CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of suicide
Six years ago today, Matt Hughes, a freelance games journalist and colleague of Take This’ founders, took his own life. It was a tragedy made more tragic because he suffered in isolation and silence. Take This was founded just weeks later in response. Our founders asked, “What could we have done to let Matt know he wasn’t alone?” because they never wanted anyone else to feel as if they had to suffer alone, in silence, or with stigma attached to their experience.
So, today we honor Matt’s memory, the family he left behind, and we honor the thousands of people who speak their truth, share their experiences, and seek help through mental health programs and community engagement. We also honor the thousands of people who join the effort to ensure people like Matt don’t have to struggle in silence, ashamed of the challenges they face, and overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the incorrect belief that they are alone in their fight. Mental health challenges are real – and sometimes they can feel too much – but there is always support available, whether it be immediate like a crisis line or a friend you trust, or long-term support like therapy, medication, or ongoing self-care practices.
And we’re here. We’re here on the internet, at our desks, and at game conventions, saying over and over again, “It’s dangerous to go alone.” We’ll still be here tomorrow. We want you to be too.
For available crisis lines and other mental health resources, please see our mental health resource page.