Tim Gunn, co-shot on Project Runway and all around fashion guru, made an appearance on Access Live here in the US recently and he opened up about an attempted suicide from his youth. Tim talks about the incident in his new book Gunn’s Golden Rules: Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work but shared very candidly why he attempted to take his own life on Access Live:

Celebrity style guru Tim Gunn was a tortured teenager who tried to commit suicide at the age of 17. The “Project Runway” star makes the shocking revelation in his new book, “Gunn’s Golden Rules”, admitting he was plagued with depression as a teen and tried to swallow pills to end his life. Appearing on America’s “Access Live” news programme, he explains, “I was a very, very unhappy kid and I thought, what does the world have to offer me? And more importantly, what do I have to offer the world? And I had incredibly low self-esteem and made a decision. Fortunately I wasn’t successful.” The 57 year old credits his friends and family with helping him to get through the struggle, adding, “It’s only because of a lot of wonderful people who nurtured me and cared about me that I’m still here.”

Wow … I find this heartbreaking and very surprising. Knowing Tim Gunn‘s confidence now, it’s very hard to believe he was ever in a place where he attempted suicide. I shudder to think what we all would’ve lost if he had been successful. I’m glad Tim decided to share his story because it goes to show that a person can overcome their personal demons and go on to achieve huge successes in life. There are countless young people out there struggling with the same darkness that Tim endured … here’s hoping Tim‘s story will inspire those people to soldier on and preserver. I’ve been fortunate to have never been in a suicidal frame of mind but I can see how hearing stories of survival like this might help others to deal with their own pain an hopelessness. Thank goodness Tim Gunn was unsuccessful at least once in his life.

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