Valley woman shares her story to bring awareness to suicide prevention

September is Suicide Awareness Month, and a local woman is sharing her story in hopes it will encourage others to seek the help they need. 

"And so I went into the bathroom cabinet and I found a bunch of pills and took them along with excessive drinking laid back down on the bed and said I'm done," said Alli. 

Two months ago, 20-year-old Alli tried to take her own life. 

"I ended up in a hospital and I had a doctor standing over me and I remember crying out to her please don't let me die I wanted another chance at life," recalled Alli. 

Another chance meant a continued fight against depression that she battled for so many years, the loneliness that led to addiction and alcoholism. 

"I think that deep down I knew that I was still really unhappy there was still this void there was still this loneliness that I never was able to fill even growing up," said Alli. 

Alli found her hope at Scottsdale Recovery Center. 

"Alli shows tremendous insight when she's looking back at her story in that she says she felt alone even when she was in a crowded room," said Amy, a recovery coach at Scottsdale Recovery Center.

The latest statistics show that suicide rates among teens and young adults have reached an all-time high since 2000, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Roughly 4,600 people under 24-years-old die by suicide in the U.S. every day.

Amy says it's critical to talk about this subject to help prevent and treat it. 

"So there are different signs and symptoms in a person's behavior, the biggest thing is you want to look for change any kind of a shift in their behavior either acting recklessly across the board there's hopelessness, helplessness, a lack of connection, they feel invisible, they feel alone," says Amy. 

Both women say reaching out is key. Alli confided in someone she trusted. 

"So by reaching out that's where I found my peace because I knew someone was going to walk along beside me through this process that wasn't just going to be me," explained Alli. 

Alli has been sober since June. 

If you or anyone you know has thoughts about suicide, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.