Suicide is a major, preventable public health problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2010 it was the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 38,364 deaths. Based on data about suicides in sixteen National Violent Death Reporting System states in 2009, 33.3% of suicide decedents tested positive for alcohol, 23% for antidepressants, and 20.8% for opiates, including heroin and prescription pain killers. One of the major risk factors for suicide is depression, or a substance-abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors. (Moscicki, 2001)

How does depression feel?
To help you understand the severity of emotional trauma, I would like to paint a mental picture of what my severe depression felt like in 1985. I have labeled it the “well of depression”. It is a very deep, very dark place, cold and lonely. The walls of this well are slimy and moss-covered. It smells rancid and the floor is broken into huge, jagged junks, you are not able to maintain a stable footing. As you look up from the depths of the well, you can only see a faint glimmer of light. No matter how hard you try, you cannot pull yourself up and out. The safety rope that dangles in the center of the well is just out of your reach. Your screams for help appear to fall on deaf ears. Your once secure and normal life continues to slowly plummet into the depths of deep despair. You feel as though you have lost control of everything you value in life. You doubt your self-worth. Everything appears hopeless. Read More