“The first time I realized I didn’t want to be alive, I was 8 years“The first time I realized I didn’t want to be alive, I was 8 years
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Back to feedPost
Isaiah's avatar
Isaiah Lesley
• Jul 13
“The first time I realized I didn’t want to be alive, I was 8 years old.”
I wrote those words because conversations about suicide often begin at the end.
After the tragedy. After the loss. After everyone asks what signs they missed.
But rarely do we talk about the years before.
The childhood pain. The grief. The pressure to be strong. The moments where someone is still succeeding while silently struggling.
Keep Going is a reflection on suicide, bipolar depression, grief, ambition, masculinity, and what happens when we ask people to reach out without acknowledging how difficult it can be to believe help will change anything.
This is not a story about having all the answers.
It is a question:
What happens when there is no escape from the black hole?
Read “Keep Going” on Substack.
Link in bio.
🎙️ I continue this conversation on my podcast, Why I Won’t Give Up.
Completed work
Audio EditingPodcast EditingAdobe AuditionAdobe Creative CloudAdobe Premiere ProPodcast Production
Post image
Back to feed
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started