‘I had to dig deep’: Wichita suicide survivor shares his story

Editor’s note: This story talks about suicide and may be triggering for some viewers/readers.

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The suicide rate in Kansas remains higher than the national average. One man shared his struggles with KSN to help others see that recovery is possible.

As a kid, David Larson says he felt some depression. He said it was more than a teenage angst.

“I was always an outsider, and being an outsider, you know, teased, bullied, all that other stuff,” said Larson.

Maintaining a positive attitude, Larson kept going.

He met his wife as an undergrad, and he expected to spend many decades with the love of his life, but the universe had other plans.

“In 2006, my wife passed away. That threw me into massive grief because I did feel like she was my soulmate,” said Larson.

After losing her to systemic lupus (a chronic autoimmune disease), he felt incomplete.

“Imagine that you had your right arm and left leg cut off, and people told you to act normal. It’s just not doable,” said Larson.

The pain of losing her led to his first attempt on his life. After an inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, he had another attempt before he was diagnosed with major clinical depression and anxiety.

“I went to live with some friends, and first off, the friends that I went to live with said, ‘You have to promise you are not going to attempt.’ And so, I had to dig deep,” said Larson.

The diagnosis created a road to survival, an opportunity for treatment, and the chance to thrive with medications and his strong support system of friends, brothers, and sisters.

“I realized ‘I don’t have suicidal ideations anymore. I’m no longer wanting to unalive myself,'” said Larson.

Now, he is the Kansas Peer Programs director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Wichita. He uses his own experience to lead training with others who have mental health struggles.

“Lots of my friends say it here in NAMI, and that is, ‘You have survived 100% of your hardest days, especially getting to this point,'” said Larson.

He wants people to know there is help and encourages those struggling to communicate, connect, and reach out.

“I note it to everyone else that ‘you are a person of value and worth’ because I don’t want anyone else going down the road that I went down,” said Larson, holding back tears.

If you or someone you know needs help, there are resources available. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available any time of day or night. Just call 988 . To learn more about the NAMI Peer-to-Peer program and other resources in our community, click here.

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