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i am so sorry for your loss, i know what its like losing a loved one, but nothing can compare to losing a child. papa roach's music was all i had a few years ago, i was clinically depressed a few years back, and thankfully one of my family members noticed got me help. hopefully your thread will open peoples eyes and make a difference. my condolences to you and your family x

I am very sorry to hear your lost your son. I have dealt with depression myself (and I honestly think you never stop dealing with it) and have more than my fair share of people in my life who have to deal with it too.

I agree with you that more should be done to highlight depression. I don't know about the US, but in the UK mental health is often met with trepidation and cynisiscm. Either people are deemed to be "crazy" or they are just being soft and should sort themselves out, like we wouldn't if we could.

If anyone is reading this who is dealing with depression, my advice is don't deal with it alone. Confide in someone and seek professional help, it is the only way you will start to heal. And suicide is not the answer. I hate to say this and I mean no offence but I see it as the selfish resort. You will hurt more than just yourself.

I am so sorry to hear about your son. I could never imagine having to deal with losing a child to suicide.
But I do like that you brought up this topic, and the statistics. Alot of people dont know how serious this problem is. On March 8th, it will be a year since I lost my best friend to suicide. He was exactly 2 weeks short of his 19th birthday. No one saw it coming, but now if you look back on it, the signs were there.
I have a tattoo in memory of him. I got the Papa Roach lyric "refuse to surender" between my shoulder blades. It was his favorite song by P. Roach and it symbolizes how I refuse to surrender to the hardships of life, and he is still alive in spirit.
"I believe that you can be cool as fuck, not give a fuck and fucking kick ass in life, and not be fucked up. I'm still the first person to say "Fuck you" but I'm faster to say 'I love you' " -Nikki Sixx

really beautiful text, sorry for your loss aswell.
greetings from stockholm

I am so sorry for your loss! Loosing someone is one of the hardest things.

Sorry for your loss. I think your right that P.Roach should deffinately take a moment out of their shows to address this issue before playing the track live and hopefully have a posative effect to their younger audience I for one would be behind the band all the way to support this.

Depression is more common than everyone thinks, I believe nearly everyone will suffer with a form of it at least once in their life, but no one ever really talks about it.
I suffered with a very severe bout whilst at university for four years, it was compounded by stress, alcohol, insomnia and just generally trying to find myself in this world. I was a complete mess, which meant it was obvious there was something wrong. But, I know that is not always the case.
I knew I was upsetting people around me which made me feel worse because I was angry at myself for hurting them and feeling guilty for my thoughts of wanting it all to be over. There had always been this stigma about mental illness in my family, so I refused to admit fully the extent of how I was feeling.
A pattern emerged between summer and winter, a pattern that my mum admitted I suffered with as a younger teen as well. Though I would be fine in the summer, during the winter I would be a completely different person. Eventually, I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder aka Winter Blues. We all get it, but I tend to suffer with the extreme version. The scariest moment was when in my third year of uni the doctor told me if I keep on the path im on I would end up being sectioned. I realised I could ruin the rest of my life, and in my happier moments I realised that wasn't what I wanted.
Three years on I still get depressed, I always will, but a part of me is able to recognise the symptoms for what they are. So, when out of nowhere i want to cry and feel suicidal for no apparent reason, I know it's not real, i'm not really unhappy, I beat it with logic. I am now 25, recently engaged and looking forward to the future. My partner knows how to recognise the symptoms and I do try to explain how im feeling and what its like. My mum is extremely supportive.
I do believe things are starting to improve in the UK, I know a few people who have suffered and their employers and educational institutes have been great. I find it comforting to listen to songs and realise I'm not alone, I play them loud, put a smile on my face and think fuck it, you aren't going to beat me.
It is heartbreaking to realise the number of people who for whatever reason don't make it to the other side of depression.