Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

[written in September 2011]

It is my hope that anyone that counts me as a friend will take a few moments to read this...

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness month. I do my best to refrain from "soap box speeches." Some topics are too damn important though.

There are a couple statements I can make. I offer absolutely no qualifications or disclaimers when I state these things:

+ EVERY person reading this note can potentially save the life of a loved one. Life-saving is not limited to military, police, fire or medical vocations.

+ EVERY person reading this note has been touched by suicide. Sadly, many reading this have lost multiple family members and/or friends to suicide.

Some of the most intelligent people I know struggle with one mental illness or another - bipolar, moderate to severe depression, mood or personality disorders, etc. A strong mind can be a dual-edged sword. A strong mind can help us achieve great things in life. The same mind can be equally effective at destroying a person from within though.

A harsh reality still exists in our society - a stigma towards those with mental illness. Some of the common sentiments one might hear are:

+ "That person is weak-minded"
+ "So and so needs to just suck it up...get over it"
+ "That person looks fine on the outside..he/she must be doing ok"

The diseases that drive one to attempt suicide are physical. These physical ailments can be amplified by external events. These are facts...not conjecture. There are various regimens one needs to maintain to re-gain control of his/her life - counseling, possible medication, support from loved ones, etc.

Everyone would agree that diabetes is another physical ailment. It also requires a person to do certain things to maintain control of his/her ailment. I wonder how often people approach diabetics and tell them to "just suck it up???"

I thought a recent movie "The Beaver" did an excellent job of portraying the struggles of a man with severe mental illness. It depicts the lengths to which a person was willing to "take things" because of his struggles. I strongly recommend this movie to anyone interested in gaining additional insight into mental illness. Additionally, "A Beautiful Mind" did a wonderful job of depicting a person with paranoid schizophrenia.

Another important message from the movie dealt with the impact of mental illness. Mental illness affects a person's entire social "world" - family, friends, etc. The person is not isolated on an "island." The impact is felt by all and not just the person with mental illness.

The most important thing I want to say is love your loved ones. If you notice someone withdrawing, reach out to them. Let that person know you are there for them. Do not try to "fix" that person or solve all of his/her problems; instead, LISTEN and do your best to empathize with what your loved one is feeling. The other things can be dealt with over time.

It has been awhile...

I haven't posted for awhile. I figured I would get one out there.

Right now, I am watching a movie [Cold Prey] that is in one of the Scandinavian languages with English sub-titles. We'll see if it was worth renting or not.

As for other things, I have felt like @#$%^ this week. I finally went in to see the doctor today and now have some meds to help with the bronchial stuff going on. Hopefully things will improve over the weekend.

Last weekend, Julie and I got to catch a Buckeye Hoops game. We had seats 5 or 6 rows from the floor...it was pretty cool. The Buckeyes held on for the win against Minnesota.

I'm looking forward to April rolling around. The Indians and Clippers will be starting new seasons. That being said...baseball is a mess right now. I still enjoy the game and truly appreciate the players that have played the game straight-up through the years. It is a shame that the biggest names in the game have forever marred their legacies and the game itself.

Some movie reviews

I got a chance to see a couple movies lately that were of note. One was very good while the other...not so much.

I will start with the one that I didn't care for. That movie was "The Happening" by M. Night Shyamalan. This was another example of his movies that didn't live up to the hype. The preview provided more drama than the actual movie. I kept waiting for something major to "happen" but it never really did.


The movie had its moments but it never really came together. It was one of those movies that ended and I was thinking...you're kidding me. I think I am going to officially throw in the towel on his movies.

M. Night got off to a great start in his career with movies like "The Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable" and "Signs." His last three movies "The Village", "Lady in the Water" and "The Happening" have been pretty disappointing. All have looked interesting based on the previews but haven't delivered.

To close on a more positive note, I also saw Iron Man. This movie follows the long line of comic book heroes that have made their way to the big screen.


I was not as familiar with Iron Man (compared to some of the other super heroes.) I am also not a big fan of Robert Downey Jr. None of that mattered though.

I enjoyed this movie from start to finish. There was plenty of action. The special effects in the move were mind-blowing as well. We rented the Blu-Ray version. This was one movie where it was worth seeing high definition in action.

This movie is highly recommended and will probably find its way into our collection.