When Kevin Hines was 19 years old, he took the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco so that he could commit suicide. He looked over the bridge at the water, he walked around for about 40 minutes and he sobbed. He wanted to jump, but he thought that if one person were kind to him, he wouldn’t jump. People walked by and saw him crying. One woman asked if he could take her picture while he was crying. No one asked him what was wrong or why he might be lingering on a bridge while he was sobbing. After the woman asked him to take her picture, he decided that no one cared and he jumped. But right after he jumped, he regretted it.
As Kevin was falling, he decided he wanted to live. So he tried to make his body upright and land in the water feet first. He went deep under the water but he was still alive. He was severely injured but he was able to make it to the top and breathe above water. He couldn’t stay afloat but miraculously a sea lion helped to keep him afloat until the coast guard came and picked him up. He was immediately transported to the hospital. Kevin is one of only thirty-six (less than 1%) to survive the fall from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Kevin was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He could not express his feelings and felt shame for his diagnosis. Kevin says “Back then I kept it all in. Instead of opening up and sharing my internal self-destruction, I buried it all, I silenced my pain. I kept the brunt of my symptoms of diagnosed bipolar disorder to myself; ranging from extreme paranoia, grandiose manic episodes, dismal and darkened depressions, powerful panic attacks, lengthy heart palpitations, vivid hallucinations both auditory and visual and even physical pain caused by my brain malfunctioning. If someone had intervened that day, things would have absolutely been different. Due to my psychosis on that day, I could not say aloud “I need help now.” Yet, I desperately wanted someone to say to me, “Are you OK? Is something wrong?” or “Can I help you?”
Jonathan James Zablotny also jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge but he didn’t live. He was 18 years old. Jonathan was a handsome, popular boy who may have been overwhelmed with his workload at school. He had several reports due at the end of the week that he hadn’t started. His teacher called to discuss the work due on Monday. He feared he would fail. His mom gave him a pep talk on Tuesday morning. After that, he didn’t go to school. Instead, he went to the Golden Gate Bridge and committed suicide.
Since Kevin Hines lived after his attempted suicide, he wants to help others. Today Kevin is a world-renowned mental health advocate, motivational speaker, and author who travels the globe spreading a message of hope, recovery, and wellness. His talks have helped to prevent others from attempting suicide. Suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death for 15-34-year-olds. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the American Association of Suicidology. The strongest risk factor for suicide is a previous suicide attempt.
If you see someone you know who is at risk or even a stranger who seems vulnerable, lend them a hand. Here are some resources:
Call: Lifeline 1800 273 8255 (USA Only)
Text: CNQR to 741 741 Crisis Text Line (USA Only)
Visit: www.suicide.org
I hope this will help parents understand suicide and the vulnerability of teenagers. A cry for help can turn into suicide and then it’s too late. Parents suffer so much when they lose a child.
I can’t believe that no one stopped to talk to this young guy when he was crying next to a bridge that is known as a suicide magnet.