Suicide attempt survivor motivates student to seek help for mental health

Emilio Trinidad was 21-years old when he tried to take his own life. Now he’s sharing his experience with students at Imperial Valley College’s inaugural Mental Health and Suicide Prevention fair.
Trinidad hopes they are aware that they’re not alone in their struggles with mental health.

Trinidad says that after years of endless verbal abuse and feeling worthless, he was to take his own life.

“I lived in a complex. I was literally going to go on the stairs up there and just hang myself from the building,” said Trinidad.

But thanks to the support from his family he got the help he needed.

“My cousin and his wife were the ones who got me the proper help, and supported when I was at my lowest point,” Trinidad said. “They were my motivation to get better.”

A year and a half later, Trinidad feels that he’s changed for the better.

“I’m not afraid to use my voice anymore. I’m not afraid to ask for help. I’m not afraid to help others,” he said.

Trinidad hopes to continue his career in communications to become a motivational speaker so he can help as many people as he can

Imperial Valley College Mental Health Counselor, Lupita Casto said it’s around this time in their lives that college students are more stressed than ever. The college has recently seen an increase in students who’ve expressed suicidal thoughts.

“I mean they’re going through college you know. They got denied from schools. Or their plans didn’t go the way they thought. And this is a very sensitive stage,” Lupita Castro said. “When they just don’t see things happening the way they plan, they get into the depressive mode.”

Terri Gonzalez of the Imperial County Behavioral Health said the stigma of asking for help has stopped students from seeking it.

“They feel like they’re going to be targeted or pointed at,” Gonzalez said. “Coming to seek help they’re taking control over their minds. That’s very important for them to seek the help.”

Luna De Anda is an Imperial Valley college student and overcame her struggles with mental health because of the support from local agencies.

“Had I not known about these resources, had I not known that there are people going through the same things I was going through, I don’t think I would still be here today,” De Anda said. “I don’t think I would have the hope that I have and I don’t think I would have the willingness to help people that I do now.”