Sometimes the things that happen to daytime stars in real life are just as devastating as any of the gut-wrenching drama their soap opera writing teams put in scripts. Take Pierson Fodé (ex-Thomas Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful), for example. The actor took to Twitter this week to share that he was shaken to his core after having witnessed a suicide.
Along with an emoji of a broken heart, the actor wrote: "Today a man jumped from his balcony and hit the concrete close enough to me that I felt his impact through my feet... I'm still processing but this isn't about me. Suicide doesn't have to be your only way out of immense pain, pressure, depression, anything."
He then revealed that he battles his own demons when it comes to mental health issues and urges anyone else who does to stay strong, as it's something that they can get through with the help of family, friends, and therapists.
"I've wrestled depression for years and I can say from experience that, together, we can beat its ass every fucking day," he writes. "You have friends and family who love you. There are people who train their whole lives to help YOU. Tell someone you love them today and know that you're loved."
Fodé also filmed a short clip of himself with additional information about the suicide, which includes a play-by-play of the horrifying moment as well as another request for anyone who is contemplating suicide to get help rather than taking the drastic action to end his or her life.
"So, I'm here in Vegas and I go down and lay by the pool, and I'm in this section that's isolated. So, I'm just by myself, above everyone," he shares about the suicide. "A couple of hours has gone by, and I hear this loud thunk. I thought somebody had slammed the door, and I looked around, didn't see anybody there, but a few seconds later, a security guard walked by me. I just thought maybe he was passing through and then I see a couple move back in the other direction. I hear one of them say, 'Some guy has jumped from his roof.'"
He continues, panning the camera around to his balcony: "I want to show you something. These are preventative bars to get past so you can't get to this wall. You can't jump past it. So, it takes actual mental effort. He made a conscious choice to jump off of his balcony. I'd stood up, and I looked past the wall that was separating us, and not 15, 20 feet beyond that, I see this guy laying there. Didn't move. He wasn't breathing ... It's a sad way to go. Guys, there are other ways out of that. Suicide doesn't have to be an option. Call your friends, call your family. There are people out there that love you, and they care about you. And there are therapists, and their job is to help you. I don't know his circumstances, and I don't know what that guy was going through, but... you've got to be pretty sad to do it like that. I've been depressed, I've been sad, I've gone through my own things, and I encourage you guys to seek help if you need it. Find someone, find anyone, talk to them, encourage them, and if you know somebody today that is going through a hard time, call them and tell them you love them, that you're there for them. Do it. We don't know how short life is."
Fodé's experience was unthinkably heartbreaking, and sadly, it's common. Fortunately, he is not the only soap opera star to reach out in an attempt to help people who are contemplating suicide or struggle with depression or other types of mental illness. General Hospital's Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) and Bryan Craig (ex-Morgan Corinthos) both took to social media following the deaths of fashion designer Kate Spade and foodie Anthony Bourdain to bring awareness to the issue.
Craig, who won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his portrayal of a young man that suffers from bipolar disorder, wrote: "You should never be ashamed to get help. It could save your life and the people who love and care about you. The world needs you because there is only one you. You're strong. Remember that."
Meanwhile, Benard shared a video and says: "Mental illness, bipolar, anxiety, depression... sometimes the pain can be unbearable, but it's never too unbearable to ask for help. I think that's the most important thing, that there are organizations, [or you can] go to your friends, your wife, your husband, your loved ones, and just say, 'I need help.'"
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
How do you feel about Fodé's video and Instagram post? How might you react to witnessing something as awful as a suicide? Would you like to see soap operas tell more stories about suicide and depression? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
