Singing River Hospital holds Mental Health Summit

Emma Benoit offered a powerful talk this morning at Singing River Hospital’s Mental Health Summit.

Benoit, the keynote speaker at today’s Mental Health Summit, talked about her attempted suicide, an attempt that left her in a wheelchair.

She said her mental health crisis led her to lose interest in cheerleading and that social media was a factor in her anxiety and depression.

A recent ten-year study released by the CDC reports that more than 40 percent of students were so sad or depressed that they could not do regular activities over a two-week period.

Singing River Chief Medical Officer Randy Roth calls the mental health crisis an epidemic that professionals hope to combat with summits like today’s at the MGCCC IMPAC, a first step for South Mississippi. “With the pressure that our teenagers and adolescents have right now, it’s so important that we recognize mental health and mental wellbeing, and let the community know that we have resources at Singing River to help these folks get through tough times in their lives. Mental health has a stigma to it, we need to erase that stigma and let our young people know it’s okay to go to your mentors, your priests, your doctors, your friends, and say I don’t feel good inside, I need help.”

You can learn more about Benoit by watching a documentary, ‘My Ascension,’ about her life. The documentary was made to spread hope and help fight suicide.