Isabelle Cole tried to be the perfect daughter, the one her family didn?t have to worry about.
For years, the family?s focus was on her older sister who had cancer. Even though she survived that, the cancer was hiding a deeper illness, depression and an eating disorder. When her sister tried to commit suicide, she was hospitalized again, and would be several times more.
So Cole learned how to take care of herself. She learned how to put on a happy face to hide the emptiness she felt inside.
?The sadness crept in and on Dec. 9, 2016, I had had enough,? Cole told an audience of about 100 at Wesley United Methodist Church, where she was the featured speaker for ?13 Reasons to Fly SEK,? a suicide awareness event.
Cole spent about nine months in a hospital after attempting suicide. For the first few months, she struggled.
Six months into treatment, she was sitting alone in a corner of her room, feeling trapped while ?everyone else is out there living.?
Isabelle Cole helps Macie Hoag dissolve a piece of paper that represents something in her life she wants to let go. REGISTER/VICKIE MOSS
She saw the Netflix show ?13 Reasons Why,? in which a young woman explains why she killed herself. Cole felt the show glorified suicide and bought into the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding mental health.
So she sat down and wrote her 13 reasons to live. She shared her ideas with others at the hospital, and eventually started a foundation to educate and inspire others to talk openly about mental health.
Cole brought her message to Kansas City this past summer, where members of Wesley UMC heard her presentation. Church members were still reeling from the suicide of 19-year-old Matthew Miller, a longtime member of the church. They wanted others to hear Cole?s message and start a conversation, not just for those in Iola but for those across the region.
More than 100 people registered for this past weekend?s event, from 17 zip codes, organizers said.
Mental health professionals joined Cole to lead a series of breakout sessions on Saturday, followed by a question-and-answer session Sunday. Videos of the sessions are on the Register?s YouTube and Facebook sites.
In one group activity, Cole gave participants three pieces of paper. On one, she asked them to write something they could do to spread kindness. Those papers were formed into a chain.
