<p>I have known people who have died from accidental or deliberate overdoses of alcohol/ medications. I have known those who combined the above with a motor vehicle, with tragic results.
Most tragic because of her young age, was a classmate who slit her wrists & suffocated herself when we were 13. </p>
<p>Paradoxically, someone may die by their own hand just when it seems they are getting better.
They may feel relieved that they have decided to put an end to the pain or treatment may have given them just enough energy back to put their affairs in order.</p>
<p>I worry that publicizing tragedy can spur a copy cat effect, but if someone is suicidal, they are already thinking about it.
Depression is insidious.
The ten years between 15-25 were probably the hardest of my life.
Hormones are not only unstable but life was bewildering.
You have no idea how many lives you impact, but you have such a high bar for yourself, that you are doomed to fall short.
Sometimes medication is necessary to get you to a place for therapy to be helpful, although it can be very difficult to admit you need it.</p>
<p>Madison’s family sounds very supportive and caring, not every family is.
Families can underestimate the depth of feelings of a teenager, thinking they have their whole life ahead of them, what do they have to be upset about?
Families can also be adamant that " people in our family don’t have mental health problems", and deny them help out of a false sense of pride, just as they might encourage someone to stay in a bad marriage because " no one divorces in our family".
There should not be a stigma to getting care for a mental illness any more than there should be for a broken ankle or high blood pressure.
It also should be just as easy, & covered the same by insurance.</p>
<p>People whose diseases take a physical toll, like cancer, are applauded for " fighting back" and their friends go out of their way to help them. They are urged to not take on too much, and every improvement is met with celebration.</p>
<p>But depression is outwardly a silent disease ( except for the screaming inside your head). You look " fine" to your friends,and for someone like Madison who was beautiful, brilliant & talented, they might even hear " what do you have to be depressed about?", if they dared to confide to someone. People want to think you can turn it off and on, & indeed you may get adept at hiding your feelings, but that can make it worse because you feel more alone.</p>
<p>One of the things I found most difficult was that even if I found a medication that seemed to work enough to smooth out the worst bits, and the side effects weren’t overwhelming ( normally the side effects were too bothersome before I even got to a therapeutic dose), but the medication might work great for a year or even two, and then inexplicably just stopped working. Then you have to go through the trial & error nightmare of finding something else.</p>
<p>However, there also are times when you don’t need meds. “Remission”, as it were.
You get better at noticing indicators that you are slipping, especially if you have the love and support of family and friends who are watching out for you.
You learn to not be so hard on yourself, and to be grateful for the small things.
One step in front of the other helps to keep from sliding back to the bottom.
And listening to yourself regarding how much you can take on, instead of allowing others( or more likely yourself) to guilt you into doing more than you are ready for.
You can live with chronic depression, but you need a safety net, just as someone living with diabetes needs to incorporate strategies to manage that.</p>
<p>Everyone you meet has a secret struggle, you may never even glimpse.
We should keep that in mind and be kind.</p>
<p>[suicide</a> preventionLifeline](<a href=“http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org%5Dsuicide”>http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org)
Ive found these websites personally helpful.
[Living</a> with Borderline Personality Disorder | Psych Central](<a href=“http://psychcentral.com/lib/living-with-borderline-personality-disorder/0005004]Living”>http://psychcentral.com/lib/living-with-borderline-personality-disorder/0005004)
<a href=“http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisDBT.cfm[/url]”>http://behavioraltech.org/resources/whatisDBT.cfm</a>
[Interview:</a> Why Try Mindfulness Training? | Whole U](<a href=“http://www.washington.edu/wholeu/2014/01/14/interview-why-try-mindfulness-training/]Interview:”>Interview: Why Try Mindfulness Training? | The Whole U)</p>