I've had a draft post started as an update to my last “Mental Matters” post where I talked about my history of depression, anxiety and plan of seeking more assistance for it. It's languished in my “drafts” folder for two weeks as I simply didn't want to write anymore about having depression. It's painful to talk about sometimes, and is fiercely personal to some. Yet today, something happened that has me crying my eyes out at the computer screen because someone died who had thousands and thousands of people who wish they had said and done more to help.
I work in marketing, and as many of you know, love all things social media and branding-related. One of the big players and experts in the field was Trey Pennington. He had hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers and a huge following on Facebook, as well as six children. I didn't know Trey. I've interacted with him perhaps one or two times, so I cannot even begin to say I know anything about him beyond his wisdom and expertise he shared on Twitter, his blog, and at speaking engagements. I have managed about 10 Twitter accounts for various companies, and he was always one of the first people I would follow on each one of them.
Today, Trey committed suicide. His last tweet about an hour before the news hit is haunting. He posted a bunch of photos recently on Facebook, and hours ago left commentary on many of them, speaking about happier times with his wife and family. Looking at them now, you just want to scream because the pain is there, but is masked.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/treypennington/status/110356735016972288″]
If you want to know more about Trey from those who knew him, here are a few links:
- Post from Olivier Blanchard
- Post from Kris Colvin
- Post from Steve Woodruff
Hear me? YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Ask for help – it is brave and honorable to do so.
- I have a team of a therapist and a psychiatric nurse practitioner within a psychiatric group that I see regularly.
- I've had depression for over 16 years.
- In those 16 years I have tried 8 different medications or combos of medications to try to reach a point of stability.
- I currently take 3 different medications for my depression, anxiety and insomnia.
- There are great days, good days, bad days, and tremendously bad days. The good news is that the tremendously bad ones are extremely far and few between right now.
Remove the stigma. Please reach out if you need to, or talk to a friend if you think they might. Call 1-800-273-TALK and visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.
I'll end with linking this great post from Intuitive Bridge: The Difference Between Me and Trey Pennington
RIP, Trey.
xoxo, Emmie
Edited to add: Link to Mashable story about Trey Pennington's passing.
