ABC Nightline Tuesday: Depression, suicide, and polite whispers

[Bozita]

sorry about posting this so late.

Nightline Daily E-Mail
March 9, 2004


TONIGHT'S FOCUS: Depression. Boy, don't you want read further? Of course, not. Who would? Sadly, we in the news business rarely focus on mental illness until there's some celebrity who takes his own life, like actor Spalding Gray, or when someone delusional commits some unspeakable act of violence.

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The fact that approximately 19 million American adults suffer from depression is the nation's dirty little secret. We all know it. We just don't want to talk about it 'cause, well, it's depressing to talk about. And yet, and yet, and yet, for those who know, for those who suffer or who have suffered, like myself, and for their loved ones, talking about it, covering it as a major health story, is not only an uplifting acknowledgement that we are not alone, but it offers hope in the form of incredibly effective and available treatment that sadly did not spare the life of Mr. Gray or the nearly 27,000 of those clinically depressed who take their own lives each year.

Though I've not had the opportunity to see or hear Mr. Gray's work, as a fellow sufferer of depression, I am eager now to hear his work posthumously. Something we all can do by watching tonight's Nightline which will feature samples of his monologues which took on the subject of his depression head on. And for that alone, Mr. Gray has my utmost respect. For too many sufferers bear their suffering in silence. As Thoreau wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation".

In the wake of professional disappointment between the deaths of my parents in the 90's, I felt as if I was carrying a backpack full of bricks, always exhausted no matter my diet, exercise or sleep regimen. I finally acknowledged to family and friends that my "mellow" was, in fact as they suspected, "melancholy," a dysthymic depression that required medication for a couple of years, and therapy that continues today. It is a decision that only in a very small way reflects Mr. Gray's daring to not only go public with his disease, but to make it a focus of his performances.

Ted Koppel will anchor tonight with guests who have suffered depression as well as family members who have lived their loved ones' agonies. I'll be watching as I hope you will. And by doing so, I hope to be informed, validated, and inspired by Mr. Spalding's courage rather than dwell on the manner in which he died. And by your watching, you may find some of Spalding Gray reflected in yourself or in friends and be inspired to help yourself or those you love.

Joe O'Connor and the Nightline Staff
ABCNEWS Washington D.C. bureau

 

[Bozita]

1. some leftcoasters might appreciate seeing this ... kicked