Topic : 07/31 The Bridge Controversy - Tragic Choice

I want to say thany you to Dr. Phil for having this show about suicide. My husband and I watched in fully and it was a blessing for I have been talking to him these pass few days about taking my life and he just does not understand how serious I am at times about it. Watching the show and me pointing out to my husband all the signs that Dr. Phil talked about was very helpful. 

I wish to say thanks to Eric Steel for producing the film THE BRIDGE. For it brings forth the seriousness about suicide. I totaly understood all the people that went ahead and jumped off the bridge for I know how it feels when you get trapped into suididal thoughts. I had already tried to take my own life seven times already and each one being worse than the next in reagrds to recovery. The last one was a mere two years ago and how on earth I made it through it I will never know. being in ICU for nearly 1 week was unbearable as the doctors worked on getting my body and organs back to functioning normally. I was stuch having to carry on in life without wanting to be alive. Now being two years later, I have had many thoughts and almost acted uponm such but by the grace of God I have not. 

I so much wanted to go on the Dr. Phil show a year ago for the episode that he was having on "BDD Disorder"  but I had not been chosen after numerous phone interviews with his staff. Had I been selected for either one of these shows, would had brought out a whole lot of HELP to others in terms of living on the other side of these disorders. There are numerous suicide support groups for those whom have lost loved ones from suicide but none for those whom actually tried suicide and lived to see another day. I have put so much effort in trying to take my life over the course of nearly 20 years and I am only 44 years old now I am hoping to put just as much zest into my remaining years in wanting to live and carry out what I am to fullfill by still being alive here on earth.

I am fortunate that I reside here in Florida and I think I am going to contact Dr. Thomas Joiner who wrote the book Why People die by Suicide. Would love to get some help from him and would also like to be of assistance in giving him a whole lot of info. from the mind of a suicide person. I am planning on getting his book ASAP so that I can read into his point of view to this serious deadly matter.

Barbara  

I saw the show yesterday on suicide and felt the need to reach out for advise.  My son is 19 years old and is in the Marines.  On March 31, 2008, he was scheduled to deploy with his unit when he was in an accident on the base that put him in ICU for almost 2 weeks with a skull fracture that ultimately left him undeployable.  Since then he has been ridiculed by his superiors and fellow Marines as being a throw away Marine that was useless.  This sort of emotional torment has been hard on him as he is an emotional young man to begin with.  On top of all of that, we lost my Mom in April which was completely devastating for the whole family and my son took it extremely hard. He came to the funeral and did OK, but upon returning to his base he took up drinking.  Two weeks later we completely and unexpectedly lost my brother who meant the world to my kids and especially to my son who spent endless summers with him growing up.  Well, my son took that so hard that his first attempt to suicide was after receiving that news. He was caught by his roommate who ultimately saved his life.  However, as time goes by the ridicule continued and depression set in so bad that he was being medicated for I don't know how many things.  And this past weekend he was found unconscious in his barracks for attempting to OD.  He called and left a message on our answering machine Sunday night from the ER.  I finally got in touch with him this Tuesday and he doesn't even remember calling us.  He claims that he was not drinking and had felt an overwhelming amount of anxiety and the need to end it all.  And now the Marines are initiating the paperwork for his "other than honorable" discharge.   I am absolutely worried  sick about him.  I tried my best to give him comforting advise. I told him how much we all love him and want him back home. And how he can start his life over and yada yada.  And even though he was fine with that conversation and reassured me that he would not do anything else crazy and that he would hang in there and keep his faith strong, I still can't help but to be extremely worried.  The Marines are telling him it could take several weeks for all the paperwork to be finalized and his exit completed.

Somebody please tell me what to do?  I need reassurance that he is going to be OK in the next few weeks.  I just don't know what to do. And or where to begin when he gets home.  He is currently in Camp LeJeune, NC and we are in south Florida.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Robin (a worried sick Mom)