Frankie Jonas, the younger brother of Kevin, Joe and Nick – and often referred to as the “Bonus Jonas” – has opened up about his darkest moments while battling drug and alcohol addiction.
“From a very young age I struggled with drinking and drugging as an escape,” Jonas said in a TikTok video, “because I hated life and I didn’t want to be here.
“I eventually, after many years of trying to kill myself accidentally, came to a point where I was going to do it for real.”
In an earlier video, Jonas said he contemplated ending his life a little more than 18 months ago.
“After many, many years of struggles where I thought it wasn’t OK to not be OK – where it was between me and the ledge – someone asked me point blank, before I made the worst mistake of my life, if I was actually OK … I said ‘no’ and it saved my life.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the universe for putting that person and those words in front of me to understand that it was OK for me to not be OK because I wasn’t. I needed help.”
Jonas, 20, said underwent treatment that he “saved” him.
“I couldn’t be more grateful for the fact that I’m alive today because my world has changed so beautifully and so astronomically and I am not that person anymore. I couldn’t be more grateful that I am alive and happy today.”
Jonas, who is currently studying astrophysics at Columbia University, urged his TikTok followers to take care of their mental health.
“The deepest trenches that we find ourselves are usually the hardest to dig ourselves out of,” he said in an earlier clip. “We know pain and we get used to it and it becomes comfortable and safe.
“There is no embarrassing way to ask for help. There just isn’t. Asking for help … is the strongest thing that someone can do.”
If you are feeling like you are not OK, click here to reach people who want to help.