Chester Bennington’s child, Violet Bennington, has made an emotional public confession about her mental health struggles, as reported in a statement shared on Instagram. Violet, who previously went by Draven before coming out as transgender, opened up about a deeply difficult period in her life following the loss of her father, Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in 2017.
In her statement, Violet detailed a harrowing journey through multiple mental health crises, hospitalizations, and residential treatment programs over recent months.
“I want to be honest about my mental health journey. These past few months, I’ve been working really hard to get on a good track,” Violet said. “This last December, I tried to take my own life twice in the same week. I ended up in the hospital, got cleared and started going to residential treatment.”
Violet went on to describe her time across two separate treatment facilities, sharing both the challenges and the connections she made along the way.
“I spent 40 days at my first residential, on a farm in the middle of Tennessee,” she continued. “I made a lot of good friends and started my mental health journey there. I ended up getting discharged because I needed a higher level of care due to my eating disorder and self-harm issues. I then spent 11 days at home before I went to my next treatment center.”
“The second one was in California, which was nice because I got to see my family while in there. I then spent another 50 days in treatment, working on myself. I made a lot of good friends here too, and even met my girlfriend.”
Violet also opened up about a particularly difficult stretch during her second stay, which led to new diagnoses and further medical intervention.
“During the second treatment center, I started struggling again badly. My meds got changed and I ended up having a manic episode, which led to me getting diagnosed with bi-polar,” she said. “Along with my PTSD, ADHD, Gender Dysphoria & Body Dysmorphia, ED, it really became a lot.”
“I was put on suicide watch pretty heavily and even got sent to the hospital again to get evaluated,” Violet added. “Pushing through, though, I ended up reaching a breaking point where treatment was starting to inhibit me instead of help and I left. While I can go on and on about everything I’ve been through these past few months, I can say it’s been the best in one of the worst times of my life. The people I’ve met and the lessons I learned will be with me always.”
Violet’s candid statement comes years after the tragic loss of her father. It marks a significant step in her public openness about her personal struggles and identity.
Violet’s journey reflects a broader pattern seen among children who have lost a parent to suicide — a reality that mental health experts say carries long-lasting psychological consequences. Her openness about her diagnoses, hospitalizations, and recovery efforts sheds light on the compounding challenges faced by those navigating grief, identity, and mental illness simultaneously.
Chester Bennington, the iconic frontman of Linkin Park, died by suicide on July 20, 2017, at the age of 41. His death sent shockwaves through the music world and sparked widespread public conversation about depression, suicide prevention, and the importance of mental health care. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has noted that children bereaved by a parent’s suicide face a significantly elevated risk of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and PTSD-like symptoms. These risks are further shaped by the child’s age at the time of loss, family history, and access to professional support.
Violet’s struggles are also set against the backdrop of the well-documented mental health challenges faced by transgender youth. Research from the Trevor Project has found that transgender and gender-diverse young people are statistically more likely than their cisgender peers to experience depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation. This elevated risk is not a result of their identity, but largely stems from stigma, family conflict, social isolation, and barriers to affirming healthcare. Protective factors, researchers note, include family acceptance, use of affirmed names and pronouns, and access to competent mental health care.
In Violet’s case, the intersection of parental loss, gender dysphoria, and a range of co-occurring diagnoses — including bipolar disorder, PTSD, ADHD, body dysmorphia, and an eating disorder — illustrates the complexity of mental health care for young people facing multiple, overlapping challenges. The National Institute of Mental Health has highlighted that co-occurring mental health conditions are common and often require coordinated, higher levels of care. This is precisely the kind of treatment Violet described navigating across multiple residential facilities.
Chester Bennington was publicly known as a devoted father. His death left a lasting impact not only on his six children but on millions of fans who found solace in his music. Linkin Park has periodically honored his memory through performances and public statements, while his family has had to navigate both private grief and public attention in the years since his passing. Violet’s decision to speak openly about her own mental health journey continues that legacy of honesty — one her father was also known for, having spoken candidly about his own struggles with depression and trauma throughout his life.
