Trigger warning: this article discusses suicide
Queer Eye‘s culture guy Karamo Brown just revealed that 12 years ago he attempted to take his own life.
Karamo took to social media to post an extremely honest and emotional video about his suicide attempt. He told everyone,
“You know, I was in a very dark place. I just felt like life could not get any better, everything that was happening to me was never going to change, and I tried to take my own life. And if it wasn’t for my best friends Raymond and Tre calling the ambulance, getting me off the couch, I probably would not be here today.”
Wow, what an incredibly brave thing to tell the world!
And frankly, it was quite a shocking admission considering Karamo’s TV persona. Karamo seems to totally have his life together and is the emotional rock of the group, often serving as the therapist.
But Karamo’s revelation just proves yet again that depression can attack anyone, even someone who appears to have their shit together. And it turns out that it’s because of Karamo’s personal mental health struggles that he decided to turn around and help others.
“I want you all to know, that as you see me on Queer Eye helping people with their mental health, and you see me on my social media helping people, it’s because it’s important to me. Not just because I’m trained in this field, but because I know so many of us suffer from mental health issues and we just don’t know where to turn, and every day seems darker and darker.”
Prior to Queer Eye, Karamo worked as a social worker and psychotherapist for almost 12 years. He previously told Nylon,
“I always had an ability to listen and give people the space to open up and express themselves, and I was hoping it would translate on TV.”
He added,
“This was my first attempt at trying that, so when I see people getting emotional and the crying… it makes me so happy. And when I say happy, it sounds, like, really crazy, but we don’t have enough cathartic moments. We don’t get to cry and express ourselves, whether it be happy cries or sad cries; and so I want that for people.”
If you are struggling and need someone to talk to you, you can call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or send an anonymous email to The Samaritans.
You can watch the full video below.
Today in 2006 I was sitting on my couch alone & attempted to commit suicide. In my mind life was over for me. But I got mental health support & worked each day to believe again. And here I am happy & healthy. I made it and If you’re going through something you can make it too! pic.twitter.com/dKYj5ZsLAj
— Karamo Brown (@KaramoBrown) August 30, 2018
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