Depression Education Seen as Key to Teen Suicide Prevention

[The Straight Story]

Depression Education Seen as Key to Teen Suicide Prevention

SACRAMENTO, CA -- There's not a day that goes by in the Beeman home when they don't think about thier son Christopher. He would have turned 24 years old this past June. Christopher jumped from the Foresthill Bridge on June 13 in 2004.

At 19, Christopher's mother Gail Beeman said "he was struggling with a situation that had caused him to be depressed."

And while his family understood and was aware he was going through a difficult time, they never expected he would take his own life.

"Other than they anger, he didn't show any other (signs). He just kept saying his life was screwed up because of one mistake," Beeman said. "At that time, I didn't realize that anger was a sign of depression...We took him to a counselor. She said he was doing great about expressing his feelings."

Christopher's death stunned his family and the community. In the picture Gail shared with News10, Christopher was a handsom young man, with plenty of friends, and had a love for adventure sports, espescially motor-cross. He was the kind of man to leave an impression in life and even in death.

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=48468&catid=2

[Quantess]

1. Some depressed people are not aware that they are, out of denial.

Instead of understanding that their depressed thoughts and feelings of worthlessness are symptoms of a disorder, they may think that's how things really are.