New details of Jas Watersâ troubled life have been revealed.
Itâs been a week since the This Is Us writer took her own life in what the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled as a suicide by hanging. She was 39 years old.
In the time thatâs passed, more devastating aspects of Watersâ life have come to light, including a decades-long struggle with mental health issues and a troubled upbringing. According to the Daily Mail, Waters had battled with depression for 20 years and allegedly attempted to overdose on pills at the age of 21.
The outlet drew these revelations from an August 2014 blog post on her website, JasFly.com, in which Waters revealed being diagnosed with depression when she was 19. Two years after, she ingested an entire bottle of Tylenol PM to âbreak through this overwhelmingly thick barrier of hopelessness.â
"I was first diagnosed with depression at 19. I'd stumbled through a pretty rocky childhood and eventually two years later, it all caught up with me one night when I just didn't think I could stomach another day of intense sadness," she recalled at the time. "I swallowed a bottle of Tylenol PM. Now, did I want to die? Not really. But that was the only way I could break through this overwhelmingly thick barrier of hopelessness that stood between myself and everyone else."
Leading up to her death, it appeared the Kidding writerâs torment only intensified during her time in isolation due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. When loneliness took a toll, Jas often looked to social media as an outlet.
âIâm tired of sheltering in place with my anxiety. Most days is nearly debilitating. Hence, the cooking simply for the calm it brings. So if youâre struggling just to keep the fear of the unknown in check, know that youâre not alone. Iâm with you,â she tweeted on April 24.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Jasâ father, Joseph, admitted his daughter had struggled with social isolation for months but doesn't believe that is why she took her life.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Photo: Twitter/Jas Waters