[Alffe]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26044935/


I thought this would be of interest to several of our family members.

[DMACK]

I supported a lady i looked after through 3 courses of this... and i still feel trauma now when i think of it...

It may work for some....that i'm not knocking... it did not for the person i accompanied............made her withdrawn for months... 0ne year later after various mini strokes passed way after a big stroke.

David

[Alffe]

Ummmmm. Love you David, just now sure how supportive that post is...I understand it's honest, but when people are trying to survive...
and ect is their recommended treatment....

[BJ]

I've been thinking about this since I saw it. Those on the outside still see depression as not really a disease but a weakness. A suicide attempt is the end result of mental illness in the same way a heart attack is the end result of coronary artery disease. You have to understand “where you are at” before deciding to have treatments such as ECT. And I know where I’m at but fighting it every single day. I also know when I'm getting tired of fighting it, so I cut. Sometimes you have to save just one brain from itself. The disheartened mind can be a terrible, lonely place to be. So my thinking is I have to save my brain from myself, if that makes sense, or else my brain will destroy me.

There’s a real stigma attached to someone how is mentally ill, IMHO, but an even bigger stigma attached to someone who has had ECTs. That’s why I’ve felt uncomfortable joining the postcard exchange. This is really disheartening to read what happened to the person you were caring for David. But it’s worrying me, where the strokes caused by the ECTs?

[Alffe]

There’s a real stigma attached to someone who is mentally ill, IMHO, but an even bigger stigma attached to someone who has had ECTs Unquote.

And let's never underestimate the stigma of suicide to the survivors...those left behind. I know you know BJ.

How do we give someone the will to live....how do we convince them that the lure of suicide is a lie. You are living proof of someone who will go down that long recommended road, painful as it is, trusting in the hope of finding happiness, love, and many reasons to go on living.

that's why I admire the heck out of you. Pter would have loved knowing you because he understood the struggle.

[BJ]

My mom and dad were living proof of the stigma of survivors of suicide. Suicide explodes into your life like a giant earthquake and in an instant your whole life is changed. One minute you’re traveling peacefully down the road of life and then the earth opens up. And just like the survivors of a real earthquake, you’re in shock and just existing amongst all the destruction.

And then there’s the social stigma. People didn’t know how to talk to us, we felt like we had leprosy or something. We felt like we were unclean and my mom and dad felt like people were avoiding them because they might catch it. People were uncomfortable about it and thought that talking about it would upset my parents so they didn’t mention it. They didn’t realize they needed to talk about it. Just like an earthquake, huge chunks of unreconciled pain lay scattered in the rubble. If no one’s there to help you pick up the pieces, they just crumble to earth in a pile of dust and that’s what happened to my family, crumbled apart.

I don’t know who wrote this but I have this on a plaque on my wall…"Being available is difficult, because it takes time, but being sensitive to the small amounts of time we can give could reap large rewards in someone's life. It doesn't really matter what we say to comfort people during a time of suffering, it's our concern and availability that count."

I’m sorry I bumped it up but it was bothering me. They told me there are risks, like a stroke, heart attack or even death but they have to say that for liability reasons. It’s just hard seeing it in the real world.

Gosh I’m overly tired. I’m going to call my pdoc and see if I can take a Klonopin and hopefully I’ll calm down and can sleep. Tomorrow’s treatment is early, 9AM and I have to be there an hour early. Not looking forward to going through this again at all.

[Alffe]

Of course you're tired! Remember that our thoughts and prayers go with you in the morning.

Call dr......drink water!