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SUICIDE: Help needed - now

| August 15, 2014 9:00 PM

The world is shocked and saddened at the death by suicide of Robin Williams. I, too, know the pain of suicide. I lost my 34-year-old daughter, Robin Leferink, to suicide one year ago. Words can never express the agony of losing a child. The common denominator is mental illness. Her last year of life only those few closest to her witnessed her bi-polar disorder. I now know she suffered for years with symptoms undiagnosed and hidden from those around her while trying desperately to feel and act normally.

She was beautiful, kind, intelligent, educated and adventurous, and she made significant contributions to this world. She loved and was loved by many. So why does suicide become the final treatment for relief from their symptoms? Robin Williams had every resource available to him. It is not enough. We are in dire need of research into brain diseases. We need means to diagnose disorders. We need effective medications and treatments. We need more psychiatrists. We need more treatment centers. We need more hospital beds. We need to contact our representatives and demand they make this a priority.

Please start the conversation. Suicide prevention has to come with effective treatment for the underlying causes.

KATHY HENDERSON

Hayden