I met Johannah Jørgensen through her sister Sally Dige a few years back, and I was immediately struck by how talented and beautiful a person she was—with a down to earth attitude lacking any pretense—caring deeply for the people around her.
Hannah seemed to want to share and create Art, Film, and Music, just like her older sister Sally, and support the work of her friends, especially in the Danish music scene. So, when Hannah wrote me about promoting her band Metrocult, I was more than happy to do an interview.
Occasionally, I would talk to Hannah late at night—while we both were suffering from insomnia—and she would be wandering around Copenhagen, writing me, obviously suffering from depression.
Sadly, I did not know how bad it actually was, and after I had not heard from Hannah in quite a while, I asked Sally, and Sally told me that Hannah was in rehab.
My thought immediately “Oh drugs, I suppose that could explain why I have not heard from her.”
When I asked Sally again about how Hannah’s rehab was going, and to tell her I say hello. Sally seemed confused and asked me: “I thought you knew that Hannah attempted suicide?”
It wasn’t drugs: It was depression.
Hannah decided to take her own life.
Finding this out made me feel extremely guilty and ashamed, and wish I could have done something, because in hindsight, I did notice something was wrong.
However, Hannah did survive her suicide attempt—but suffered a traumatic brain injury and now needs medical care to recover. So the best I can do now is to ask you that please donate to her fundraiser setup by her sister Sally and her mother.
(You can donate directly to Sally’s paypal here for alternative donations: [email protected])
And please understand, you are not alone.
In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here
Hannah’s project Artificial Monuments
Hannahs band Metro Cult
Hannah collaborating with Moth
