Kevin Hines

Written By Laine Carlsness

Benefitting Kevin & Margaret Hines Foundation

Only 1% of those who attempt suicide by jumping off of the Golden Gate Bridge survive, and Kevin Hines is one of those people. Fueled by a history of struggle with depression and bi-polar disorder, Kevin thought the bridge would be the easiest way to die, yet the first thing he felt after clearing the railing was - regret. Today, Kevin is a world renowned speaker, best selling author, and mental health advocate who uses his powerful personal story to save lives. He talks openly about what it feels like to live with "brain pain," the extraordinary circumstances around his survival after the jump, his experience in psych wards, the common denominator of people who consider suicide, and how the simple act of showing kindness to someone in emotional pain can save their life.

Wise Words

  • “My mom, when she came to see me, I’ll never forget the look in her eyes because you could see that she saw the depths of insanity brewing behind mine. And she was very worried for me.”

  • “He reassessed, rediagnosed me bipolar type 1 with psychotic features, which is a mouthful for any kid to hear at 17 years of age. And it’s something I don’t want to hear. I didn’t want to be flawed. I didn’t want to be mentally ill. I didn’t want to have that diagnosis over my head or have that label over my head. I just wanted to be the kid I used to be, and that kid was gone. He was disappearing without a trace and it really threw me for a loop that diagnosis. It appended my view of who I was and what I was capable of. And I thought that this was going to be the rest of my life. I thought, back then, this is a life sentence and I’m going to be sick for the rest of my life.”

  • “And when I wasn’t manic, I was crashing into this dark abyss of depression and pain or I felt that this black cloud was raining over my head. And I felt so alone surrounded by a sea of people who love me, but I couldn’t see that they were there for me and that they cared.”

  • “I hated every fiber of my being. I looked in the mirror and it was as if I was looking at a different person. It was as if I was looking at a second me, and he would yell back at me that he hated me and wanted me gone. That my death by my hands was inevitable. That I had no choice. That there was nothing I could do. And I began to believe him. And I really wish that at that moment in time I could have walked into my dad’s room and ask for help because he was right there. He had no idea.”

  • “You have no idea how your kind words, compassionate touch or giving hand could alter the course of a destiny forever in a positive way. You have the ability to walk up to someone in mental pain and give them hope for the first time in a while and potentially help them stay there. To be here tomorrow and every day after that. Just through a simple act of showing you care.”

  • “I realized that pain was inevitable, but suffering was optional.”

  • “The art and science of storytelling makes it very clear that if you tell a story of adversity and struggle and devastation, but you follow it up with triumph and success and recovery, you actually have the transformative effect on helping to change a person’s life who was listening because of the way their brain sync up with your story.”

  • “The common denominator of people who are suicidal is an epic and unrelenting lethal emotional pain. It is a brain pain that is like no other pain in the world. It’s 300,000 times worse than any physical pain you can ever experience, because it’s so tormenting, because it is so invisible. And I think the common denominator is that epic brain pain that people can’t fathom, don’t understand, don’t like, don’t want, don’t need. And then the people around them don’t know what to do and it happens.”

  • “They can be resilient in any pain they face, and they can always fight that pain to be here tomorrow and every day after that.”

Links

Laine Carlsness

I'm Laine Carlsness – the broad behind Broadsheet Design and an East Bay-based graphic designer specializing in identity, web and print. I truly love what I do – creating from-the-ground-up creative solutions that are as unique as the clients who inspire them. I draw very few boxes around what a graphic designer should and shouldn't do – I've been known to photograph, illustrate, write copy, paint and hand-letter to get the job done.

http://www.broadsheetdesign.com/
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