness are 10 times more likely to be victims … 3 percent to 5 percent of all violent acts are attributed to mental illness," Bernhard said.
"The purpose of mental health awareness is really trying to build the community's understanding of what's included. Another big misperception is, the average person may perceive somebody with mental illness as having a character flaw, or something they can just snap out of," she said.
"It's obviously not that easy … (but) recovery is possible; there are treatments available for mental health disorders. I guess the message to the community is if they know somebody who is struggling with this, to encourage them to seek help and assistance."
Help can be sought from primary care physicians or by reaching out to KMHS at 360-373-3425. If interested in learning more about mental health issues, Bernhard recommended taking a mental health first-aid class, which "is a broad overview of the nature of different types of mental health illnesses, some of the causes, how to respond and how to guide people in those situations."
More information about mental health care and first-aid classes can be found online at kitsapmentalhealth.org. Tickets for the "Evening with
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