HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) – Hope and healing was the message at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Mental Health Awareness Event as speaker Emma Benoit shared what she’s learned from her attempted suicide.
Emma Benoit stands as an example of healing and recovery after her attempt to end her life in 2017.
For the audience of MGCCC’s iMPAC, she speaks to destigmatize conversations surrounding mental health.
Benoit says, “I feel as though suicide is such a taboo issue because of the fact that we’re so afraid to talk about it. So, by MGCCC and Singing River Health System hosting an event like this, it really just enhances the conversation and normalizes it.”
A panel of MGCCC counselors and Benoit gave the audience the opportunity to submit anonymous questions for advice.
MGCCC counselor Eve Self says conversations around mental health have improved but there’s still a way to go.
Self says, “I’ve had students come talk to me and they’re like, ‘Well, I’m feeling better. I’ve only thought about hurting myself once in the last month,’ and we’re like, ‘We don’t want you to think about it at all.’ So, we still have some ways to go just to kind of get a perspective about where it is we want them to be at.”
Local counseling services were set up in the lobby, ready to aid those who wanted to take the first step toward improving their mental health.
Behavioral Health Specialist Venus Amezcua says that she’s seen a recent uptick in the need for mental health resources.
Amezcua says, “I feel like there are a lot of people that don’t know how to necessarily handle difficult situations in everyday life and they don’t have the support necessary in their close network of friends or in the community to really go to.”
Benoit says that silence is not the best choice and to seek help if needed.
Benoit also says that if something bothers you for 24 hours, you should speak with someone about it within 48 hours.
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