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A STORY ABOUT OUR EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Come Die With Us ®
"Chilling performance...being a mental health professional it's very important to heighten the awareness of how some people around us might not show the cracks underneath their surface, but may still be on the edge of breaking apart."
"Beautifully intelligent and explained mental health and all its complications wonderfully."
“I was at your performance yesterday at the Fringe, and was mesmerised by it and how you slipped in and out of the various roles with such conviction and emotion.”
the Story
Do you know someone who died by suicide?
A family member, friend, a neighbor or co-worker?
Were you surprised because they were always the strong one. You are not alone.
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Those closest to us may seem to be confident and in control externally. But they never shared the depth of their internal monologue of struggles, trauma and self-worth. Maybe you encouraged them to give you a call if they ever needed to talk.
But it’s not that simple. They assured you they were fine.
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Come Die With Us challenges mental health assumptions through the fictional story of Laurel. A funeral home sales agent, who seems to have it all then dies by suicide. Always in and out of therapy denying she even needs help. She struggles to believe she’ll ever change or heal.
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This sold-out performance was originally a one-woman play written and performed by Victoria Gwynne at the 2018 Fringe Festival in Scotland, the largest arts festival in the world.
"People in my life see the ups and downs. But they don't see the undercurrent pulling me."
- Laurel from CDWU
Come Die With Us
by Victoria Gwynne
Come Die With Us was written to be a voice for people who suddenly died by suicide. Laurel, the main character in Come Die With Us, represents millions of people who suffer from an all consuming silent inner voice.
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Facing our truth leads to healing and forgiveness. Truth helped me as a writer to create a story without prejudice or preconceived notions about our mental and emotional health. I'm learning, and tackling the day-to-day just like everyone else. It's been difficult at times to write this story. Digging deep within the soul of someone else's journey and uncovering their raw truth is humbling.
Isolation for me as the writer was necessary. During the process of writing this story, I lived in Germany with my dog Lyric and mostly kept to myself during that time. Solitude created a blank space away from societal pressures, expectations, or beliefs about mental health.
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I've never lost someone I've loved to suicide, but I have felt loss, pain and struggled with the stigma of mental health such as depression, anxiety and silence.
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I have faith this story will reach the right people, and at the right times in their life. I have a deep, strong compassion for all those who suffer with inner struggles they fear to expose.
Invisible Signs
"I'm fine, really." Sound familiar?
You deal with whatever is bothering you on your own. Over time, struggles create isolated emotions we put into a box protected deep within ourselves. We may not realize it, but isolation feeds loneliness. Loneliness is a disconnection from family, friends and community that's not always visibly obvious. ​
"Loneliness is not simply being alone," according to the University of Chicago Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience. ​
Silence festers and temporary circumstances become overwhelming to deal with alone. We ignore our own internal red flags, instead becoming more isolated from those who love us, our community and coworkers never sharing what's really going on with our emotional health. No one wants judgement, or concern, or for our mental health to be on public display labeled as a person with problems. We want to be idolized, and thought of as an amazing fun loving person everyone wants to be around. So we bury ourselves in our work and other distractions, trying to forget about it. Invisible signs are under the surface.
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"Everyone wanted to be Laurel." - Candace from CDWU
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Everyone has a story...
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Recently laid off from work or unemployed
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Death of a loved one
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Divorced or recently married
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Job promotion or job expectations
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Money problems
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Childhood trauma
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Moving to a new city
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Physical accident that caused body trauma
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Relationship conflicts
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Chronically ill
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Chronic pain
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Lonely
"Even though my best friend was sitting next to me comforting what part of me was left, I found a new friend in silence."
- Laurel from CDWU
the Mental Breakdown
If you're like Laurel, you may be on the edge of breaking apart.
A HOUSE MADE OF STRAW WILL NOT STAND IN A DESTRUCTIVE WIND.
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