Beartooth's Caleb Shomo: We must keep talking about suicide

The statistics on suicide are pretty shocking. It seems like there has been a lot of progress made, though, which is truly awesome. Like, I have a buddy who runs a thing called Hope For The Day – he has a coffee shop where the proceeds all go to mental health organisations, and it’s very much about speaking out and being open about the things that we’re going through in our heads.

The reality is, it’s such a hard thing to talk about because it’s so uncomfortable, and it’s not a usual thing to wanna bring up. Really, it’s the stigma that is the issue [with suicide], that everybody just thinks you’re fucking nuts if you’re feeling that way, and I’ve been there. It’s such a difficult thing to talk about.

I just hope people can continue to make that progress, and find ways to talk about it. The way to change things is to do more stuff like Hope For The Day is doing – they’re extremely open about it with everything they do, and their whole stance on life is just being open and having safe places to talk, and people to talk to.

For me, personally, the hardest thing was just finding anybody to open up to about what you’re feeling. And as things continue, the stigma, where being suicidal means you’re just fucking nuts, will get buried. Then people can realise that so many more people feel that same way than they’d think. Because when you’re going through it you think you’re the only person who’s ever felt that way and nobody’s ever gonna understand. And the reality is there are a lot of people who’ll understand and relate, and once you get it out and have a community of people who feel the same way, it’s a lot easier to deal with it.

It’s a gnarly situation. But the more open people get, the less people are gonna be taking negative actions in their lives, and can continue to try and find some peace.

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If you’re struggling with your own mental health, don’t suffer in silence. Talk to someone you can trust – a friend, a family member, a teacher, a doctor or a counsellor. Find more information on how to look after your mental health at the Mental Health's Foundation.

And if you need help immediately, we recommend these organisations:

• CALM: thecalmzone.net or call 0800 58 58 58
• The Samaritans UK: samaritans.org or call 116 123
• Or, in the U.S., the Samaritans helpline: (877) 870 4673 (HOPE)

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