Depression wears many faces.
It doesn’t always look like a tears-streaming-down-your-face ugly cry in the fetal position. It doesn’t even always look somber or neutral.
Sometimes, depression laughs.
It even belly laughs.
This was the face of Linkin Park lead singer, Chester Bennington, 36 hours before dying by suicide in his Los Angeles home this July.
His wife, Talinda Bennington, took to Twitter this weekend to post the “most personal tweet” she’s ever shared: a video of her late husband laughing.
The 40-second footage featured a cheerful Chester playing a game with his children.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s03zB0dLDg
“This is what depression looked like to us just 36 hrs b4 his death,” wrote Talinda. “He loved us SO much & we loved him.”
After spinning to see what jelly bean flavor he had to eat, Chester cringed as his fate fell upon “rotten egg.” A brief second after having a taste, he playfully spit out the candy and busted up laughing.
Between his big smile and the infectious giggles in the background, the father seemed to be in high spirits.
But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Less than two days later, the singer took his own life.
So why post something like this?
“So that you know that depression doesn’t have a face or a mood,” wrote Talinda, who shared another smiling photo of her late husband earlier this month.
Twitter
“This was days b4 my husband took his own life,” she tweeted. “Suicidal thoughts were there, but you’d never know.”
The grieving wife has taken Chester’s death incredibly hard, as he left behind not only her, but their three young children as well.