'Start that uncomfortable conversation': Suicide survivor shares story, advocates for mental health awareness

TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay 28 anchor Wendy Ryan covers mental health extensively and has attended the Florida Behavioral Health Conference in Orlando for several years.

While there, Ryan has met with mental health professionals to discuss new cutting-edge techniques and listened to stories of hope and strength, including one of the keynote speakers this year, Emma Benoit.

Benoit had the perfect-looking life from the outside as a pretty, popular cheerleader with lots of friends. But on the inside, she was lost in sadness and never told a soul.

"Because of the stigma around mental health and mental illness, I was totally uneducated and honestly ashamed of the feelings that I was living with, and I created this image and this persona of perfection as kind of a shield to mask my anxieties and my feelings of depression," said Benoit.

Her mental health struggles mirror those of many teenagers.

"I dealt with bullying. I dealt with insecurities. I dealt with fear of failure. I dealt with immense perfectionism. I am a perfectionist by nature. And you couple that with wanting to be liked and wanting to be understood. I definitely was struggling with all of those things, only again, too ashamed to tell anyone that I was feeling that way," explained Benoit.

She believes online platforms also damaged her mental well-being.

"Social media was definitely somewhere that I went to compare myself to others, you know, searching for some sort of validation, which was actually really toxic for my mental health," said Benoit.

One day, her severe depression, insecurities, and deafening silence took her down the darkest hole she'd ever experienced.

"All of those feelings that I pushed down and suppressed all those years sort of just came rushing to the surface. And at that point, I could no longer really keep myself from cracking. And so on that fateful day when the moment of crisis presented itself, I impulsively acted on it, and I attempted to take my life," explained Benoit.

Benoit survived that suicide attempt in 2017, but a gunshot wound caused a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed.

"In the immediate moments after my attempt, I felt an instant regret, instant regret! And that regret was so profound that it's actually one of the first memories that I had when I woke up in the hospital, was feeling the intensity of the regret of what I had done," said Benoit.

Her recovery was challenging, but she soon realized she wasn't alone as countless teens began reaching out, admitting they too were struggling. That's when faith and her new life purpose came into sharp focus.

Benoit now tours the country sharing her story at schools, churches, and conferences like The Florida Behavioral Health Conference in Orlando. However, she still feels talking openly about mental health carries a stigma that needs to change.

"I think we've got to do better as a society at normalizing these hard conversations. The more we are comfortable being uncomfortable, the better we'll be in terms of healing and growth, mentally and emotionally," said Benoit.

So, her advice: start that uncomfortable conversation now before it's too late.

"I hope that when people hear my story and they watch my documentary, they have profound takeaways that make them feel empowered to approach mental health in a different way," said Benoit.

Benoit serves as an ambassador for Living Works, the world's leader in suicide prevention training.

If you want to learn more about what else she's involved with, you can click here.

If you or someone you know is suffering, the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just by calling 211. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

Share Your Story with Wendy

Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Wendy Ryan is dedicated to helping our neighbors navigate the important topic of mental health. For years, she’s been connecting people to resources, listening to their challenges, and sharing their stories to decrease the stigma. You can connect with Wendy by using the form below.

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