A Personal Reflection
When a beloved public figure such as Robin Williams or Philip Seymour Hoffman dies tragically as a result of one or more of the devastating afflictions of mental illness or substance addiction, the world rightly mourns his or her loss. There is always a flurry of attention in the media paid to these terrible problems as well. But then how quickly the issue is once again forgotten until another such heartbreaking occurrence. What is not often understood is that for every cherished celebrity who leaves us in this way, there are multitudes of others who do not dwell in the public eye who also meet this fate. Each of these doomed individuals is also mourned privately by their own loved ones and friends. Perhaps if the scope of the problem were more present in the collective consciousness, greater efforts to improve mental health care and save countless lives would result.
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Well said!
Thank you Way.
Very well said laurie. The problems of substance addiction and mental illness are very near and dear to my heart. Both illnesses can be misunderstood and both are the evils of each other. Thank you for sharing such an important message.
Luce
You expressed some important truths Laurie……a lot to think about!
Mxx
Thank you Maize.
Luce- I so agree that the two problems are closely related. I lost my brother three years ago as a direct result of substance abuse. He abused drugs and alcohol to self-medicate his severe depression and anxiety that he’d struggled with all of his adult life. He was a wonderful man with so many great qualities! I watched him have his ups and downs, and finally he just stayed down. He was suicidal many times during his life too.
My family and I tried to help him and we just didn’t know what else to do.
I am so sorry for your loss KayBee. I too lost one of my brothers ten years ago to both substance abuse and mental illness. The pain of depression is very real and unless anyone has gone through it is very difficult sometimes to understand. My heart just aches when I hear of suicides in young and old. They went through that horrible pain.
Before anyone judges someone for taking their own life they should read about or talk to someone who has lived through an attempt.
Luce
Dear Luce, I am deeply sorry to hear of your loss. You make a very important point about not judging. The suggestion about learning more by talking to someone who has survived an attempt is excellent. Since you and KayBee have bravely shared your stories here I will do the same and tell you I’ve had three attempts and as painful as it was to reach that point it is even harder to live with afterwards, precisely because of the willingness to judge and the lack of understanding of others. This includes immediate family members, all of them.
Thank you for sharing this blog Laurie, and also part of your very painful struggle.. You are now using your devastating experiences to help and give hope to others, which is the best thing you could possibly do!
So very sorry Luce, thank you for sharing.
KayBee I didn’t write the blog with the intention of sharing any personal details, but you and Luce gave me the courage to do so and I thank you both for that.
My niece took her own life,I know there was No sweeter person then Trish.
Dear Mac, I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m sure she was a wonderful person.
So tragic Mac. I am sorry that she suffered, and that you and your family went through that.
Laurie very well said,and there is a lot of need out there that isn’t being met for lots of families.I looked after an old uncle of mine that suffered badly with mantal health issues,very hard thing to deal with .
Thanks Mac. You are so right. Bless you for taking care of your uncle; how very kind.
Laurie thank you, We have in Victoria for people suffering from severe depression to phone, it,s called Beyond blue, it,s set up as not only a counseling phone call in centre, but also a voluntry refferal centre , many lives have been saved because they chose to call in . it,s coupled with another centre called lifeline , I worked in that Lifeline centre as a volunteer for a few years and , there is a great need in our society for these types of assistance centres…
That’s wonderful Lani. I agree about the great need for such facilities. Hats off to you for your service.
Exactly right, Laurie! I have my own heartbreaking story, and I shared a bit of it in reply to Luce’s comment.
I feel a little bolder here, because of some anonymity, to share some of my experience as a family member. I trust the ones here who know me personally now, to be discreet. It is very hard to just talk about openly because of the stigma and misunderstandings about it, and also out of respect for his wife and kids.
Dear KayBee, I am so very sorry to hear of your terrible loss. Thank you so much for your courage in sharing it.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion on this blog. You are all wonderful people. This was a special one for me. I feel like we’ve taken a journey together. Laurie xx
Laurie, wonderful blog, and priceless sharing opportunity which bloomed from it.
Thank you for your comment Heart, it’s much appreciated.