Thursday, October 25, 2007

Owen Wilson, Suicide & Stopping the Pain

Owen Wilson is scheduled to give a My Space interview later today in which he is expected to finally discuss his attempted suicide last August.

In August the New York Post reported that the distraught actor was found "bloodied and dazed after overdosing on pills and slitting his wrists." The article added that "Wilson, 38, tried to take his own life after a bitter blowup with a close pal."

So how is it that even people who seem to have everything, who appear happy, stable and mentally healthy can laps into depression so deeply that they want to die? It may be difficult to understand but it is not unusual.

Depression is largely a silent killer. Because of stigma and denial the depressed person attempts to hide their symptoms from the world and even from themselves. When in public they put on a smiling mask and do their best to get through their day - until they sink so low that they can no longer function in public.

Even then the depressed person may claim illness or exhaustion to disguise their mental darkness and emotional pain. The pain becomes so intolerable that they begin to believe that the only way to stop it is to end their life. Family and friends have their own denial to defend them from having to deal with something as frightening as a loved one's depressed mental state. And so the symptoms go unnoticed until it is too late.

Dissolving the taboo surrounding the topic of depression is one way to curtail a loved one's attempt at suicide. But our culture has a long way to go before we feel secure enough with our own ability to deal with anothers dark emotions. It takes courage, self awareness and understanding.

For more information about:
Depression click here
Depression Questions Answered click here.
More Answers click here
Suicide click here
Suicide Questions & Answers click here
Despair click here
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)click here

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