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Panel to address suicide, depression and bipolar disorder Date published: 10/2/2009
BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE At 8, Carol Anne Brown knew what she wanted to be when she grew up: a saint. Ten years later, her parents asked their priest if Carol Anne would go to hell. The 18-year-old had just killed herself. For centuries, people didn't talk about suicide because it was thought to be a sin. And now, when most consider it the side effect of a serious mental illness such as depression, suicide still remains, largely, a word used in whispered conversations. Some 30 million Americans have lost a friend or family member to suicide, said Reese Butler who runs a network of crisis centers. Most never talk about it. "It's like blindness in 1900, cancer in 1965, AIDS in 1984," Butler said. "There's a taboo about suicide." He has tried to raise awareness since his wife killed herself 11 years ago. Monday night, he'll speak at Germanna Community College's Fredericksburg campus. The panel will include five people who've been touched by suicide--a parent, a sibling, spouses and a friend of people who killed themselves. The panelists will speak about depression and suicide in hopes of raising awareness and breaking the taboo. "If I say to you, 'I have breast cancer,' then you say, 'Oh, my God, are you getting radiation? Are you getting chemo? Are you OK?'" said Mary Gilkey, Germanna's dean of nursing and health technologies. "But if I say to you, 'I have schizophrenia,' you immediately think of Virginia Tech." Gilkey's sister killed herself, and her oldest daughter suffered from depression in her late teen years. The trained psychotherapist and dean of nursing compared mental illness to a roller coaster ride. The person with a mental illness rides in the front, going up and down hills and twisting upside down. "They may be in the front car of the roller coaster," Gilkey said. "But I tell you what: The family's in the car right behind them." Todd Brown, Carol Anne's father, also compared his daughter's bipolar disorder to a roller coaster ride, with dramatic highs and lows. He will be on the panel with Gilkey. Since his daughter committed suicide in April, he has given many talks on mental illness and bipolar disorder, in particular. "I'm not here to shock people," he said. "I'm here to get the point across of how serious this is."
Date published: 10/2/2009
That is just a fact of life, that shows mental health is still not on people's list of priorities. I am going after a master's in psychiatric nursing, and I know how depressed people can be discriminated against. I feel bad for those who live after suicide, but it's never your fault. Suicide I find is a dirty little secret, if I talk about it with a small group, invariably I find someone who knows someone who committed suicide. Kinda bad, considering there are some really great mental health drugs now.
Our 38 year old nephew hung himself to escape a 23 yr alcohol addiction. We did all we could to help him fight, but in the end, the mental and physical pain was more than he could bear. When asked about our loss, I spoke openly about Mike's suicide. I watched as some literally recoiled at my honesty. Please, do not allow suicide to be a topic that can only be discussed in whispers. We need to find a way to recognize and help those who believe that death is their only option.
i dont think this article was meant for the debate on healthcare, find another platform
shot himself in the head right in front of me. i wondered for years if there was anything i could have done or signs or clues i might have missed. awareness is very important, things like this can crush a family and those close to the victim. i still struggle with the image and havent viewed death the same way since, i lost more than a friend thats for sure
I know this all first hand, an estranged 18 year old family member was introduced to our established local mental facility where she spent 2 days, and was released because she has no insurance and her mother could not afford the ridiculous cost of care. The avenues are lenghty and very expensive. Jail time? for who ? the mother who couldn't afford? or the 18 year old who was estranged from her family? BTW she was 18 and mom could not "force" her back home. Its against the law.
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