My Life is Worth Living™ is the first animated series that models the human connection shown to be protective against suicide and enhance mental health. The videos tell stories of relatable, diverse characters who face difficult issues, such as abuse, bullying, and sexual identity, and shows their evolution in the key decision: that life is worth living.

In five powerful stories told over twenty short episodes, each teen wrestles with challenges that can be familiar for many viewers and discovers strategies to cope when it feels like their own thoughts are against them. Each teen learns that support can come from people they least expect, and the comfort of an empathetic person can provide relief they didn’t think possible.

Developed with guidance from former President of the American Association of Suicidology, Dr. James Mazza, and a team of adolescent mental health experts, My Life is Worth Living models positive, research-based mental health skills for seventh- to twelfth-grades. Each episode is accompanied by extension lessons for educators to use with students in the classroom and at home in partnership with families. The state-of-the-art animation was produced by Wonder Media, led by CEO Terry Thoren, former CEO of Klasky Csupo, the company that created Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys

Formats/platforms:

Email - contact@mylifeisworthliving.org

 TicTok - @mylifeisworthliving

 Instagram - @mylifeisworthlivingtv

 Twitter - @_worthliving_

 YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/mylifeisworthliving

Primary website’s URL:

https://mylifeisworthliving.org/

Problem solved:

My Life is Worth Living works to eradicate suicide and assist adolescents, their families and educators with teen mental health and wellness. As the teens learn to share their burdens, cope in healthy ways, and accept support, that self-critical voice becomes less intrusive, and those bad situations become more hopeful. They learn that life at times can seem bleak, and that negative thoughts are often part of the experience, but also that we all deserve love and support, that no situation is hopeless, and that their lives are worth living.

Grade/age range:

The series is targeted for students in grades 7-12.

Core or supplemental:

Supplemental - My Life is Worth Living was developed with the guidance of a team of doctors and helps educators and supportive adults begin the difficult conversation around mental health and suicide with adolescents.

Topic:

Mental health and wellness

Lesson time needed:

Full character episode video set is around 20 minutes.

Pricing model:

The series and resources are available for FREE.
 

Additional services needed?

No

What makes My Life is Worth Living unique?

My Life is Worth Living is the first animated series about teen mental health and suicide prevention. The series was developed with the help of suicidologists and doctors who help educators strengthen their role in helping to prevent suicidal and self-harming behavior among students. The series addresses major struggles adolescents are dealing with, including sexuality, bullying/cyberbullying, sexual assault, substance abuse, and anxiety.

Characteristics:

The entirely free series can be viewed on YouTube, where twenty episodes are compiled into playlists for each of the characters and their story arcs. The social media platform was chosen as the primary directive to watch the videos from analytics for youth in the seven to eighteen years-old ranges. Animation is a universal language, however, the series was translated in five languages (as of now) with closed captioning, making it easier for users to automatically receive and watch in their language of choice when arriving at the YouTube page. The series is broken down by the most common themes young people face today that might trigger anxiety or depression, with realistic dialogue between diverse characters help make connections to their own lives, and produced in short video increments due to attention spans. Additionally, high-quality, visually stunning PDF lesson guides and extra resources are available for educators and adults are available for each episode, easy-to-access, and downloadable at mylifeisworthliving.org.

Here's what users are saying:

“If I am working one-on-one with a student who is struggling and they go home and watch the videos on the series, and find a character used a coping mechanism that they want to try, it’s an engaging way to allow them to explore the issues that they are having and open up a conversation with their parents, a trusted adult or a friend,” 

--Sara Holmberg, Dell Rapids Middle School Counselor