MADISON, Wis. -- May is Mental Health Month, and the focus is on suicide and depression -- two topics many people don't talk or hear a lot about.
But they are much bigger problems than most people think, especially in children.
Every 45 seconds, a teen tries to kill him or herself, and every 80 minutes, one dies.
It is estimated that one in five Americans suffers from a mental illness -- yet two-thirds of individuals do not seek the proper help they need, according to government statistics.
That's why people need to start addressing the issue, officials said.
More than 300 people showed up in Madison to hear Bev Cobain, a psychiatric nurse, talk about suicide and depression prevention.
Cobain's name may sound familiar because she's the cousin of Kurt Cobain (pictured, right), the former lead singer of Nirvana, who killed himself in 1994.
Bev Cobain says depression can strike at any age and it can lead to suicide.
"Kids do not need to die from this," she said. "We lose about 6,000 kids each year to suicide, and it's not necessary. This condition is absolutely treatable -- we know how to do it. So now all we need to do is get kids to recognize it and their friends and to get help."
Cobain spent the day Thursday going to different high schools in the area to talk with kids about how to spot signs of depression in their friends and what they can do to help.
She wrote the book, "When Nothing Matters Anymore."
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