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As many are still in shock over the death of Chester Bennington, those who loved him are still putting in the work to ensure that suicide prevention receives the attention it deserves.
Bennington’s 15-year-old son Draven Sebastian Bennington has been speaking out in a couple of videos for national suicide prevention week. In the video posted on World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10), he made a commitment to self care as Linkin Park’s “Numb” played in the background.
“I want to make a commitment that I will talk to someone before I hurt myself when I’m feeling depressed, sad, or going through a hard week, month, or year,” Draven says in the video. “I want to challenge you to do the same: to help yourself, not hurt yourself.”
In the second video, posted on Wednesday, Draven talked with family therapist Angelica Guajardo and his mother Samantha Bennington about losing his father.
“It still doesn’t feel like it actually happened,” he said. “You always think that maybe he’s on vacation and someone just found someone else. Maybe he’ll pop back up [like it was a bad joke].”
The Bennington family is certainly not alone in this fight. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, each year more than 44,000 Americans die by suicide, which is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. While toxic masculinity can hinder many men in the fight to combat mental wellness, it’s important for them to start having these conversations and standing up. The only way to fix things is to face them head on — which is exactly what we need to do in order to destigmatize and prevent suicide.
