NOTE FROM TED: This talk represents the speaker's personal views and experiences with suicidal ideation. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/t...

For years, Johnny Crowder battled suicidal thoughts, bouts of self-loathing, and severe mental illness. In the back of his mind, he always considered death as a sensible solution to his problems. But during a doomed flight aboard a crashing airplane, he was forced to come face to face with death and re-examine the logic behind his suicidal ideations, his bucket list, and the reason for his existence.

Join Johnny on this hair-raising near-death adventure as he uncovers his fears, his dreams, his passions, and the pains that led him to long for death in the first place. Now, with a renewed desire to live, he reflects on the flawed thought processes that lead people to consider suicide, and how each of us can revitalize our sense of freedom, self-love, and appreciation for life itself. Johnny Crowder is a 29-year-old suicide/abuse survivor, touring musician, mental health and sobriety advocate, and the Founder of Cope Notes, a text-based mental health platform that provides daily support to users in nearly 100 countries around the world. Armed with 10 years of clinical treatment, a psychology degree from the University of Central Florida, and a decade of peer support and public advocacy through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Johnny’s youthful vigor for mental health has impacted millions of lives across the globe.

Since his first keynote in 2011, Johnny's refreshingly candid perspective has attracted praise from hundreds of outlets, including Upworthy, CNN, and Forbes. Even when touring with his Billboard-charting metal band, Prison, his infectious positivity and firsthand experience with multiple mental illnesses uniquely equip him to provide realistic, yet hopeful insight into the pains of hardship with levity and wit. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx