Hollywood Popular Artists

Oct 10th 2013, 23:55, by Claire Biggs

To mark World Mental Health Day, MTV aired "Life Continued: Defeating Depression" an hour-long documentary produced by Rainn Wilson's SoulPancake.

The  special introduced viewers to Sarah Virginia and Devin, two college students who have battled emotional health issues and found hope in their path to recovery. Although Sarah and Devin's stories are unique, the issues they face are probably more common than you think.

After struggling with depression, anorexia, and self-harm for years, Sarah felt hopeless, saying she always "felt uncomfortable" with herself. Following a suicide attempt, she found help in treatment, and the special shows how just much progress she made in a short amount of time. Before treatment, she couldn't handle going to the grocery store but now as a college student. In North Carolina, Sarah Virginia had the strength to plan a dinner party for her friends.

When Devin moved to Indiana, he was often tormented because of his race. He struggled with depression, and to further complicate matters he felt he couldn't open up to anyone about being gay. Although Devin might have "looked OK," that wasn't the case: "on the inside" he was "screaming." After contemplating suicide, he realized he needed help and reached out. Now that's he come out and has reached out to his friends for support, Devin is finally taking steps to be true to himself.

If you are struggling emotionally, please know you are not alone and that help is available.  MTV and SoulPancake have partnered with The Jed Foundation to create a resource center on Half Of Us where you can find tips on how to deal with emotional health issues.  They have also started a new campaign inviting you to share your #lifecontinued stories through "Love is Louder." If someone you know is struggling, you can find more resources in the action links below.

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