In many ways it has gotten genuinely easier to talk about mental health struggles in recent years: The message is out there now that it’s ok to not feel ok. It’s normal to struggle, and it’s also normal to need a little (or perhaps even a lot) of help from time to time. 

But easier does not mean easy, and on this edition of KCBS In Depth, we'll be pushing on the bounds of that comfort zone to ask one of the most difficult questions of all: Why it is that many people struggle with an urge to end their own life.  

Helping us explore that challenging question is someone who knows its contours all too well: Clancy Martin, a philosophy professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He just wrote a new book in which he gives a vivid account of his own lifelong struggle with suicide, which has included multiple attempts. It's called, “How Not To Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind.”

Special note: If you or someone you know is having a tough time, you can find support by calling or texting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Host: Keith Menconi