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Opening up a dialogue on depression, suicide

Panel to address suicide, depression and bipolar disorder

Date published: 10/2/2009

By Flowers Umble

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."

WHAT: "Depression and Suicide: Lifting the Stigma" WHEN: Monday, 7 p.m. WHERE: Sealy Auditorium at Germanna Community College's Fredericksburg Campus in Massaponax WHY: To learn about depression, bipolar disorder and suicide INFO: germanna.edu or 540/891-3012 Some common signs of suicide include: Someone talking about hurting or killing themselves. Someone seeking firearms, drugs or other means of suicide. Someone talking about death or dying, when these topics are unusual to the person. Hopelessness. Rage. Reckless behaviors. Increasing drug or alcohol use. Withdrawing from family and friends. Anxiety. Change in sleep habits. Dramatic mood changes. No sense of purpose in life. preventsuicide.us/hopeline-new One person in the United States commits suicide every 16 minutes. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. It is the second-leading cause of death among Americans ages 25-34. In 2007, 14.5 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide in the previous year and 2 percent had made a serious attempt requiring medical attention. For every suicide, there are 25 attempts. Men represent 79 percent of all U.S. suicides. Women, however, attempt suicide two to three times more often than men. Men most commonly use firearms and women use poison. More than 33,000 suicides occurred in the U.S. in 2007. cdc.gov/injury More on depression, suicide In 2002, The Free Lance-Star produced a three-day series. Sunday, July 7: • Getting to the heart of suicide • Her days are no longer so dark Monday, July 8 • Watching for warnings • Teen's death devastates loved ones Tuesday, July 9 • Columnist Mike Zitz tells of coping with depression and thoughts of suicide before he got help. • Good grief! Charlie Brown had a secret • Transcript from yesterday's chat with Debra McPhee • Graphic: Suicide rates • Cruel world • Information about suicide • Help for survivors • Suicide hot lines

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Date published: 10/2/2009

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