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Newsletters ~ Contact Us ~ Aims and Goals ~ White Wreath Day Past Services ~ Volunteers ~ Statistics ~ Members ~ Personal Stories ~ Donate/Shop ~ Guestbook ~ Thankyou ~ Directors Report ~ Press Releases ~ Correspondence ~ Advocacy ~ Coming Events ~ Sock-It-To-Suicide
DIRECTORS REPORT How often do we hear people and many high profile people who have been diagnosed with a life threatening illness that have survived? Many survivors once they are well enough put all their strength into fundraising and supporting the organisation that helped them get well again. There are no stigmas attached to most of these illnesses and people freely admit their ill health to others. Their wellbeing is also due to the care, compassion and understanding they receive from loved ones, friends and the general community. How often do we hear people and many high profile people who have taken their lives by tragic means without there being some form of snigger or comment attached to it. The stigmas attached to suicide/mental illnesses deter loved ones, friends and the general community from being caring, compassionate and understanding. Those who suffer mental illness and the families left behind by suicide must cope alone, in silence and the best way they can. Only together can we hope to change this indifference. We are loosing thousands of our own men, women and children every year to suicide because of lack of services, treatment and understanding. People today are routinely refused hospital admission even after an attempted suicide. They are placed into community care which is you and I and in most cases without follow up treatment. Privacy laws are used and abused to the detriment of the family at a time when the involvement of the family is much needed. Please let’s unite and together raise these much needed funds, so we may build our centres. Support White Wreath Day® –held on the 29 May Yearly and Sock It To Suicide® held in the first week of October yearly. Fanita Clark Chairperson It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
THANK YOU'S Index Self-Storage, Clayton UTZ Lawyers Brisbane, Zupps Hillcrest-Roger Farrell, Browns Plains Hotel, Mainfreight-Steve Fare Brisbane, McGuires Hotel World Pub Marbles Championships Mackay Qld, Pittsworth State High School Qld, Clermont State High School Qld, Cartridge Online, Yea High School Yea Vic, Kapunda High School South Australia, Marist College Ashgrove Qld, Kokoda Trail Walk of Charity, QSuper Alicia Cusack Brisbane, The Don College Devonport Tas, Orara High School Coffs Harbour NSW, Campbelltown City Council Campbelltown SA, Swan Reach Area School Kelly Haby South Australia, Centenary State High School-Term Four Goodwill Project-Qld, St Dominic’s College Penrith NSW, Carina Leagues Club Ltd Brisb Qld, Coonamble High School NSW EXCITING NEWS Finally we can inform you of our very exciting news but firstly we must “Thank” Clayton Utz Lawyers for the months of work they have put into this to help us with this transition. We are now a Company Ltd by Guarantee with a Board of Directors. This will help us enormously with our endeavours, aims and goals that are close to all our members’ hearts and bring us closer to raising the much needed funds for the Safehaven Centres that we have been striving for since incorporation. Many new doors will now be opened to us however there is still a lot of hard work ahead. We know with your support we will continue to be strength in the fight for recognition for all those who have taken their lives by tragic means. Most importantly our operations have not changed. We are still a voluntary organisation and our strength comes from our volunteers/supporters who are truly dedicated and all striving to make the public aware of the seriousness of suicide/mental illness in our lucky country. Together we will work hard to achieve our ultimate goal of raising funds for our Safehaven Centres. More exciting news to be published in our following newsletter. Board Members as follows:-
WORLD NEWS Mental Health Resources YOUTH SUICIDE RISK INCREASED IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DISORDERS From: Leonard Holmes, Ph.D Your Guide to: Mental Health Resources. – Stay up to date! A number of mental health problems increase the risk of child and adolescent suicide, according to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO researchers looked at which mental disorders or combinations of disorders are most responsible for youth suicide in a study published in the October 2005 issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, published by the American Psychological Association. Researches from the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland and from the Christchurch School of Medicine in New Zealand reviewed articles published in English from 1982 to 2001 to re-examine the occurrence and distribution of mental disorders in 894 cases of completed suicides among young people worldwide. 89 percent of the cases had at least one diagnosis of a mental disorder. Mood disorders (including major and minor depressive disorder, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, bipolar disorder and non-specific mood disorders) were the most frequently diagnosed (42 percent) followed by substance-related disorders (40 percent) and then disruptive behavior disorders (including conduct disorder, attention deficit disorder, oppositional disorder and identity disorder – 20 percent). 72 percent of subjects were under 20 years of age, 12 percent were between the ages of 20 – 29 and 15.5 percent were 15 – 29 year old. The studies originated mostly from Europe and North America. It’s clear from this study that we need to look beyond depression when assessing suicide risk in children and adolescents. Young people who kill themselves often have been diagnosed and treated by mental health professionals. They are often, but not always, depressed. Reference: “Completed Suicide and Psychiatric Diagnoses in Young People: A Critical Examination of the Evidence,” Alexandra Fleischmann, PhD, Jose Manoel Bertolote, MD, and Myron Belfar, MD, World Health Organization; Annette Beautrais, PhD, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand; American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 75, No.4. Website http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/suicideresources/a/suiciderisk.htm IMPORTANT REMINDER Membership Renewals are due on 28th February 2006 BOOK REVIEW LIVING DEATH by Janis Tait, Indra Publishing 2005 "Following the death of her first born by suicide Janis Tait struggles to survive - survival becoming a living death obsession. Grief turning to depression as the family legacy of mental illness catches up with Janis. Obsession with her eldest son's hanging leading to bizarre behaviour. She comes out the other end alive, a survivor. Eros life force winning over Thanatos death force. Excellent story about living with a schizophrenic son, who eventually suicides, and this in turn severely challenges Janis' health. A contemporary story also about service gaps in the mental health system. Interesting to anyone public and professional. A well told real story by a real mother, good versus evil, light and dark, Eros verses Thanatos, pathos and humour." Peter Neame
WHITE WREATH DAY 29 MAY 2006 The main display on White Wreath Day will be held in Queens Park Brisbane (Cnr George and Elizabeth). Up to date information will be on our website www.whitewreath.com then click on the above menu bar under “Coming Events” We will also publish details in the next issue (May) of our “Newsletter”. All are welcomed to attend and lay a Photograph, Flowers, Poem etc and be part of a commemoration service. That for most is the first time that they are able to freely admit the loss of a loved one, friend, work colleague etc that have taken their lives by these tragic means. Previously the White Wreath has allowed representative to hold their own commemoration ceremony however this year and in future years we are asking those who wish to represent us to do something much simpler by having a morning or afternoon tea etc where attendees donate a gold coin. For further information please contact Head Office to register. The reason for this is explained further in this newsletter “Special Note”. BELINDA'S STORY You’d find no better place to spot a few (or more) demons than in a psych hospital. Hey, some patients (especially schizophrenics) will tell you they speak to angels or the like (and where there is angel experiences, there are often demons lurking around to expel & rob as much as they can from those involved). Others are, as a matter of course (come with the territory) dark & plagued by haunted looks that tell of deep pain – there is no pain that I know of like the pain of the heart & mind when a person is affected by a series of mental illnesses. The place (Toowong that is) became what seemed to be a playground for what, at the time, I thought (and accused) and in time attempted to punish was Lucifer & his ‘Lucifer dolls’ (the devils’ – a.k.a. Lucifers’ – children &/or followers or slaves). The Lucifer & Lucifer dolls when I used to address individually or as a group appeared to detest being called ‘Lucifer dolls’ so I always used it as their title. Lucifer was only ever once considered by myself to potentially be a well-intentioned character. The first time I ‘spoke’ to Lucifer I told him he had a nice name – which I did think & by then I knew not to say anything to these sources that wasn’t true or that I didn’t actually think or believe. They always seemed to know when I was fucking with them, which I did on occasion to test them. It was explained to me – on various occasions – that both positive & negative spiritual bodies have inbuilt lie detectors & other cool services which they can access. Apparently, and I know it could work because I’ve had it demonstrated to me a couple of times, when asking someone a question either consciously, or by tapping into their sub (or ‘un’) conscious mind. Angels & demons have access to this magical facility which you can ‘switch on’ that will audially accompany each answer they receive with another message in the surrounding environment (that is an everyday noise that forms into a sentence when you listen to it) which states either “true” or “false” and finished with “100%” or “50%” (as examples) which, they say, reflects how much you are sure of what you had said, its level of true thought content. This is a lie detector so it only tells if the person is being honest not whether what they say is actually based on fact. TO BE CONTINUED SPECIAL NOTE We are a completely and totally voluntary organisation that receives absolutely no government funding. All funds raised is through the hard work and dedication by an enterprising group of volunteers all striving to make the public and government aware of the high suicide rate we have in our lucky country and saving to build the much needed Safehaven centres for those who suffer mental illness and especially for those who are suicidal. Over the years like many voluntary organisations we have had many volunteers come and go and most of them have been excellent and we are proud to have them represent the White Wreath Association. Unfortunately we have encountered a handful that have not done the right thing by us. Indirectly they are deceiving the public and representing the WWA incorrectly, all we can hope is that their conscious gets the better of them. To help us combat this by “Board Agreement” we have introduced an easy step by step E Training Programme and Strict Guidelines that all Branch Co-ordinator volunteers will need to adhere to. We hope by introducing this programme that volunteers have a better insight into the White Wreath Assoc – Action Against Suicide, our aims, goals, values and be dedicated to our cause. White Wreath Assoc Ltd
PETER NEAME - RESEARCH OFFICER Drugs?! Psychiatrists, Government Advisers and Media are blaming drugs for the mental health crisis. They are lying and “Agenda Setting” Martin Bryan went to his first psychiatrist at age 4 years yet the Howard Government blamed the guns. Following Columbine School Massacre USA President Bill Clinton blamed violence on the internet, in New Zealand then Prime Minister Jenny Shipley blamed marijuana for the crisis in mental health. In 1960 Australia had 32,000 mental health beds, 300 beds per 100,000 per population now there are no medium and long term beds. There should be 70,000. Psychiatrist, Government Advisers and the Media supported the wholesale closure of mental hospital hence their total unwillingness to be honest about the source of our current crisis in mental health and instead blame drugs. Mental illness like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disorder affecting the structure, function and chemistry of the brain and it starts at conception. 80% of the scientifically proven cause of schizophrenia is genetic. Cats chew cat mint-animals use drugs- there is no scientific evidence that there has been a rise in psychotic cats or that the brain structure and function can be permanently changed by drugs, but they, drugs, are a good diversion. “FOOTNOTE”
GUEST BOOK 10 October 2005 Yass NSW It will be 4 years on the 19 October that my brother M…….took his life. I am still struggling to come to terms with his death and the events that led up to his death. I cannot understand why our government spends millions of dollars fighting senseless wars when it could put the money, our tax payer’s money, to a more humane and needed cause such as mental health. Leading up to my brother’s death my mother and I rang and spoke with ACT mental health asking that M……….be assessed as he had been assessed in Newcastle and they wanted to schedule (commit) him. But he took off before they could. After days of ringing mental health they sent someone to my parent’s house and assessed him, both mum and I said that he needed to be scheduled (committed) but mental health assessed him as being ok, two days later he hung himself. This should never have happened. How do you get over the death of a loved one. You don’t, you just learn to live with the pain and anger. I understand there will always be suicide, but we have the possibility to reduce this number if money is spent in mental health and education services. 28 October 2005 South Australia It has been a long 2yrs since I lost a friend thru suicide, yet the pain in my heart is still the same as the day he died. I have been visiting the cemetery a lot lately asking him for advice…. 3 years ago I fell into a deep depression and he was the one that talked me out of suicide. I still live with the guilt that I could not return his generosity and help him in return. Then approx 3 months ago I attempted suicide again, taking a whole 14 herron/panadol tablets. Unfortunately, (and obviously), I didn’t succeed. I don’t know what it is that makes me feel like this, and I hate it! But I can’t stop feeling this way…if there is anyone with advice for me, please email me….I will accept anything right now, I don’t want to live!!! I hate myself and I hate the fact that I am still alive….
8 November 2005 Melbourne Vic My wife A….of 27 years took her own life on 21/10/2005. She was 50 years old. I and our 4 adult children (first grandchild on the way) now need to find the strength to go on. My wife didn’t tell the doctors everything and I wasn’t asked. You have a new member… wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t? 24 November 2005 Mount Gambier S.A. I knew A…… , me and my friends grew up with him, he was a good friend with my older brother until high school changed them both. Every single day I think about D…… (A…. mum) and the pain she goes through from losing her son. I am sad I wasn’t closer to him because I heard he was a great guy and a really good friend to everyone. Good Bye Aaron you are sadly missed by everyone. 5 December 2005 Mackay Qld This one’s for you Kate. Always remembered. 14 December 2005 Perth WA I have recently lost my hubby to suicide In fact it has been 9 weeks. He took his life on 8 October this year the night before I turned 35. He left me with 3 small children the youngest was 8 weeks old. We hadn’t even been married 5 months, I am very angry and sad that he had no faith in himself and he had to try and prove himself to everybody that he knew. He came across as being very confident but his poor soul was screaming at him inside telling him he was no good at life and was a terrible father and husband. He was the most loving, giving man I have ever met. He had the most awesome smile and he was the life of the party. He told me every day how wonderful I was and how happy he was to be with me. He completed ME and he also said I completed HIM. Our life was complete, now I am dying, my other part of me has gone and I don’t know who to turn to or even where to start. His family is blaming me for his suicide and is suing me for money that he borrowed in January this year. Is there any support groups in Perth I need to talk to people who are going through the same thing as I am, I have seen a counsellor but how can they even understand what I am going through. Only people with this same devastation can even imagine the pain and loss we are going through every second of the day. 22 December 2005 Dalen Cool Guestbook. Interesting information. 1 January 2006 Byron Shire NSW My son B…. hung himself 2 ½ years ago and would be turning 20 on the 6th January 2006 – I am only now starting to get a spark back to life – to all those going through the same traumatic situation here’s a few things that helped me survive – Belief in a higher power and reliance on God through prayer and throwing his huge burden on Him. My close friends were very supportive and I relied very much on them – just practical things like fixing myself meals, doing errands etc. It was best I not be alone – having people around was very helpful Cry a lot – you just have to do this for years if necessary – it’s very painful and loosing someone you love in suicide is a thousand times more painful than loosing someone from old age, physical illness, accident – because you are left with a huge burden of guilt (over and over you keep asking yourself questions that can’t be answered – how could I have prevented this – what did I do to cause it etc etc etc stigma) Sometimes other people can judge you and this adds to your pain. Take 5 minutes at a time – if you don’t think you can get through the day just focus on small accomplishments. Mornings are the worst time – As soon as I wake up the first thing that hits me like a punch in the stomach – My wonderful boy is gone and everything else that’s happened spirals me down down into the pit of despair. I finally worked out a term for my suffering and its called Post Traumatic Stress – look this up and follow all the advice on dealing with it. It helps if you have other children because they give you a good reason to go on. I haven’t found any suicide support groups – I was living on the G… C… and now in Byron Shire NSW. It helps reading White Wreath to know I’m not alone. I learned something from the Tsunami victims when a woman lost her child – she said I just have to blot it out of my mind because if I think about it too much I will go crazy – denial can be helpful sometimes. If anyone else can add to this list I would really appreciate it and other would too. I hope you all learn how to manage your loss – I don’t think you can completely recover in the world as we know it now – here are a few verses to meditate on from the Bible that give hope. Revelation 21:3,4 – promises in the new world to come all death, pain, suffering will be a thing of the past. Isaiah 26:19 – Those of our people who have died will live again. Their bodies will come back to life. All those sleeping in their graves will wake up and sing for joy. As the sparkling dew refreshes the earth, so God will revive those who have long been dead. CORRESPONDENCE Dear……. I would like to relate to you something that happened to me in July of this year. I will transcribe my story exactly as I wrote it the day after the event. Well this afternoon I saw a young lad take his own life by lying on a railway track. He couldn’t have been very old 16/17 perhaps. I saw him standing at the gates waiting for the all clear to cross, he did appear a little agitated but I didn’t really take much notice as I was sitting in my car waiting for the train to pass. Then as the whistle blew he made his way to the centre of the track, lay down, sat up again to see if the train was coming, then calmly lay down again. The train was then upon him and he was thrown to the side of the track on impact, very bloodied limbs askew. The train stopped as soon as it could, but there was nothing that the driver could have done. There was a guy in a car next to me who was very badly affected and got out of his car and threw up. He could not bring himself to even look in the boy’s direction. He came to me and said he had to go. I said he should stay and talk to the police, he in tears said he couldn’t but gave me his name and number then very hurriedly left the scene. By this time the driver of the train, who was very upset was standing on the track and calling essential services. I had a blanket in my car so I asked him to cover what he could of the boy. I then sat and waited for the police to arrive. I just felt so helpless at not being able to get to this lad. I do not know if he was killed instantly or if there was anything that I could have done in those last few minutes of his life to have helped in any way. It took nearly an hour before I could leave the scene by the time the police, accident investigation, ambulance and railway personnel arrived and I retold by story over and over again. There were two comments made by people at the scene that really stuck with me, the guy from the railways said that this was the 6th suicide by train that had happened that week. And a constable said to me (because I work in palliative care) seeing the suicide probably wouldn’t affect me as much as it would those who had never dealt with death before. Now dealing with people dying of terminal disease, and people, especially young people taking their lives because of not being able to get the help they need in no way make dealing with unnecessary death easier. I guess this is another side to suicides, those strangers who are involved. Those people who just have to get on with their lives without any assistance – without knowing the causes, the effects and all the other aspects involved with suicides. I know I often wonder about this boy. Did he have family and friends, was there a medical reason, was he high on drugs, was it spur of the moment or did he plan it in advance. These are questions that for me are never going to be answered, as my involvement stopped once my statement was given. I have had no contact from anyone since it happened. I have probably rambled on long enough and I don’t know if I can be of any assistance to your organization. I am happy to send a donation if you can give me an address and if you feel that I can be of any help please let me know. Thank you for allowing me to get this off my chest. I wish you success in your endeavours Sincerely
Dear People, Firstly, congratulations on your good work and more power to your elbow in the future. It was good to see at least some exposure on SBS Insight program last week. My husband started up R F in Queensland and ran it for quarter of a century (since retired) so I am more than usually interested in your problem. Now, here's my story: I belong to a writers' group and our very challenging task for our fortnightly 'piece' was to incorporate a white flower, a triangle and an awkward teenager - not easy, you'll agree. And then I read your write-up in the Weekend Australian and knew what to do. So herewith my story, which, as you will see, is written as a conversation - just an extra little challenge, but colleagues seemed to think it worked. Anyway, here it is, use it as you will, but I wouldn't mind a bit of feedback! Please don't feel insulted, I'm not at all suggesting you are scatty - but I had to have a lead-in to show community misunderstanding/understanding tensions. DEAR WHITE WREATH ‘What’s the matter with her? She seems to be all over the place.’ ‘Well, her son committed suicide, you know. I think we can forgive her for being a bit scatty’ ‘My God, what happened?’ ‘He lay down in front of a train’ ‘Christ almighty! I wish you hadn’t told me.’ ‘You did ask.’ ‘Committed suicide, I don’t like saying that – makes it sound like committing a crime. I don’t think of it as a crime, do you?’ ‘Well, they talk about victimless crime, but this one had a victim all right – the boy himself. And the crime is committed by the powers that be. Or that’s how it seems to me. They simply can’t handle mental health – mental health – what a joke – we’re talking mental illness here. Why can’t it be treated the same way as other illnesses?’ ‘Well, I suppose because people don’t ever really get over it.’ ‘What rubbish! Ever heard of chronic illnesses? You have asthma yourself, don’t you?’ ‘Okay, okay, don’t get your knickers in a knot.’ ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to snap – just I feel strongly about this one’ ‘Well, if you know the people …’ ‘Well, I didn’t really know them before it happened, but I’ve heard a lot about it since. And when you come to think about it, most of us do know at least one person who has committed suicide – oh there I go, didn’t want to say it – we all know someone who has ended their own life.’ ‘I guess we do, and a lot of them probably aren’t even counted as suicides, called accidents and swept under the carpet’ ‘She told me the statistics – officially 2,100 a year but she tells me their organization reckons it’s about four times that.’ ‘And every one of them has a sad story to tell. And every one of them affects a lot of other people.’ ‘They say it runs in families. And sometimes young people do copy-cat suicides.’ ‘Perish the thought … and what about those awful things in Japan where they meet on the Internet and just decide to go off and top themselves like going to the movies or something?’ ‘Yes … there’s something funny about Japan, that we don’t understand, I think. And what about these wretched suicide bombers?’ ‘Not the same thing, of course.’ ‘Or is it? ‘It’s pretty hard to understand it all, but when you talk to her, you can get a picture. Seems he was a perfectly normal kid – not even a particularly difficult teenager – and you and I do know something about those. Then suddenly he started to get these wild fits of rage when he was about eighteen. Schizophrenia they said.’ ‘Is there any treatment for it?’ ‘Depends who you talk to. In this case he was given all sorts of medications and now we know that they can actually bring on suicidal depression … I ask you.’ ‘I saw the thing on TV about that. It’s terribly sad.’ ‘Poor woman, she trusted they knew what they were doing – well, you would, wouldn’t you? Knows better now it’s too late. There’s an organization they’ve started called White Wreath Association for lobbying and information – I think that’s why she’s a bit hyper – she’s very involved.’ ‘Can’t exactly blame her, can you?’ ‘No, well I think it’s a sort of healing process for the families, really, campaigning and all that.’ ‘What do they do? It’s not like other sorts of organizations is it?’ ‘Yes it is, really. They write to politicians and point out the horrors of the situation and sometimes they get sympathetic letters back, but nothing changes much. Can’t blame them for trying, though.’ ‘Is there any point in it then?’ ‘I suppose. You’d have to ask them. One of the things they do is share stories and photos. It’s heartbreaking, really, but it seems to help them come to terms with it all. I can tell you, every single one of them has really been through it.’ ‘Have you joined the organization? You sound quite committed to the whole thing.’ ‘No, but I do see what they’re on about. And I do feel terribly sorry for them. Nobody seems to really understand schizophrenia or what to do about it and when it happens, the kids themselves and the family and the system are all bound together in a sort of pernicious triangle. The families go down on bended knees trying to persuade the hospitals to keep them for more than a few days. The poor kids are at the mercy of their medication and their voices telling them to do unspeakable things. Nowadays the system throws them out into the community.’ ‘Well, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time …’ ‘Cheaper of course.’ ‘It did sound like a wonderful step forward.’ ‘Ended up quite the reverse. Funding didn’t go with them and they simply didn’t have the support they needed.’ ‘I don’t even like the thought of them all wandering around – you know, lunatics.’ ‘Most of them are far more of a danger to themselves than to the rest of us – that’s why White Wreath and the other organizations are trying to prevent suicides, to build up some sort of happy issue out of affliction for them and their families. Plenty of young schizophrenics are doing very well because they had the right sort of support at the right time.’ ‘A lot better than an overdose, or a padded cell or the railway tracks.’ © J R |
