My name is Derek, and I suffer from bipolar disorder and severe anxiety and have survived 2 suicide attempts. Since I was diagnosed my life has been full of more downs than ups, but I have since dedicated my life to breaking the stigma of mental health.

This show will highlight the struggles of real life people and celebrities. The story will follow 3 everyday people and 3 celebrities where we will follow them each for 10 days. Each episode will highlight 2 people, rotating each week telling the stories of all 6 people over the 12 episodes.

We will travel to meet each person and follow them in their daily life getting a full experience of the issues they face daily. Have one on ones with family and friends, and just learn about how they live day to day.

Mental health is a topic that gets swept under the rug all too often. In 2018, the suicide rates were higher among adults ages 45 to 54 years (20.04 per 100,000) and 55 to 64 years (20.20 per 100,000), with the rate highest among adults ages 52 to 59 years (21.56 per 100,000). Younger groups have had consistently lower suicide rates than middle-aged and older adults. In 2018, adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 had a suicide rate of 14.45.

America does very little do help with this issue, and companies that people work for do even less. This show will not only highlight real life people struggling but will also highlight the systemic issues with America’s medical system as it regards to mental health.

This is a true passion project for me due to my history with mental health not only with me, but my mother, brother, uncle and others in my family that struggle daily. If this show can be created I know it will be a wake up call to America and hopefully we can at least start to make a change.