Guest speaker shares struggle with mental health

Public Speaker Jordan Burnham spoke to Junior Health classes about his suicide attempt and battle with depression on April 30. Burnham shared his personal struggle in attempt to encourage others suffering from mental illness to speak up and get help.

Burnham tried to take his own life his senior year of high school in 2008 by jumping out of his 9th story window. He broke and shattered multiple bones including his skull and suffered from internal bleeding in his brain, but despite the poor chances of survival he lived.

Students were inspired after listening to his story.

“It was very emotional and so upsetting,” junior Maddy Ribeiro said. “It made me want to help others going through the same situation and make sure all my classmates are okay.”

Today he handles his mental health on a day to day basis. He admits that some days are harder than others, but through therapy and medication he has found a way to deal with his emotions.

“He must have really worked hard to get where he is and be able to speak so openly about it,” junior Dane Perrone said. “It was cool to see how he was able to get past everything and just live his life.”

For the past 10 years, Burnham has been traveling around the country sharing his story. He has appeared on Dr. Phil and CNN as well as being featured in an Emmy nominated ESPN documentary called “Unbreakable”.

“He was really lucky he got a second chance,” junior Hailey DeVita said. “I just hope that no one else has to go through what he did before realizing they need help.”