[Nik-key]

I am not sure if some of you remember the post I made a couple of months ago about House MD forming a coalition with NAMI; if not here is the link.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...light=house+MD

Last weeks episode was shocking and powerful. And has taken me a full week to recover enough from to even talk about. One of the long standing cast members kills himself, with a gun.
It's all there, the shock, the guilt, the grief, denial....the why's the what if's.........
Painful to see... yet so needed.

I wont say too much more about the show in case someone wants to watch it.
If you do, here is the link.... click on the episode titled Simple Explanation

http://www.fox.com/fod/play.php?sh=house

Suicide IS being talked about. People are trying to make a difference. House MD is still one of the top ranking TV series, I think it brave and heroic even, that they are taking risks to try to bring suicide out of the darkness.

FYI, you can still buy the House-ism T-shirt - Normal's Overrated. All Proceeds benefit NAMI

http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/ind...se_charitytees

[Alffe]

Ok...I believe in the message...I'm not sure about the messenger. Thank you Nikki for posting the link...I just watched it and I ordered the T Shirt.

I guess the important thing is that a lot of people watch this show so hopefully a lot of people will get the message.

I must take a look at ASPS's site and see if their opinion was any different than the warning they gave about Will Smiths movie...7 (something) or if they even have one.

And on a selfish note....I've missed you Nikki and continue to keep you in my heart and prayers. Please remember that you are loved around here.

[pono]

Nikki.. thanks for bringing this up.... i saw show... House is one of my Fav show's.... this espisode... was... shocking but NEEDed

i still don't know feel i can talk about it, or other things now....

but poiint, message is it-that show/espisode DID get people thinking and TALKING about IT....


ps. I do recall your posting about this show and the NAMI link connection to [I]House
i soon realized this was the show you'd referred to....
also checked it thru NAMI site www.nami.org
http://www.nami.org

[Alffe]

http://www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseac...25C03E13E762B1

AFSP expressed no opinion that I can find.

[Brokenfriend]

The public,and media must do more to remove the stigma of mental health issues. They should be more open,and honest,for most families know of at least one person who is struggling emotionally,or mentally.

They are making commercials,talking about Abilify,and depression. That's one small step. There needs to be more. We are not in the dark ages. We are living in a age of discovery,knowledge,and understanding,finding that many of these illnesses are genetic. BF

[Spanish Moss]

Our local paper had an obituary for an 18 year old girl yesterday. There was paragraph after paragraph describing her accomplishments and interests and all the things she was loved for. Then it said that, although she was wonderful and talented and smart, she struggled with depression and bipolar. It went on to encourage familes to look for signs of depression in their teens and the importance of getting help and talking about it.

I was very impressed that they took their own horrible tragedy and publically and openly reached out to others.

One voice added to the many....to reach to those who need to hear.

[Addy]

thanks, everyone... for talking about this

I remember, over 30 years ago... watching Phil Donahue... and thinking... this man is amazing... he's talking about taboo subjects...

That's when I started learning about my family neuro issues (disorders <insert your own word>) ... through the media!!!

I'm 55 and still learning and don't intend to stop!

again, thanks everyone!

[Brokenfriend]

I know what you mean. I'm about the same age as you,and they knew Nothing!!!,Nothing!!! at all when I needed help when I was a teenager. They just gave me Valium in the late 60's. I had a psychiatrist in about 1970,but he wasn't very helpful,and he didn't let me know that lots of people suffer like this. My sister told me resently that she laughed at what I had when I was having panic attacks in my mid teens.

My mother told me something about what I did when I was under ten years old,and she was laughing so hard,she could hardly say what she wanted to say. I heard it all my life,and then my sister told me the same thing. I told them all don't you understand what that was? That was a obsession,(running down the steps),and the other was a compulsion(I grabbed the curtains at the bottom of the stairs over,and over till my dad gave me a spanking. I then got up,and said,"Now can I do it.") I said that's OCD. Didn't you know? I'm diagnosed with OCD also. I heard them recall this periodically when I was growing up,and it made me feel stupid,and they thought that I was for a while. I had many learning difficulties,and ended up in Military School. They didn't know about spacific learning difficulties either.

They did not talk about things like this until about 1980. I felt like I was THE ONLY ONE that had problems like these until 1980.In 1980,"The Phobia Clinic" came into being,and my dad said he understands now,and helped me get in the program.

No one talked about these issues for the most part in the public,and there was no comfort in the public. They did not talk about mental health issues in the media. They still don't talk about it enough,and there are millions of people out there struggling. Our voices need to be heard. We need a place to go to get encouragement,and comfort when we need it. I'm not talking about the psych ward,or anything like that.

I saw the movie,"What about Bob?"with Bill Murray,and Richard Dreyfuss in about 1990,and they where saying things that I could relate to. I remember Bill Murray told the other actor in the movie,"Yeah,I've got that too".So that comedy touched on Phobias,like Monk goes through his OCD thing. They don't show him getting depressed though. There's plenty of that too. BF

[Alffe]

I think we are making "some" progress in educating people but it's taking way too long...the number of suicides each week in our local paper is astounding. I have seen several of those billboards....

If I told you I have cancer, you wouldn't tell me to "get over it".

Depression hurts!

Hopes of Wisconsin has a public service announcement that says..

"Look Closer. Listen Harder"

Their newspapers have many articles like this one...

http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/436170

Their community is trying very hard to bring awareness up and hopefully the number of suicides down.

All communities should be doing these things.

[Abbie]

I wish the media here would be more open and talk about suicide.... I wish in the obituaries, it would say that's what happened.... it's easy to tell that it was a suicide when the person is young and says they died at home.

I mean they list cancer, cystic fibrosis, and other illnesses...but they never list depression or bipolar or any of the mental illnesses as a cause of death...

I think if everyone would talk about suicide the stigma would eventually end.

Oh well... that's just my two cents worth...

for all!
Abbie