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SAN DIEGO - A former Detroit Lions starting quarterback turned suicide awareness and prevention advocate gave two presentations to Sailors aboard Naval Air Station North Island Sept. 24.
During his presentation, Eric Hipple spoke about his personal struggles with depression throughout his adult life and how he never sought treatment. At one point, Hipple threw himself out of a moving car in a suicide attempt.
Hipple went on to deal with his depression on his own, but eventually, depression struck another of his family members. His 15-year-old son Jeff committed suicide in April 2000.
After losing Jeff to suicide, Hipple began speaking publicly in an effort to raise awareness and break down the stigma surrounding the mental illness associated with suicide.
“We’ve all got stories,” said Hipple. “These stories shape us, but they don’t define us. What defines us is what we do about them.”
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, but the Navy focuses year round on raising awareness and promoting suicide prevention. The Navy conducts fleetwide General Military Training annually on suicide prevention and how to recognize the warning signs.
Naval Air Crewman (Helicopter) 3rd Class Sebastian Mendieta commented on the importance of these trainings.
“Suicide is misunderstood, not just in the military but in the civilian world too,” Mendieta said. “The training we get gives us the tools to know what to do. It’s really good to get educated on suicide prevention.”
In alignment with National Suicide Prevention Month’s focus, Hipple highlighted that suicide is never the answer, and urged that everyone stay educated.
“I thought when I threw myself out of that car that I was doing people a favor. But when Jeff died, I realized how wrong I was,” said Hipple. “I don’t want someone else to feel the pain I felt.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or may be at risk, please visit the Fleet and Family Support Center website at http://navylifesw.com/sandiego/families/ffsc/ for information on counselling and other resources, or call the military crisis line at 1-800-273-8255.
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.01.2015 13:34 |
| Story ID: | 177751 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 84 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Former NFL quarterback speaks to Sailors about suicide prevention, by PO1 Chelsea Meiller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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