Every year, millions of people attempt suicide – and thousands take their own lives. This week’s guest, Kevin Hines, understands better than most. 

 

“Twenty-four hours before I went to leap off the Golden Gate Bridge … I was in such a devastating place of complete despair. It was worse than depression. It was a darkness and it was a place where I came to believe that all of my family, all of my friends hated me and wanted me gone. Of course, none of that was true, but I believed it. My brain told me that.”

 

In 2000, then 19-year-old Kevin attempted suicide by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. Miraculously, he lived, making him one of only 36 people ever to survive the 746-foot drop.

 

In this episode, Kevin shares his lifelong struggle with mental health and discusses how suicide creates a ripple effect of grief and pain that affects not just parents and friends, but every single person in our lives.

 

“When you love someone unconditionally and they pass away, that grief is with you forever. In America, we love to sit there and go, “Oh, snap out of it, get over it. Move on.” … When someone dies by suicide that we love, it is a kind of pain that you can never shake off.”

 

Kevin also explores the “instantaneous regret” he felt after jumping, the life-saving act of asking “Are you okay?” and the 85-year battle to raise a net rail around the Golden Gate Bridge, which will be completed in 2023.

 

“I'm asking you to have faith in yourself, faith in the human condition, faith in your ability to fight, to be well and to survive any pain that comes your way. You can do one of two things with pain. You can let it defeat you or you can let it build you break by break from the ground up until you're stronger than ever. That's a choice.”

In This Episode

 

• The 24 hours leading up to Kevin’s jump (05:40)

 

• Why the current conversation on mental health is “the wrong conversation” (08:29)

 

• Grief and the unforgettable pain of losing a loved one to suicide (11:32)
• The importance of “speaking your pain” by talking openly and honestly about suicide (12:27)

 

• Kevin’s first experience losing a loved one to suicide, and how it contributed to his own attempt (15:27)

 

• Suicide rates among adopted, LGBTQIA+ and minority children (22:44)

 

• “All I wanted to do was live, as soon as I let go of that rail.” (35:20)

 

• Kevin’s efforts to help prevent future Golden Gate suicides (42:15)

 

• Faith and mental health (49:42)

 

• The role diet and exercise play in mental wellness (51:56)

Our Guest

 

Kevin Hines’ Golden Gate Bridge suicide attempt at age 19 left him with shattered vertebrae and nearly severed his spinal cord. It also set him on a journey to find hope and healing – which he now travels the world to spread to others as a mental health advocate and motivational speaker.

 

Kevin is also a best-selling author and award-winning documentarian whose feature-length documentary, “Suicide: The Ripple Effect,” tells Kevin’s story and illustrates the ripple effect suicide has on those left behind. 

 

Resources & Links

Off The Cuff

 

• On YouTube

 

• On Apple Podcasts

 

• On Spotify

 

Kevin Hines

• On Twitter

 

• On Instagram

 

• On Facebook

 

• On LinkedIn

 

• On YouTube

 

• Hinesights Podcast with Kevin Hines

 

Danny Lopriore

• On Instagram

 

More On Mental Health

 

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

 

• National Helpline Database

 

• Resources for Parents

 

• Watch the first 20 minutes of “Suicide: The Ripple Effect” for free

 

• Watch “Suicide: The Ripple Effect”