Death by suicide: David's story

The Centers for Disease Control reports that self-inflicted fatalities are on the rise but some may find the next statistic even more alarming.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the country and sometimes the warning signs can be hidden deep inside a person's emotions.

Suicide claims the lives of almost 45,000 people a year in the U.S.

That's according to research by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“I actually lost my brother to suicide in June of 2010”, said MSU Community Psychology student Corbin Standley.

“He was 21-years-old at the time and it was just before my senior year of high school.”

Standley says his brother David was the kind of person who lit up the room, very out-going and a lover of music.

Behind all of that tenacity, Corbin said David was suffering inside.

“He had just been kind of going through a lot of pain and struggle”, the PhD student said about his brother.

“He had been in and out of mental health facilities for a lot of his childhood and young adulthood.”

Losing his brother to suicide led Corbin on a journey to advocate for AFSP.

“It's definitely important to us to kind of keep his memory alive and to not only in terms of holidays and like personal memories but also in the work we do at AFSP and other organizations”, Standley said.

Corbin says he holds on to those simple memories that he shared with his brother.

“One of the things I miss most is just like on long car rides we would have you know good conversations and just like sing along to the radio, you know and that’s like one of the things that I think I miss most.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, contact the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at 1-888-333-AFSP (2377).