The death of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst is bring renewed focus to mental health awareness.

Mental health experts say when someone dies by suicide, it’s important not to make any assumptions about the person’s life or what you think you know about what they were experiencing.

Dr. Scott Krakower, a psychiatrist with Northwell Health, says it’s hard to know from an outsider perspective what is going on inside someone else’s life.

“Every case is different,” Krakower says. “Every person is different.”

He says it’s important to not pass judgement on Kryst’s death on what we think we may know about her life.

“You really don’t know, you don’t know stressors people are going through,” Krakower says. “You’ll never really know.”

Anne Deubel, an assistant direct with Suffolk County’s Response Crisis Center, says when talking about how Kryst died, it’s important to remember we don’t know how those close to us may be affected by what we say.

“There’s this common misconception that if we talk about suicide, it’s dangerous,” Deubel says. “But the reality is, if we talk about suicide the wrong way is when it gets dangerous.”

Deubel says it’s important to avoid saying things like “commit suicide,” and instead say “died by suicide.”

“…The reality is our language matter with such a sensitive issue,” Deubel says.

Both Deubel and Krakower say some possible warning signs a person could having a mental health crisis include worsening moods, a change in sleep habits, a drastic change in their behavior, a changing relationship with drugs or alcohol, a lack of interest and even talking about suicide.

They say it’s important for everyone to know there is help for people who may in crisis. 

“There’s always something available, there’s a therapist to speak to, that there’s somebody you can talk to and vent to and there are treatments out there,” Krakower says.
The psychiatrist tells News 12 people can go to Urgent Care for help or talk to someone they trust like a teacher, faith leader or someone in the community.