By John Valentik MS, NASM-PES, FMS

As many of you know, I lost my father to suicide in August of 2020. That year was by far the hardest of my life. In addition to losing my dad, I lost my step-dad to cancer in March of 2020.

Unfortunately, as it relates to suicide survivors, I am not alone. Every year, tens of thousands of people commit suicide. Every single suicide has its own tragic story, and while every situation is unique, there are still warning signs you can look for and conversations you can have, even if you are not a mental health professional.

While I work in health and wellness and have a direct connection to suicide, I am not a mental health professional. With it being mental health awareness month, I am providing a powerful resource from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which covers topics such as the warning signs, how to connect to someone when they feel hesitant to receive support, and a library of real conversation guides. You can find all of this information and more here.

I am also posting my video that I did for the Jana Marie Foundation here in State College. To close, I urge all of you reading this to take this topic seriously. Continue to be a support for those you care about and reach out to those who you may not have heard from in a while. While we all have our own challenges on a regular basis, you really don’t know what someone else may be dealing with if all you ask is ‘how’s it going?’ every few weeks. If you’ve struggled with your own mental health or feelings of adequacy, I promise you that you are not alone. Please use the resources and know that you are 100% enough just the way you are.

Thank you for reading.