Publication Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Guest Opinion: Out of the darkness ...
Guest Opinion: Out of the darkness ...
(October 19, 2005) by Vic and Mary Ojakian
The outpouring of community support after our son Adam's death last December has been moving. We are very grateful knowing we walk this path with the help of our community.
Many have expressed their care and concern by telling us of their own or their children's experiences with depression and suicidal thoughts. Their stories have touched us deeply, and have served to motivate us to learn more about mental illness and its worst outcome -- suicide.
We believe it is time for suicide and its triggering illnesses to come out of the darkness.
The statistics are as revealing as the personal stories. More people die from suicide each year in the United States than from car accidents, natural disasters, homicide, war or AIDS.
And it strikes young people disproportionately. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for all college students, regardless of the school they attend. For all young people ages 15 to 24 it is the third leading cause of death. Ninety five percent of all suicides are the direct and worst outcome of treatable diseases. In many cases these mental illnesses are preventable.
No other illness kills more of our children.
As we found out so personally and painfully, illnesses that lead to suicide are in many ways hidden. Symptoms of mental illnesses are more subtle than those of physical ailments. Physical symptoms exhibited are often not associated with mental illness. Mood changes are often attributed to personal flaws rather than to illness.
New brain-imagining techniques show biological changes due to mental illnesses that affect brain functioning. As in other illnesses, such as heart disease or cancer, stress can trigger these changes. Additionally, research has shown that the emotional centers of the human brain are not fully formed until our mid to late 20s.
This puts our young at increased risk of suffering the very real physical effects of stress. They are poorly equipped to handle stressful situations. This knowledge requires that changes be made in our education and mental health systems to reduce the terrible toll these illnesses are taking on our youth.
Our goal is simple: to advocate for the mental wellness of our youth -- and we have taken several actions. We have been talking with officials at University of California, Davis (Adam's school) and they have already begun improving mental health programs. While speaking to the Regents of the University of California on Sept. 21 we requested that certain student mental health information be made part of the public record and that mental health services be improved.
At that meeting UC President Robert Dynes announced he was commissioning a study of all UC mental health services to identify possible deficiencies. People do listen. They do care, and will take action.
A growing awareness and activism about the need for better mental health care and mental illness prevention has preceded our work. In our own community, Denise Clark Pope of Stanford University's Department of Education has been working to decrease the stress our high school students experience through the annual Stressed Out Students conference. This appropriately named SOS conference is attended by more and more Bay Area high school teams each year.
As we have increased our knowledge through our readings and by attending mental health conferences, we have become involved in mental health groups and are supporting their efforts.
And, as with this article, we are working with the media to increase awareness of this tragic loss of life due to treatable illnesses.
Finally, over the next few weeks a variety of ideas for legislation that California can enact will be formulated.
The stigma surrounding mental health issues must be overcome. We need your help to further this effort. People can:
1)Voice the need to face this issue and support enacting local solutions.
2) Educate yourself and show support by attending the annual American Foundation for Suicide Prevention community walk on Oct. 30 at Crissy Field in San Francisco. We will be there. Further information about this event can be found at www.asfpnorcal.org and at www.outofthedarkness.org.
3) E-mail or write University of California President Robert Dynes, recognizing his effort to review mental health on all the UC campuses. Encourage him to do a comprehensive study that is long overdue and could save lives. He can be messaged at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/president/desk.html. His mailing address is: President's Desk, UC Office of the President, 1111 Franklin St., 12th floor, Oakland, CA 94607-5200.
4) Support your high school's efforts to reduce student stress and to increase understanding of depression and its symptoms, especially by supporting the efforts of Denise Clark Pope and her SOS teams.
Follow efforts to implement Prop. 63, the California State Mental Health Services Act passed in November 2004, which Santa Clara County currently is discussing.
Treatable mental illness should not be a leading killer of young people. As a community we can work together to change the causes of these diseases. As a community we can work together to begin addressing the problem of suicide -- which has been called a permanent solution to a temporary (but potentially deadly) problem.
As a community we can start building fences at the top of the cliff so our young are no longer falling off. Together we can make a difference. We must make a difference.
Vic and Mary Ojakian of Palo Alto lost their son Adam to suicide last fall at age 21. Vic is a former mayor and member of the Palo Alto City Council who is ending two terms on the council this year. Mary is currently on leave as an advice nurse at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. They have three other children: Ryan, Sean and Sereena. They may be e-mailed at ojakian@comcast.net.
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