INDIANAPOLIS — From the outside, it appeared former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst had it all - brains, beauty and a successful career.
That image was shattered Sunday when Kryst jumped to her death from the 60-story building in Manhattan where she lived. Her death is sparking a national conversation about mental health.
Local therapists said it's a reminder that mental illness can affect anyone.
"We don't know what's going on inside a person's head. We don't know what's happening behind the scenes. Suicide is no respecter of people. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor. It doesn't care. It's totally related to mental illness," said licensed mental health therapist Eugene Whitten at Gateway Counseling.
Dr. Roger Perry said suicide is impacting more younger people, but that there's a stigma within the Black community about seeking help for mental illness. It's holding people back from seeking that help.
"More than anything else, it comes from what I would have called institutional racism. We got so used to whenever we did seek help or promised help with the idea it would be confidential, it did not turn out that way. We have been tricked in some instances and do not have much faith in a system that doesn't work in our best interest," said Perry.
"It's been a stigma that if you go to talk to a mental health counselor or therapist, there is something out of the ordinary wrong with you. The fact is, you are as normal as anyone else," said Whitten.
Whitten said because of the isolating impact of the pandemic and the severeness of bullying in schools, it's more important than ever for people to pay close attention to their loved ones.
"If you have someone who is not reacting to you the way they normally do, or if they are not doing the things they normally do, that would be the time you want to intervene. That could be as easy as going to the person and sitting down and being someone they can talk to," said Whitten.
Noticing these signs and getting them help could be the difference between life and death.
"We should be mindful of our loved ones and not take for granted that everything looks OK. There are times when everything may look OK when it's not. Be that friend or loved one and pry. Stick your nose in their business and see what's going on. That might be the one thing that helps save their life," said Whitten.
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