This story discusses suicide.If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).A 30-year-old man has been asking people he doesn’t know to sit with him in pubs across the country ever since December of last year, as part of what he calls his "Empty Chairs" campaign.Dean Perryman came up with the idea after his best friend, Rob Clancy, tragically died by suicide at age 29 just a month earlier.Wanting to make sure nobody else ever felt alone — even perfect strangers — Perryman started heading out to restaurants and pubs wearing a bright orange hoodie to make his presence obvious to anyone choosing to chat with him. SINGLE INFUSION OF CONTROVERSIAL DRUG CHANGED SEVERE DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS WITHIN HOURS, STUDY FINDSJust a few weeks ago, he held his program's 1000th meet-up in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, featuring about 12 attendees — and said he's proud of how far it has come."It has been such an incredible experience.
I am loving every second of it still," the resident of Stratford in East London told news agency SWNS.Dean Perryman, second from right, has been inviting strangers to sit with him in pubs to help let people know they aren’t alone in life. (Dean Perryman/SWNS)"When I started, it came from such a place of sadness — and to see how this simple idea has been able to help so many people has been really nice," he said."I have been able to meet and connect with so many new people and learn about them.
It gives people an opportunity to speak openly if they need it."COMMON FITNESS SUPPLEMENT COULD HELP FIGHT DEPRESSION, NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS Perryman works for team-building game company Chicken Rush.He used social media, he said, to create interest in the "Empty Chair" idea, he said.The events started in London and Essex before the founder began recruiting volunteers to host them across the U.K.
— and the rest of the world as well.Events have since been plann...