Suicide Prevention: You Can Make a Difference and Save a Life A former writer for The Tonight Show, Speaker, and TED Talker, www.FrankTEDTalk.com, Frank King uses his lifetime battle with depression & thoughts of suicide, as well as his skills as a keynoter, as a vehicle for ending Suicide on Campus. His keynote, “You Can Make a Difference and Save a Life,” is tailored to the unique stress factors faced by college students. Indeed, the American Institute of Stress has labeled stress an epidemic in the college setting. Stress about admissions, grades, and finances frequently develops into generalized anxiety, which is the most reported mental health issue among college students (63% of US students claimed to be affected by overwhelming anxiety in 2018, with this figure worsening over the course of the pandemic). What is clear is that college students facing high levels of stress outnumber those who do not, and the anxiety and depression resulting from this stress correlate with suicidal thoughts, ideation, and actions—1100 college students die by suicide every year.
Frank begins his keynote with Signs and Symptoms of Depression and thoughts of Suicide, and finishes with Solutions, and Postvention (what to do after a Suicide) techniques. He can do a general session for the entire student body, followed by breakout sessions customized for the higher-risk student groups on campus, including students who identify as LGBTQ, Native American, Latinos & Latinas [Latinx ?], Alaskan Native, African American, and student veterans. Frank can leave a lasting legacy by certifying Resident Advisors, Faculty, and Staff with a Train the Trainer Program. Despite the mental health struggles faced by college students, the good news is: you can do something about that, you can make a difference, you can save a life.” ALTERNATE 2019, SOUTH LECTURE ALTERNATE 2019, CENTRAL LECTURE ALTERNATE 2019, MID-AMERICA LECTURE
Frank King co-hosts a podcast about Mental Health, check out an episode here!
"The most rewarding moment of the night was when a young woman came up after my keynote and asked if she could give me a hug. I said, 'Sure, so you’re a hugger,' and she said, 'No, not normally, but I battle mental illness, and as you were talking I said to myself, ‘finally someone who gets it!’' She said that the hour she spent listening to my keynote did her more good than her last three months of therapy, 'because,' she said 'you understand me.' That’s why I do this." - Frank King
Testimonial from Taylor Williams, Director of Student Involvement at Tennessee Wesleyan University