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Tag: Chester Bennington

  • Chester Bennington Remembered By Linkin Park, Family & Fans On Second Anniversary Of His Death

    Chester Bennington Remembered By Linkin Park, Family & Fans On Second Anniversary Of His Death

    The Linkin Park vocalist passed away on July 20, 2017, the birthday of his late friend Chris Cornell. 

    Saturday, July 20, marked two years since we lost Linkin Park vocalist Chester Bennington to suicide. He was 41.

    His family paid tribute to the late singer on social media. His mother, Susan Eubanks, posted a photo of the two at a party on Twitter. “The last kiss I ever got from my wonderful boy! There are no words to explain how much I miss him! I want us all to celebrate his life today!” she wrote.

    Bennington’s widow, Talinda, posted a video to Instagram Saturday, acknowledging the people who reached out to her on the anniversary of Chester’s passing. “I woke up this morning to lots of messages of love and support from my friends and family, and I wanted to pass along to you the same love and support,” she said.

    “Today is going to be a really hard day for a lot of people, and that may be you, and I just want you to know that you’re loved, you matter, and the world means something with you in it. And today let’s make Chester proud, and take care of each other, because that’s what he would want us to do.” 

    Linkin Park also paid tribute to their former vocalist. “Remembering Chester today,” they said beneath a candid photo of Chester with the band that was posted on Instagram.

    Chris Cornell’s Birthday

    Saturday also marked the birthday of Chris Cornell, the vocalist of Soundgarden and Audioslave, who also died by suicide in May of 2017 at the age of 52.

    Cornell’s widow, Vicky, posted a photo of the singer with their two children. His eldest daughter, Lillian, was not pictured. “Forever missed, forever loved,” she wrote in the caption.

    The rockers’ deaths, happening within months of each other, shocked the world over. While both had a history of problematic substance use and depression, their deaths still felt painfully premature.

    In the wake of her husband’s passing, Talinda Bennington launched the 320 Changes Direction initiative to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.

    “For 13 years I watched my husband Chester struggle with depression and substance use,” she wrote on the initiative’s website. “I often felt scared and alone. I was uneducated about the challenges he faced and I wanted information—but finding answers to my questions and available help for our family was very difficult. After my husband lost his battle with depression and addiction, I knew I had to make a change to the mental health landscape.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Scott Stapp Pays Tribute To Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington

    Scott Stapp Pays Tribute To Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington

    Stapp’s new music video features images of Cornell and Bennington performing as well as the late musician, Prince.

    Creed frontman Scott Stapp paid tribute to the late Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington—fellow rock vocalists who died by suicide around the same time in 2017—in “Gone Too Soon,” a song off his new album The Space Between the Shadows (July 19).

    The music video for the song is a simple but powerful tribute, playing images of Cornell and Bennington performing as well as the late Prince, who died of a drug overdose in April 2016.

    Being in recovery from substance use disorder and mental illness himself, the passing of Stapp’s iconic peers affected him deeply.

    “When Chris passed, it hit me hard. And then a year later [sic] when Chester died, again, hit me really hard,” said Stapp during an interview with Nightline. “That’s when I began, I was at a place in my recovery… where not only was I feeling the pain of their loss, but I was saying, ‘Man, that very, very easily could’ve been me and should’ve been me.’ And this feeling of just, ‘I can’t ever go back. You know, because that will be my story.’”

    Stapp, who marked five years sober in March, endured a very public rock bottom and at one point became known for his erratic behavior. When Creed disbanded in 2014, Stapp reportedly suffered a psychotic break. He admitted to Rolling Stone that around this time he had been abusing alcohol, Xanax and Percocet.

    Reflecting On Addiction

    He reflected on that period of his life in a 2016 interview with The Fix. “It was a very scary and low point in my life. I was having delusions, hallucinations and massive paranoia. I was lost!” he said. “My bottom was losing my family, sitting in a psych ward thinking I was undergoing experiments at the hands of the CIA. It was the most horrific living nightmare of my life.”

    Eventually he found his way. His wife gave him an ultimatum—get help or lose your family. He stopped using drugs and alcohol, and began taking medication for his bipolar disorder.

    “My greatest accomplishments in life, my Grammys, are my children and my wife,” he told Nightline. “They mean more to me than anything that I could ever achieve or receive or have received in my entire career. That’s where it’s at. And if I never get another accolade… moving forward, I’ve already achieved it all with the family that I have.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Chester Bennington’s Widow Aims To #ChangeDirection On Mental Health

    Chester Bennington’s Widow Aims To #ChangeDirection On Mental Health

    “Hangover” actor Ken Jeong and GnR bassist Duff McKagan are a few of the celebs taking part in the campaign to start a conversation about mental health.

    The widow of Chester Bennington is continuing the legacy of her late husband with a new social media challenge to raise mental health awareness.

    “I challenge you to do a 30-second video on why mental health is important to you,” Talinda Bennington said in a video posted on Instagram. “For me it’s very personal. And I’ve dedicated my life to change the culture surrounding mental health.”

    Even though the Week To Change Direction Challenge was issued last Monday (June 10), people have continued to post videos to add to the conversation using the hashtag #ChangeDirection.

    To kick things off, Talinda challenged Lisa Ling and Linkin Park band members Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn and bassist Dave Phoenix Farrell to post their own 30-second videos.

    Actor Ken Jeong joined the conversation on his Instagram: “As a former physician having dealt with multiple cases of depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, it’s important as a community that we all change direction, change our attitudes, evolve our attitudes towards mental health. We as a community should remind each other life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. And I challenge everyone to change direction.”

    Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan made a video as well with singer-songwriter Shooter Jennings: “This is something we can all do something about… Learn to recognize the signs of people who are suffering.”

    ABC Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton used her platform to shed light on maternal mental health: “The reason that I am passionate about mental health awareness is because it is a leading cause of maternal mortality in this country,” she said in her video. She encouraged women’s health care providers to speak to their patients about mental health.

    Chester Bennington died by suicide in 2017. In the days prior to his death, the beloved Linkin Park vocalist—who long battled depression and substance use disorder stemming from trauma—showed no sign of what was to come, according to Talinda.

    “This was not a time where we or any of our family suspected this to happen… We thought everything was OK,” she said in June of 2018.

    Guitarist and friend Ryan Shuck said that Chester would detail his “hour-by-hour battle” with the urge to drink.

    Since her husband’s passing, Talinda Bennington has channeled her pain to help expand the conversation about mental health. She engages with people on social media, encouraging meaningful dialogue by promoting hashtags like #FuckDepression and #MakeChesterProud.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington's Widow Appear In Suicide Prevention PSA

    Mike Shinoda, Chester Bennington's Widow Appear In Suicide Prevention PSA

    The cast of ABC’s “A Million Little Things” also appear in the mental health PSA. 

    The family of Chester Bennington appear in a new suicide prevention PSA, continuing the Linkin Park vocalist’s legacy through mental health advocacy.

    Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda and Bennington’s widow, Talinda Bennington, appear alongside the cast of A Million Little Things, a new ABC drama about losing a friend to suicide. The PSA aired during the premiere of the show last Wednesday (Sept. 26).

    “We lost our fictional friend to suicide,” says actor James Roday, who plays Gary Mendez on the show. “And we lost our very real friend,” says Shinoda.

    Chester Bennington died by suicide in the summer of 2017. He was 41. Since his passing, his widow Talinda has become the face of mental health advocacy and suicide prevention.

    Through social media, Bennington has been able to open a dialogue with grieving fans and promote efforts to raise awareness of the warning signs of depression and suicidal thoughts.

    “The passing of my husband cannot be in vain,” she said this year. “His passing was a catalyst for opening up dialogue with respect to emotional and mental health. Throughout his life, he saved countless lives with his music and philanthropy. And through his death, he continues to save lives by spotlighting the urgent need for a change in our mental health culture.”

    On what would have been her husband’s 42nd birthday this past March, Bennington encouraged fans to learn the Five Signs of Emotional Suffering. She is hoping to “change the culture of mental health” so that people who are struggling, and their family members, can address it openly and feel comfortable to seek help.

    “I am now more educated about [the warning] signs, but they were definitely there: the hopelessness, the change of behavior, isolation,” she said during a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper in June.

    A Million Little Things is a new show on ABC that confronts the reality of losing a friend to suicide. The cast of friends and family—played by Romany Malco, Grace Park, James Roday, David Giuntoli (whose character Eddie credits his late friend for his recovery) and more—are left to cope with the fact that their friend Jon (played by Ron Livingston) is gone.

    “Jon was the one who made the plans, who brought everybody together. They all relied on him. Now he’s no longer there, and they’re going to have to figure out what their new role is,” said Stephanie Szostak, who plays Jon’s wife Delilah.

    In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that suicide rates in the United States “have been rising in nearly every state.”

    In 2016, nearly 45,000 Americans age 10 or older died by suicide.

    As for the “why” behind Jon’s passing, actor Livingston said he’s not focusing on that. “I decided early on to resist the urge to try to find the answer to why this guy did this. Suicide takes people in different ways for myriad reasons,” he said.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Chester Bennington's Widow Talks Mental Health, Suicide Prevention

    Chester Bennington's Widow Talks Mental Health, Suicide Prevention

    “If we can find good coping mechanisms, if we have people we trust that we can talk to, that helps us make better choices for ourselves. My husband didn’t have that in a lot of situations.”

    In the wake of the suicides of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade, Chester Bennington’s widow Talinda Bennington has continued speaking out about mental health and suicide prevention.

    It has been nearly a year since Bennington died by suicide on July 20, 2017 at the age of 41. In a recent CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper, Talinda described realizing that there were warning signs before her husband died. “I am now more educated about those signs, but they were definitely there: the hopelessness, the change of behavior, isolation.”

    Talinda was used to her husband being depressed, adding, “That was all part of our daily life. Sometimes, some signs were there more than others. Sometimes, they weren’t there at all.”

    The rocker was in good spirits in the days leading up to his death. Talinda shared, “He was [at] his best. We were on a family vacation, and he decided to go back home to do a television commercial. This was not a time where we or any of our family suspected this to happen, which is terrifying… We thought everything was OK.”

    Unlike her husband, Talinda did not suffer from depression. “Watching my husband go through it, I had no idea. I could not relate.”

    Bennington was very open in interviews about his struggles with depression, addiction, and dealing with the trauma of being sexually abused when he was young.

    In an interview that was released shortly after his death, he said, “My whole life, I’ve just felt a little off. I find myself getting into these patterns of behavior or thought—especially when I’m stuck up here [in my head]; I like to say that ‘this is like a bad neighborhood, and I should not go walking alone.”

    “If we can find good coping mechanisms, if we have people we trust that we can talk to, that helps us make better choices for ourselves,” Talinda said. “And my husband didn’t have that in a lot of situations.”

    His Linkin Park bandmate Mike Shinoda is also speaking out about mental health. Shinoda, who recently released a solo album titled Post Traumatic, told Billboard, “It was so weird being given a membership to this club that I never wanted to be a part of. One thing I’ve learned, in terms of mental health, we talk about it being like physical health. Mental health should be the same. Mental health is just health. The way we get to that point is to check in with ourselves.”

    If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) in the United States. To find a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit IASP or Suicide.org.

    View the original article at thefix.com