Suicide: The Ripple Effect, a feature length documentary, chronicles the story of Kevin Hines, who at age 19 attempted to take his life by jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge. companion animals who saved their humans lives, pride of lions heard her plaintive cries and rushed in, Dick Van Dyke revealed to Craig Ferguson that a pod of porpoises saved his life, help came just in time in the form of a pot-bellied pig, three beavers had curled up beside him and kept him from freezing to death. The sea lion helped keep Hines afloat until he was rescued by the Coast Guard. Mental health advocate recalls suicide attempt and the sea lion that The intense impact broke his back, shattering three vertebrae which came just two millimeters short of severing his spine. However, the elation of still being alive was quickly replaced with unbearable pain again, and he struggled mightily against drowning. Because of this animal, Hines survived and has dedicated his life to mental-health advocacy and suicide prevention. In the Year 2000, Kevin threw himself off the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to end his life. Hines is a storyteller at heart. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline number is: 18002738255. Doctors surgically repaired Hines' physical injuries and after four weeks, he entered psychiatric care at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco, the first of seven in-patient stays to deal with depression, paranoia, and hallucinations. Be Here Tomorrow - SEA LION on TEAL Kevin Hines He has helped save numerous lives. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. He miraculous survived because a sea lion was bumping him up and kept his head above water. But a man on the bridge whod watched Kevin fall saw what it was. The three lions chased off the men and sat quietly with the girl until the police arrived, then disappeared back into the brush. Then, take a look at these heartbreaking photos from the scene of Kurt Cobains suicide. Hines contemplated not jumping, reasoning that if any person showed that they cared about him, he would not commit suicide. The first video in a seven-part series featuring Kevin Hines discussing The Art of Wellness. For years, Hines had bipolar disorder and epilepsy. Do not sell or share my personal information. President Zelensky says he 'plans to meet Xi Jinping' following China's peace proposal, 'How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?' Our latest release is an anti-poaching/animal slaughter anthem entitled Animals. Kevin Hines Jumped Off the Golden Gate Bridge, and Survived - Psycom It has a YouTube channel that focuses on mental health. He shares his story of how he personally rose above the statistics and is now living mentally well, as he believes you can too. A young boy in Ontario, Canada, was camping with his parents and decided to stay on land while they boated. He was conscious the whole way down. It was a Monday, Kevin Hines recalls. [1] His story gained major media coverage and he has since become a motivational speaker and advocate for suicide prevention. and lived! Stephens recently wrote an email to Hines after her frequently suicidal husband heard him speak. She handed Kevin her camera and posed. Sea Lion Saves Golden Gate Bridge Jumper. Tragically, the boat tipped over and the boy watched as his parents drowned. He fought to get a barrier constructed under the bridge to deter people from jumping. The force attended nearly 50,000 mental health incidents last year. But once he jumped, all he recalls feeling is immediate regret and a will to live. After leaping, Hines instantly felt regret. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or use their 24/7 Lifeline Crisis Chat. Cal Fussman's 3-Minute Takeaway. That weekend, the voices and hallucinations started and they persisted, telling him, You must die! His lower vertebrae were fractured, his legs werent working, and he propelled himself to the surface using only his arms, gasping for air. All the great iconic animals in the world are endangered, this is us doing our part to spread the word. If you see someone in pain, its your duty to walk up and engage and just try to get them to open up to you and try to share what is going on in their mind. However, I know that it was a sea lion and it is not a statistic anomaly. Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Survivor Kevin Hines Shares Why He Jumped And Wanted To End His Lifehttps://youtu.be/_qShMbzjggY10 Life-Changing Tips To Boost Your Memory From The World's Best Brain Coach Jim Kwik! "', Landmark: By a stroke of luck, a witness saw Mr Hines jump from the vast bridge and alerted the coastguard, Conference: Mr Hines spoke at the New South Wales Police Force Mental Health Intervention Team conference in Sydney, Australia. I tried to punch it thinking it might bite me. As he was falling, he realized he didn't want to die. He also urges others to be aware of what those around them are going through. These situations are incredibly complex and Kevin & the team are not qualified clinicians. He opened his email, clicked a button and out popped a picture from birdseye view of my near lifeless body laying atop a circling sea lion. 1. "[I was] in the water desperately trying to stay alive and stay afloat, [and] I guess you would call it a mammal began swimming beneath me and I'm thinking, 'Oh man, a shark is about to devour me'," he said. San Francisco bridge jumper says sea lion saved him . Additionally, Hines takes medication and sees a therapist. This suicidal person "needs to hear what I needed to hear. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In the Year 2000, Kevinattempted to take his life by jumping off the Golden GateBridge. His message today is that for those with suicidal thoughts, there is another option. Maybe she didnt. At 19, Kevin Hines struggled with mental illness and depression. He is a best-selling author, global public speaker, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. Eighteen years ago, on September 25th, a young man named Kevin Hines got on a bus in San Francisco that was headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge. 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Emotional: Mental health campaigner Kevin Hines told a conference yesterday how he survived a suicide attempt nearly 15 years ago - because a sea lion circled under him and kept him afloat until help arrived. One man on the bus looked at another, pointed at Kevin with his thumb, and said: What the hell is wrong with that kid?, When the bus stopped, all the other passengers got off and the driver called out: Cmon kid, you gotta go!. My husband has chronic suicidal thoughts and paranoia just like Kevin. And he spent more than a decade after he recovered lobbying the city of San Francisco to install a suicide net below the pedestrian walkway to prevent others from dying as he intended in the water below. So there he was, 19 years old, sitting on that bus, crying, and hoping that one person would notice his tears, approach him and ask: If one person approached him, he decided, he wouldnt go through with it. The Ripple Effect cites research that estimates that 115 people will be affected by a single suicide. . At the age of ten, he was put on Tegretol to help control his epileptic seizures. Now, Hines travels to speak of his harrowing journey around the nation. "I talked to 120 kids and two weeks later I got 120 letters in return and the letters were amazing, I read every one. We hope you enjoy it and if it can help your cause, you may use it as you deem fit. This is how it all started.". Had someone shown Kevin that he mattered while he was heading towards the Golden Gate Bridge, he never wouldve jumped.If you are thinking about suicide, please speak to a trusted friend or family member, a qualified professional, or call a suicide crisis helpline. I was compelled to die.". And that today is not tomorrow," he said. Breaking through the waters surface seemed like a hallucination all its own. He had gone over the railing head first, but when he regretted his decision, turned himself around to land in the water legs first. Bridge jumper says sea lion saved him - Phys.org In the summer of 2013, Kevin released his bestselling memoir titled Cracked Not Broken, Surviving and Thriving After A Suicide Attempt. I called Morgan and I asked if he would email me the pictures he took. 152K 2K comments Top Add a Comment Hungerisanillusion 2 yr. ago I'm glad he survived and is helping others. A man named Kevin Hines, who survived a jump off the Golden Gate Bridge on Sept. 25, 2000, recently came to Philadelphia to speak to university students. As a young surfer enjoying the waves off the coast of Virginia, he had lain on his board relaxing and fallen asleep. This year's theme was suicide . Incredibly, a sea lion who was swimming nearby kept his body afloat until the Coast Guard rescued him. We want you and your loved ones to be safe and stay here so we always want to encourage you to seek support from these amazing providers; Text: CNQR to 741 741 Crisis Text Line (USA Only), Visit: www.suicide.org (International Phone Numbers). To be clear, there are a large number of reporters and speculators who have claimed it was really a seal and even those who have claimed that there was nothing but me in that water, and that I was somehow able to save myself. "I was suffering mentally with bipolar disorder, type one psychotic features and I was hearing voices that were telling me I was useless, worthless, not meant for this world and a burden to all who loved me none of that was true but I couldn't see it," he said. Thank you. A sea lion circled under him, bumping him up to the surface of the water and toward the shore. StomachPunch Media LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Olson has noted that the Golden Gate is a particularly lethal means of killing oneself: While the average survival rate of bridge deaths is 15%, only 4% of people who jump from the Golden Gate survive. He has spoken in congressional hearings alongside Patrick Kennedy in support of The Mental Health Parity Bill. He grew into a sensitive and expressive boy who loved acting and playing sports. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Mr Hines says he is one of just 34 survivors of falls from the Golden Gate Bridge, which rises high above the San Francisco Bay, and the only one to become a mental health campaigner. Somehow mid-fall, Kevin Hines was able to turn his body from a headfirst dive into a sitting position. You have spread hope and love to so many. He was hospitalized several times due to suicidal ideations before he able to come to terms with his mental health issues and begin his long road . The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Suicide: The Ripple Effect - Jana Marie Foundation This depression quiz is based on the Depression Screening Test developed by Ivan K. Goldberg, MD, the founder of Psycom who was also a renowned psychiatrist. Hines story is definitely resonatinghe has over 19,000 followers on Twitter. You can be a conduit for change.. "My goal is to try to instill hope in at least one individual," Hines says, "so that one individual says, 'Maybe I can stay here, maybe there are tools to fight this.'" He fell 220 feet roughly the height of a 25-story building in four seconds, praying on the way down, because as soon as he went over he realized hed made the biggest mistake of his life. He shares his compelling story of hope . 5 Times Animal Superheroes Rushed In and Saved Human Lives Miraculously, a sea lion kept him afloat until the Coast Guard arrived. Thousands have communicated to Hines that his story helped save their lives. "I think the message is very, very simple: you don't have to die this way. She quickly led him back to Altsman, and he called for help. Within 12 minutes of the jump, a Coast Guard rescue team got to Kevin and pulled him out of the water. . At the time of his jump, he was 19, in college, and had decided he could no longer live. A man who survived a suicide attempt off San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and was kept afloat by a sea lion has relayed his story to a NSW Police suicide prevention conference. She told the authorities that while her kidnappers had beaten her, the animals had never threatened her. Back in 2000, Kevin Hines jumped off the golden gate bridge - reddit 'There are a large number of reporters and speculators who have claimed it was really a seal, and even those who have claimed that there was nothing but me in that water,' he wrote. The Sea Lion & The Guy Who Jumped Off The Golden Gate Bridge He obliged. "As my father used to tell me, nothing good ever came without hard work. His mantra: Life is a gift, that is why they call it the present. Kevins will to live and stay mentally well has inspired people worldwide. [1] His story gained major media coverage and he has since become a motivational speaker and advocate for suicide prevention.