Senior Launches Podcast to Spread Mental Health Awareness

By Lilly Nguyen, Daily Pilot

Param Desagani was 14 when he realized there was a problem.

“My freshman year, I met with my advisor and he encouraged me and served as a big influence, not only in terms of my education and high school life, but encouraged me to look for solutions,” said Param, now 17. “Around then, I learned about high rates of self-injury and so I researched depression and what leads people down a rabbit hole.”

Suicide, Param said, is a major public health concern. The Orange County Health Care Agency reported in 2019 that the county reached an all-time high of 10.8 deaths by suicide for every 100,000 residents in 2018, with deaths of adolescents by suicide accounting for 11.1% of total deaths in the county between 2014 to 2018.

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Photo credit: Kevin Chang | Daily Pilot