Speaker 1: I am a suicide attempt survivor.
Speaker 2: I’m a suicide attempt survivor.
Speaker 3: I am a suicide attempt survivor.
Speaker 4: I am a suicide attempt survivor.
Speaker 1: I had a hard transition into high school, and I got hit really hard with depression for the first time. I started questioning my sexuality. I started hurting myself.
Speaker 2: I was not the coolest kid on the block. Just like trying to fit in with different groups and whatnot. I was the smallest. I was the youngest.
Speaker 3: My weight is something that I’ve always struggled with, and because of my weight, I always kind of just felt like I was never enough.
Speaker 4: Addiction runs in my family, and so because of that, growing up, there was a lot of those issues to deal with. Being around violence, unhealthy relationships, unhealthy environment.
Speaker 2: It just started getting a little rough. It started getting a little rough around the edges and trying to make friends.
Speaker 3: I just felt like because this was something that I couldn’t control, that I was just worthless.
Speaker 1: I got myself into an emotionally and physically volatile relationship. That, coupled with all of the things that had been happening in my mind for so many years, kind of got to a breaking point.
Speaker 4: And then the rape happened. I was convinced my life was not supposed to happen.
Speaker 1: Finding the right therapist, finding the right fit is really key.
Speaker 3: Seeing a therapist is one of the best things that you could ever do for yourself. It gave me purpose. It was exciting to have somebody to go to that wanted to hear about what I had to say and what I was going through.
Speaker 4: Talking to other survivors is what actually saved my life. Talking to other rape survivors, talking to other people who have tried to kill themselves. Because we think that we’re in this tiny, little bubble and nobody sees us because that’s how we feel because we’re empty. I’m a leftover. Nobody knows I exist. But in reality, we all are feeling the same thing.
Speaker 3: You know, if you had a broken leg or a broken arm or if you have a cold, you’re going to go to a doctor. You’re going to go get the help that you need. Everyone is worthy of life. Every single person that is born is worthy of life.
Speaker 4: Having a creative outlet is huge. I’m a writer, and writing is the only thing that helps me make sense of things.
Speaker 2: Whatever you’re going through is stronger than you think. It can really have you on another level. I mean, the people that are trying to help you, let them in. I know it’s going to be hard and difficult, but just let them in.
Speaker 1: Try and think about what you need. If you just need somebody to sit with you, ask them to sit with you. If you need them to take you out of your house, ask them to take you out of your house. If there’s no one around for whatever reason, because that does happen, figure out one thing that can get you through one minute – and then figure out another thing that can get you through the next minute.
Speaker 4: I needed to know that I had the power to save myself, that I wasn’t powerless, that I had the control to pick up the phone or to make an appointment or to talk to a psychiatrist or to just walk outside and say, “I don’t want to talk to anybody today. I just need to be alone.”
Speaker 2: Get up, keep walking, no matter what they throw at you, no matter what they say, no matter what they do. Just keep living and keep pushing.
Speaker 1: I can say now that I have the most beautiful, most fulfilling life. It’s turned out far better than the 23-year-old girl, who wanted to die and tried to die, could ever have hoped for. That doesn’t mean that the struggle is over. I have to maintain my health. I still have suicidal crises. I still sometimes want to hurt myself, but the fact of the matter is that I have tools, and I have a support system, and I can make it through and I do make it through every single day.
Speaker 3: It gets better. You are worth life. You are worth living. You are worth breathing. You are worth having children. You are worth going to college. You are worth telling jokes. You are worth writing poems. You are worth your life.
