Since 1937, more than 2,000 people have lost their lives on the Golden Gate Bridge. Kevin, miraculously, isn’t one of them. Pushed to the brink by depression and anxiety his mental illness finally got the best of him, and he decided he couldn’t take it anymore. He decided to commit suicide and jump from Golden Gate Bridge.
As he stood on the bridge, he watched people walking and driving past him. One woman stopped to talk to him but only to ask if he would take her picture.
Kevin explains, “I thought, growing up, that everything’s going to be great. Then at 17 it all came crashing down.”
If you can imagine, feeling that everyone around you is out to get you, trying to hurt you, and trying to kill you. And you believe that to be the truth.
“From the extreme paranoia, I exhibited symptoms of mania. From the mania came hallucinations both auditory and visual. And so with that and the bipolar disorder I was just spiralling out of control.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Teacher Writes More Than 100 Letters After Student’s Suicide Attempt
“I vividly remember writing my suicide note. People don’t get it. I thought I was a burden to everyone who loved me. Because that’s what my brain told me. That’s how powerful your brain is.”
Kevin was desperate, but he didn’t think anyone cared.
“The reality is, that everyone cared. I just couldn’t see it.”
“What I’m about to say,” Kevin shared about his suicide attempt, “is the exact same thing that 19 Golden Gate Bridge survivors have also said. The millisecond my hands left the rail, there was instant regret. And I remember thinking. No one is going to know that I didn’t want to die.
Kevin jumped, plummeting 25 stories down at 75mph, experiencing the worst pain in his life as he hit the water below. But somehow, for some reason, Kevin survived. Even the first responders knew this was a miracle.
“The coast guard. . . said, ‘Do you know how many people we pull out of this water who are already dead?’ The guy put his hand on my forehead and said, ‘Kid you’re a miracle.'”
And now Kevin shares his story in order to help others. How he’s using his second chance to bring awareness and understanding about mental illness is POWERFUL!
WATCH: Suicidal Man Survived Jump from Golden Gate Bridge
credit: YouTube