Whatever you call it, depression is a destructive, disabling condition which can drive one to acts of insanity and to death.
13 years ago my brother-in-law-best-friend and I were discussing depression. His paediatric practice focused on behavioural issues and he frequently encountered the condition among children with ADD, or ADHD whose unreliable performance in life made them feel useless and desperate.
He was adamant that depression sufferers must have therapy and must be supported with medication. When I said “Well, it’s not like it’s a terminal illness” he gave me a level look then said simply, “Suicide is terminal.”
It doesn’t matter the cause. A “chemical imbalance” like diabetes or a voice in ones head that says one is useless and beyond hope. The bottom line is the same. Someone unable to see him or herself in a positive light; who can only see hopelessness and failure, needs support and guidance to survive. Without it the outcome can be very bad indeed.
Some of the brightest minds and greatest talents took their own lives in later years. Hemingway, the Nobel prize winning literary giant who suicided at 62 said, “Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.” He used a shot-gun. Aside from paranoia about the CIA and FBI watching him, he had struggled for years with physical pain from a plane crash. He also had a history of heavy drinking and had been treated with two rounds of electro-convulsive therapy at the Mayo clinic from which he was “released in ruins” (Meyers, Jeffrey (1985). Hemingway: A Biography. London: Macmillan).
Is it worse that someone dies alone and desperate by his or her own hand than if his heart went into crisis and stopped? Is a stroke worse? A car crash? Cancer?
However you see it, suicide is a sad end to any life and the rate has been increasing globally, especially among the young. We need to be mindful of those around us in case they are in greater need than they seem to be on the surface.
My brilliant friend and MBA syndicate partner James Filmalter took his life in April this year. Dear James. I’m so sorry we didn’t realise. Rest peacefully, at last.
Living Loving Learning 