Mark Henick is a man who has struggled and fought his depression so intensely that he actually tried to take his own life on several occasions. His depression was pervasive through his entire life. He was first admitted to a hospital because of suicidal ideation at the age of 12, but had been battling depression and suicidal thoughts for even longer than that.
His childhood was not the best. He came from a broken home where his father left when he was very young. After that his mother moved into a home with a man that was abusive, and no matter how many times they left, she always brought them back. This did not help Mark’s mental state, and sent him spiraling even further into
his depression and suicide.
He was hospitalized several times for trying to end his own life, but his last suicide attempt, where he almost succeeded, a man literally reached out and caught him when he was jumping from a bridge and saved him. It was that man that helped Mark to realize that even though there is ugliness in the world, you can choose to be good. The man that saved his life became a life-long role model for the person that Mark wanted to be.
Now Mark has dedicated his entire life to helping others with mental illness. He is the CEO of Strategic Mental Health Solutions. A firm that helps companies, as well as individuals, have a better understanding of mental health. It also helps them take actual steps to finding solutions to better the mental health of themselves or their employees.
Mark has also just finished writing his book So Called Normal, which is the story of his life growing up in a broken home, his struggle against depression, and his triumph in recovery and healing.
This was an absolutely incredible interview. Thank you, Mark, for sharing with us. We hope to do it again sometime!