With the most recent news of Chester Bennington, who committed suicide on July 20th, at just 41 years old, it's time to start a conversation. Really, anytime is a bad time to talk about suicide and mental health and yet, here we are. Another person gone, another flame blown out. So why aren't we talking about the real issue here? Yes, we lost one of the most influential artists to ever write lyrics that all kinds of people going through rough times related to, but why haven't we talked about suicide or mental health sooner?

In the wake of Bennington's death, I've been told by numerous people that he was selfish to take his own life with the tour Linkin Park was starting up. Selfish. Since when did we start disregarding other people's mental health and emotions just because they're famous? Since when did it become acceptable to make something like suicide about your own self? When someone, anyone, commits suicide, there is a reason. Nobody wakes up one day and kills themselves because they're bored. What is selfish is that there are so many people in the world walking around with demons that nobody wants to bother with because it's inconvenient for them...

Mental health is just as important as going to the doctor for a physical. Your mind needs just as much maintenance, if not more, than your physical body. You wouldn't skip going to the doctor if it meant your life, so why would you skip out on taking care of your brain. Which brings me to my next point.

There is nothing wrong with getting help. There is nothing wrong with talking to people about mental health, suicide, depression, etc. When I was in high school, one of my peers chose to take his own life. While people around me were devastated and plagued with questions, my principle decided to ignore what happened. There was no moment of silence the next day, no acknowledgement of the mourning period everyone was in (except a phone call home about grief counselors being available), no conversations about suicide in class. No nothing. Almost as if we should all be ashamed about what happened and not hurt, upset or confused.

Suicide is not cowardly. It is not selfish. And it isn't something anyone understands until they've reached that point. We may never know all the reasons that someone decides to take their own life, we may never want to know all the reasons someone makes that decision. But let's use that decision to start a conversation. Check in with your peers, friends, family members, etc. when you know they're going through a rough time. Take the time to really listen to people.

There are so many avenues of help offered to people. Below are a few:

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255