[Alffe]

I got my Bi-Annual Newsletter today from Hopes of Wisconsin and they are so proactive it makes me want to move there.

I was especially taken by an article about their keynote speaker at the annual fundraising dinner. He lost his wife to suicide and he told the story of the tree and the tree house. You can imagin why that got my attention.

Here is part of what he said...

"When speaking publicly about suicide, I like to tell the story of the tree and the tree house. It's a true story. There is, in fact, a tree, and are remnants of the tree house. Both are in my backyard.

The tree is sturdy, large and leafy, taller than my two-story house, and mature, its trunk nearly three-feet thick. For children from a bygone era it was nature's version of playground equipment. More than just for climbing, the tree's hand-shaped branches held a tree house built many years ago by a farmer for his children.

As the years passed, the tree house fell away until nothing was left but a two-by-four attached to the trunk. As the tree grew taller and thicker, the board climbed higher and sank deeper into the trunk. Obviously, a board with rusty nails embedded in a tree is not natural to the tree, but the tree continued to grow so that today the trunk, bark and board are one.

The lesson that perhaps can be taken from the tree and the tree house is that when a tragedy becomes attached to our hearts, then we must find a way to grow with it, grow around it and allow it to be with us, but of course not become us. That is growth. And growth takes courage."

Dave de Felice

[Lara]

That's brilliant.
thanks.

[Nik-key]

"when a tragedy becomes attached to our hearts, then we must find a way to grow with it, grow around it and allow it to be with us, but of course not become us. That is growth. And growth takes courage."

Brilliant indeed! Right now, it is still consuming me, devouring me.

[GmaSue]

Dear Friend Nik-key,

Could you do an experiment for me?
See if this sentence better describes what is happening:

"Right now, it is still TRYING to consume me, TRYING to devour me."


And try this one:

"It will not win; I will win, because I have decided to win."

(one of my mantras) (here's where stubborness as a trait comes in handy-if you happen to have that in your arsenal).

[Alffe]

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v3.../1300697a.html

I'm not sure that I understood most of this but the fact that they are researching depression this thoroughly is very encouraging news. And it was in my Lifesavers quarterly newsletter from AFSP so I know it's a good thing. *grin

[Alffe]

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/05...ides/5800.html

Thanks Doc John & Newsbot...*grin

[Lara]

I'm just posting these here esp. for Alffe in case they're helpful for her continuing efforts and her presentation. Whether you get time to read them is another thing.

PubMed Abstract
Am J Psychiatry. 2009 May 1.
The Incidence and Course of Depression in Bereaved Youth 21 Months After the Loss of a Parent to Suicide, Accident, or Sudden Natural Death.
Brent D, Melhem N, Donohoe MB, Walker M.

Objective
This study examined effects of bereavement 21 months after a parent's death, particularly death by suicide.

Conclusions
Youth who lose a parent, especially through suicide, are vulnerable to depression and alcohol or substance abuse during the second year after the loss. Depression risk in the second year is mediated by the increased incidence of depression within the first 9 months. The most propitious time to prevent or attenuate depressive episodes in bereaved youth may be shortly after the parent's death. Interventions that target complicated grief and blaming of others may also improve outcomes in symptomatic youth with parental bereavement.

_________

http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/162/5/403
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(5):403-410
Antecedents and Sequelae of Sudden Parental Death in Offspring and Surviving Caregivers
Nadine M. Melhem, PhD; Monica Walker, MA; Grace Moritz, MSW; David A. Brent, MD

Objectives To examine the psychiatric antecedents that put parents at risk for early death, and the psychological sequelae of bereavement in offspring and caregivers.

This study has several strengths and limitations.

_________

PubMed Article
J Contin Educ Nurs. 2009 Apr;40(4):177-80.
Adolescent suicide prevention: the Oklahoma community reaches out.
Parker G, Hawkins J, Weigel C, Fanning L, Round T, Reyna K.

It was found that few of the health care providers were comfortable in recognizing the warning signs and symptoms of suicide. An educational program was developed focusing on the warning signs of suicide to help health care workers deal with this troubling problem.

_________

PubMed Abstract
Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2009 Apr 29.
When the solution is part of the problem: problem solving in elderly suicide attempters.
Gibbs LM, Dombrovski AY, Morse J, Siegle GJ, Houck PR, Szanto K.
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

CONCLUSIONS: A perception of life problems as threatening and unsolvable and an impulsive approach to problem solving appear to predispose vulnerable elderly to suicide attempts

[Alffe]

I knew I could count on you for pearls...*grin. Thank you again..any chance you could come to that meeting with me?

[Lara]

I wish. I could then travel down to Texas for a TS etc one that's on soon. p.s. but then I'd need to go the Florida, and South Carolina, and Washington State, and British Columbia, and Georgia, and Pennsylvania, and heck... I'd never get home.

I'll check from time to time for more in the next week. There's thousands of articles, but not all are really applicable, pertinent or suitable. I need to sift through them a bit.

[Alffe]

I wish you could too...I have plenty of room and could be your home base.