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> but as i've said before > the dastardly thing about clinical depression > is that it distorts your perceptions and cognition in such a way > that rational choices slide further and further out of reach Janet, as you have noted, not all suicides are due to clinical depression. For the most part, teenagers who commit suicide are not chronically depressed, but temporarily so. That's why we teach kids that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Clinical depression does need more understanding, but I can tell you that mental health workers are so limited in numbers, and health care insurance so restricts the care of the mentally ill that precious little is done of the victims of CD. Sad....but true - most mental health dollars are spent on severe psychosis. Generally, it is the personal physician who deals with CD - and as we know, they are poorly prepared for the task. It is important to remember that vast numbers of folks who suffer with CD *do not* commit suicide. Those people are heroes in my book. To consider family, friends, and community over one's need to 'escape the pain' gives special meaning to the word 'sacrifice.' God bless those people - and give them peace in their lives. A brief response to Chuck's post. He wrote that people get angry at suicides and feel guilty for their deaths. It is important to note that those emotions are always present in incidences of sudden death - regardless of the cause. Whether death be due to coronaries or suicides, the family faces guilt and anger as they deal with the loss. Admittedly, it is more difficult to come to terms with suicide - but any sudden death leaves families and friends frozen and helpless. I know - I've witnessed many deaths, both protracted and sudden. Believe me, no matter how painful it may be to watch someone die slowly, the mourners come to terms with the loss far more successfully than if the loved one dies suddenly. ----- Mary Ann Ryan RN (CG Jamie 60/20)