Insights On The Suicide Journey

Insights on the Journey 2: Meg Hutchinson

Meg Hutchinson is an award-winning songwriter, poet and recording artist on Red House Records and tours widely in North America and Europe. As a result of her personal experiences living with bipolar disorder she has become a leading mental health advocate and speaks about recovery at conferences, schools and teaching hospitals around the country.
I have seen the effects of suicide from many sides. I’ve lost a cousin. I’ve sung at the funeral of an Iraq war veteran. I love someone who lost two brothers to suicide and I see how that grief has informed his entire life.
I have spoken at many conferences with parents who have lost their children. I have sung “Gatekeeper” at the memorial for a beloved teacher.
I am living with bipolar disorder. I did not understand how suicide could happen to anyone until my own brain chemistry left me in such a state of mental suffering that I wished desperately to escape my body.
It has been seven years since I hit rock bottom. Every single day is a blessing now.
Every time I look at my sister’s face I know that if she had lost me her heart would have broken irreparably. I thank her for putting me in the hospital when she did. And I thank myself for telling her I needed her help.
Share this: Stay alive. You are helping countless others by asking for help.
In distress? Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).