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Newsletter on May 2006

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SDSDSDSDSDIRECTORS REPORT
W
NEWS NEW NEWS!!
We now have “Deductible Gift Recipient Status” (DGR)
See Exciting News in this newsletter

White Wreath Day - In Remembrance of All Victims of Suicide held on the 29 May Annually is just around the corner. We hope you commemorate this day by organising a gathering and remember your loved ones, friends or work colleagues that took their lives by tragic means.

In this issue of the newsletter I felt compelled to bring you to the beginnings of the White Wreath Assoc. Included is the very first speech that I made on the 24 November 1999 in front of Parliament House Canberra.  Prime Minister John Howard, Opposition Leader Kim Beasley and many of our federal politicians attended on the day. This was six months after the suicide of our son. By February 2000 we became an Incorporated Association then in December 2005 became a Company Ltd with DGR status. These achievements have not come overnight. Continual hard work behind the scenes from our dedicated board members, volunteers, professional assistance, companies and individuals that have had faith in us, have brought us where we are today. Together we are going from strength to strength and we will be a force to be reckoned with.

The main aim of the association since its beginnings is to raise sufficient funds to build centres (Safehavens) for those in need. We believe that people who are suicidal need immediate access to inpatient care or a place of safety.  This is not happening at the present time. We have been informed on numerous occasions by our political parties that we the people must look after our own health and well being. It’s time to understand the consequences of this and without going into too much detail Australia/wide there are no medium or long term beds for those suffering mental illness and especially for those who are suicidal.

We hope you will keep supporting our organisation and together lets make a difference.

Fanita Clark
Director

1  A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. 2
Walter Bagehot

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THANK YOU

To those that renewed their membership – your support is very much appreciated , Index Self-Storage, Clayton UTZ Lawyers Brisbane, Zupps Hillcrest-Roger Farrell, Browns Plains Hotel, Mainfreight-Steve Fare Brisbane, Winton State School Qld, Mary Wydmuch NSW, Chris Hartcher MP Gosford NSW, Bernie The Bargain Butcher – Logan Central, Dollars & Sense – Logan Central, The Warehouse – Logan Central, Logan City Tavern – Logan Central, IGA – Kingston,

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EXCITING NEWS

As mentioned in the Directors Report we have now been approved for Deductible Gift Recipient Status (DGR) and all our information is listed on the Australian Taxation Website (ATO). We hope this will open up many doors for us in the very near future. One of these ways is the “Workplace Giving Program” this is a scheme where employees can nominate a Charitable Organisation and donate from their weekly incomes with tax incentives/benefits.

Your employer must be registered with this program and if so we would like you to nominate the White Wreath Association Ltd as your chosen charitable organisation you wish to donate to. There is also another scheme where employers allow employees one day each financial year to do voluntary work during working hours for a voluntary organisation of your choice. Once again you will have to check if your employer is involved with this scheme and if so to nominate the White Wreath Association Ltd.

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NATIONAL WHITE WREATH DAY IN REMEMBRANCE OF ALL VICTIMS OF SUICIDE
29 MAY 2006

MAIN DISPLAY Brisbane on White Wreath Day – In Remembrance of All Victims of Suicide 29 May 2006 will be held in Queens Park Brisbane. 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.
TASMANIA will be holding a concert at Citygate in Mornington on the evening of the 26th of May, just before National White Wreath Day. Contact Melissa Casten email whitewreathmel@hotmail.com
TASMANIA 7pm on 29 May White Wreath Day. Venue Pilgrim Centre, Paterson St, Launceston, Tasmania. Contact Annette Wilson Sturm email annette.wilsonsturm@dhhs.tas.gov.au

1     Previously the White Wreath has allowed representatives 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 more information and to register your interest please contact Head Office.

*  Due to collating the newsletter many weeks prior to distribution we are unable to publish all events. For information on events in your area please contact Head Office.

*   Adelaide South Australia. We will be in Rundle Mall Adelaide City on Friday October 13 with the main display.

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FIRST SPEECH 24 NOVEMBER 1999

Firstly and foremost I am a mother and this is my story.

Our son Jason Dean Clark aged 19 thought he had no future. He was diagnosed with mental illness, lost all hope and on the 29th of May 1999 he laid himself on a train track.

This was the first time any member of our family had been involved in any way with mental illness, or the care of a person who is mentally disturbed. In my son’s case he was labeled as having paranoia, schizophrenia and severe depression.

Because of the myths and stigma associated with mental illness his condition became worse. He had nobody to turn to about his problem as mental illness is something that is not discussed in our society.

I also did not have anyone to turn to. It was like something very shameful had hit our family. We as a family were not allowed to be involved with my son's treatment because of the confidentiality law. The law states, that my 19-year-old son - suffering mental illness and living at home - was deemed an adult so we were excluded from his treatment.
This was thrown at me – his mother – in every direction and I tried extremely hard trying to contact my son’s Doctor’s, Psychiatrist and various organisations, but to no avail. Neither my son nor I could turn for help as no one was interested in helping us. I was afraid and afraid for my son. We were alone, inexperienced and left to cope the best way we could with our son’s condition. My family and I were treading thin ice constantly as we thought what ever we said or did would aggravate our son’s problem. I NOW KNOW BETTER THAT THIS WAS NOT THE CASE.

Within 6 months of being diagnosed with mental illness my son killed himself. In this period he made two unsuccessful attempts on his life. Two months earlier my son tried twice in one day – one by connecting a hose to the exhaust pipe of his car, the second by taking an overdose of prescribed medication. All of this was extremely hard to cope with and the worst part was we had to do this in silence.

With all of this confronting us as a family we were still told by the Public Health System that our son was OK. His illness was not taken seriously even though two previous attempts were made. Our families concerns and our opinions were never acknowledged or taken into account.

Our son felt that the Psychiatrists and doctors in the Public Health System were not helping him. Either they don’t know, don’t want to know or their hands are tied because of government guidelines. In fact their treatment was to heavily medicate our son and send him home, without any follow up treatment. Sadly I knew my son was not right but I did not know what to do or how to help him. Not only was there no help for him there was no help for me to cope with the situation.

We believe if a person attempts suicide and have been judged as having lost the mental capacity for normal thoughts, then that should indicate a serious problem – no matter how well a person presents themselves at an assessment or consultation with a doctor or psychiatrist.
Even if a mentally ill person denies that they need help, surely it should be the responsibility of the medical profession to ensure these people receive the appropriate Mental Health care service they need to get well again.

It seems that the decision of treatment is entirely taken out of the hands of the family or carer and left to the sufferer. In most cases to find their own cure. The Public Mental Health System at present - processes people – they do not treat patients individually with the good will and respect that they deserve. The system we have is only too willing to allow this process to continue.

In my opinion no other method of treatment is considered, or recommended in the Public Health System. The exception being pharmaceutical methods where there is limited explanation of how much and how often to take the prescribed medication and their possible side affects.

The message to us was that you can’t help those who won’t help themselves. Yet people suffering mental illness are less able to help themselves.

I NOW know from the many letters and phone calls the White Wreath Association receives FROM ALL OVER AUSTRALIA our situation was not unique. The sad fact is that this is very common and we have paid the ultimate price. The suicide of our loved ones.

An extract from one of the many letters is from a Father. He goes on to say: -

THE GENERAL INDIFFERENCE OF THE SYSTEM. THE APPARRENT UNCARING OF SOCIETY AND THE LACK OF ANY HELP BEFORE MY SON SUICIDED AND AFTERWARDS. I FEEL BETRAYED BY THE MEDICAL PROFESSION BECAUSE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE PATIENTS BEST INTEREST AT HEART. Till this day, anyone or any organisation for help has never contacted me. We have been left totally on our own to cope the best way we can. No one seems to care or understand. I am sure that if my son had died in a public forum, perhaps made the news, we would have been inundated with grief councilors’, offers of help etc. For our family left behind the hurt is no less traumatic than had we been a Port Arthur victim. Yet society’s response is vastly different.

For these reasons we hope this White Wreath Memorial Service will create awareness to the serious issue of mental illness and suicide and the need to address it immediately.

The CONFIDENTIALTY LAW needs to be amended. There is no other illness in society that the medical profession does not involve the families or carers. However once a person has been diagnosed with mental illness the confidentiality law is used and abused to the detriment of the family and carers. An example of this abuse is when a person has been diagnosed with cancer the whole family is involved. The same for Heart Attacks, Diabetics, Asthma, Strokes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson and the list goes on and on. WHY are people who have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness treated so differently? It is beyond comprehension that Governments have closed thousands of beds for medium and long-term mental health care and placed people with mental illness in Community Care but yet deny involvement of family and carers.

Diagnosed mental illness must be treated like any other serious illness and must involve the family. SO WITH OR WITHOUT THE CONSENT of the person who has been diagnosed with mental illness we the families and carers who are the community care givers and providers MUST be involved, consulted and our opinions respected in determining the health and happiness of our loved ones.

Mental illness is a chemical imbalance of the brain so therefore their thoughts are not normal thoughts. They should never be treated on their own, especially where there are so many side affects to the medication they have been prescribed.

We hope this Memorial Service of White Wreath will create awareness that there is a need for an education campaign of the whole of society through media and television coverage. Another example of this ABUSE TOWARDS MENTAL ILLNESS is that the Government spends millions of dollars on educating THROUGH MEDIA the Australian population on car accidents. Yet the suicide statistics are triple the figure of road accident deaths in the year.

We are told wear seatbelts, don’t drink and drive, don’t speed, and don’t drive tired as all of these things can kill. We are shown graphic photos of victims in car accidents – all of this to create public awareness.

We are told breast cancer, cervical cancer, prostate cancer and melanomas can kill. Again we are shown graphic photos to make us aware.

We are told to have safe sex as we may contract diseases which may kill us.

We are told too much cholesterol in our bodies may kill us.

We are told don’t smoke as smoking may kill us.

We are told to change our eating habits and exercise more AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.

WHY NOT INFORM US THAT MENTAL ILLNESS CAN KILL. People suffering mental illness kill themselves – like my son Jason did. People with mental illness think they are alone. The lack of government action has been orchestrated so well with adverse affects. Families, carers and the general population are not informed how serious the condition of mental illness is and how very widespread it has become.

These White Wreaths represent the latest statistics IN ONE YEAR on suicide in Australia. Suicide is far greater than Road Accident Deaths, SIDS, HIV and many other forms of deaths in Australia. Suicide ranks in the Top Ten Deaths IN AUSTRALIA but yet we are still not informed of this epidemic.

I ASK YOU ALL if there were nearly 8,000 people killed in a natural disaster in Australia in one year would the focus of government be to implement preventative measures immediately. I AM SURE WE WOULD ALL ANSWER YES TO THIS QUESTION.  HOW MANY MORE SUICIDES WILL IT TAKE FOR GOVERNMENT TO START IMPLEMNETING THEIR
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES at the grass root of the problem so people do not suicide? All the MYTHS AND STIGMAS associated with suicide are unfounded and Government knows this. The real prejudice of mental illness is not taking people who present themselves for help   SERIOUSLY.

The majority of these people died because of our ignorance. It should not matter whether we are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Vietnam Veterans or have Multi-cultural backgrounds. It should not matter what Religious background we come from or whether we are Gay, Lesbian or  Bi Sexual. Low, Middle or High-income earners. All of us are Australians and suicide is affecting all walks of our society, all cultures and all ages regardless of whether we are rich, famous or poor. But together we can make a difference. With knowledge, care, intelligence and genuine concern for our fellow man maybe we will be able to reduce these alarming suicide statistics. We must stop being in denial and come to terms with our high suicide rate.

THE TIME IS NOW.

Remember White Wreath Day on the 29th May year after year as I will remember my son.

Once again I would like to thank you all for listening and being here for this Memorial Service for the victims of suicide. PLEASE hold hands on this issue and together as Australians lets make a difference.

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GUESTBOOK

**The below guest book messages have been added as they were written on our website**

24 January 06 Brisbane Qld Great website – My best friend committed suicide and it’s about time people stood up and realised how serious this is – If this website site reaches out and helps just 1 person it has done it’s job – Keep up the good work!

12 February 06 Sydney NSW I came across your website by chance and would be interested to know if you have a Branch in Sydney. My husband suicided on the 31 May last year leaving a family in desolation. I am interested in help for the family and more funding for Mental Health. How can I help?

16 February 2006 Sydney NSW This website really truly shows how suicide can happen to anyone of us. I was suicidal in 2004, only 13 years old!!!! I am now almost 15 and my life is getting back on track. I know you might be thinking, she’s only a child. What does she know about life??? I didn’t and still don’t know to much about life, but I know what happened in mine. I’ve been through several series of abuse and rape. I’ve seen a suicide and numerous other things that triggered my depression and clinical depression and mood and behavourial problems. I’m telling all of the parents out there, that have not experienced a suicide that the warning signs ARE there, you just have to look. Open your eyes, they are right under your nose…Suicide is a permanent solution for a temporary problem.

SOCK IT TO SUICIDE

Don’t forget our campaign of “Sock It To Suicide” Which we introduced last year as a fundraiser and a fun week for all.  It is held during the first week of October yearly. During this week we encourage schools, workplaces, senior citizens, clubs etc to wear the brightest coloured pair of socks or stockings for a gold coin donation. We hope you can involve your workplace, schools etc on our behalf.

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BELINDA'S STORY

When communicating with each other on their own parallel planes, apparently angels (am unsure of if the same is true for demons) are required to have the lie detector facility in operation at all times. Some visitors to my nightmare used to ask me up front if they could utilize the lie detector to find out if I was the ‘good’ side of the war that I guess still rages – Good vs. Evil. Others would just tell me they were going to or already had been filtering my answers through this mechanism and some (if it really does exist) I suppose probably had it working for them but failed to mention its use. I could often sense that my intentions were being tested and during the 7-8 mths I think of as my journey through hell I was followed, poked, prodded, manipulated, comforted, & taught and multitudes of questions were asked of me continually, repetitively, in many alternative ways and by various beings, all of which during I was judged, tried & sentenced. They would ask what my childhood & adolescence had been like and some would make either comforting & sometimes motivational comments & others would intentionally humiliate or embarrass me or on many occasions go rank at me. I began to construct a pretty thick skin to protect myself from prying eyes & ears. Sometimes I co-operated with those whom I communicated with and other times I fought tooth and nail to protect my privacy – which didn’t take long to lose completely.

When I first encountered and on occasions when I crossed paths, with this Lucifer being, several times I wished to be able to see his true form. Max was lying next to me in bed one of these occasions & his sleeping face before me turned into a face, which I saw again on a number of other occasions during various chapters in my story. Max’s nose grew bigger, as did his forehead & chin. It was the face of a man whom at another time further time into the future I saw in a visual story. One chapter of the reign of the ‘gorgeous circus’ – (my ‘suck-up’ name for ‘them’) – had me imagining I (or my soul) was transported to a time & place in the past where I would see, feel & hear what to all of my senses seemed like an event that was being re-played, in fact each time, mostly I’d find myself experiencing someone’s death, like I was co-existing within their bodies seconds before & then at time of impact.
To be continued……..

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PETER NEAME RESEARCH OFFICER

1. We will refer you to page 16 and 17 of our submission to the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health 26 April 2005. This submission was also sent to both the Bundaberg Inquiries and to the Inquiry on Management of Offenders in Custody Perth WA. The following is the link to our website of our "Submission" http://whitewreath.com/id114.htm

2. Families must always be listened to. In the Ipswich case the families concern were downplayed with devastating and fatal consequences.

3. Mental Health Professionals particularly Psychiatrists are never held accountable when these things happen.

4. Police are being asked to do a job they are simply not trained for but the truth is nobody wants to deal with difficult and dangerous mentally ill patients who self harm are suicidal or homicidal.

5. Mental Health Acts throughout Australia and mental health training has emphasised
"Least Restrictive Practices". This approach is clearly irresponsible and clinically incompetent when it comes to people who are suicidal, homicidal and seriously violent.

6. Deinstitutionalisation/ care in the community/least restrictive practice is responsible for a four hundred percent rise in suicide young men and the doubling of the suicide rate in young woman.

7. Almost all police shootings, more than 90% are of mentally ill people. This is a failure at every level/clinical care, management of the mental health services, legislation, government policy as well as policing.

8. Accurate assessment particularly rapid assessment of mentally ill people is now worse than at any period in the last 250 years. 

White Wreath supports the call by the Commonwealth Press Union for more honest and open reporting of suicide amongst government advisers, defensive mental health administrators, clinicians and coroners.

For the past 40 years the policy of Government and Coroners has been to downplay suicide whilst at the same time closing medium and long term mental health beds. In Australia & New Zealand it is estimated that 42,000 beds have closed. In that time suicide has risen 400% in young men and the suicide rate in women has doubled.

We estimate that the true rate of suicide is at least four times higher than the official figure.

Probably 50% of all road accidents particularly head on collisions are deliberate suicide attempts and these are under reported by coroners in Australia and New Zealand.

Silence on suicide serves the self interest of Politicians, Health Administrators, Defensive Mental Health Clinicians and of Coroners.

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WISH LIST

Stamps, Copy Paper, DL Envelopes, Volunteers Australia/Wide

OR YOU MAY LIKE TO DONATE
1.Via our credit card facility posted on our Website ,then follow the instruction.

2. Direct Transfer into any Westpac Bank Account
A/C Name: White Wreath Association Ltd
BSB No: 034-109
Account No 210509

3. Cheque/Money Order to White Wreath Association Ltd
PO Box 1078,Browns Plains Qld 4118

WE ARE NOW TAX DEDUCTIBLE

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CORRESPONDENCE

Please can you help me?
My daughter is almost 13 and was diagnosed with depression 18 months ago when she started telling us that the world would be better off without her and she should commit suicide.  During that time she has been placed on anti-depressants which have recently been doubled due a relapse.  She is constantly asking us what would be the best way for her to die.  I have severely restricted her internet access so she can’t get any ideas from there but I am afraid that now she has started high school and is mixing with kids a lot older than her that she will get ideas from other areas.  She refuses to go to counseling after a bad experience the first time round but at least has agreed to see the guidance officer and chaplain at the high school.  I am at a complete loss as to how to help her.  Even though I also have depression and so can pick up when she is feeling really low, I can’t be with her all the time.  Are there any programs in the .…… area.  I am even willing to drive into .…. if I have to in order to get her the help she needs.  I am hoping that there may be some group sessions around so that she may feel more at ease with counseling.  I read with dread the stories of they many parents on your website and hope to avoid being in their shoes.  Please if you know of anything that can help can you please let me know?  I don’t know where else to turn.  I hope to hear from you soon. Thanking You
I delayed writing back because we had appointments with the GP and the school today.  It looks like we may be getting somewhere.  The GP has arranged to see her every second day.  This is because she won’t go to counseling but she will open up to him.  This is a start. At least she will be talking to someone who has an idea of how to help because mental health is one of his areas of interest.  This means we will be seeing him three times a week until her medication is stable and she starts to open up more.  We discussed the possibility of hospitalization for her but the GP thinks it would probably work against her right at this moment.  This is because the only time during the week that we see a smile on her face is when she is playing softball and as she has just been selected in the …… representative team for her age group.  To hospitalise her now would mean that she would have to pull out because she wouldn’t be able to attend their compulsory training sessions.  This is why he is setting aside so much time each week to se her.  She has also just passed her umpires exam which means she can spend even more time at softball.

The school has also helped in a way they had never thought of.  The chaplain is apparently seeing another couple of girls with depression also and so has decided to start a chaplaincy committee within the school.  They will be meeting weekly to discuss ways of making life better for all students at the school.  They have plans to support different charities throughout the year with fundraising ventures.  They are hoping that these ventures will be organized and run by the students and that this will help them to realize that they are important to the running of the school.  They have also severely restricted what sites the kids are able to access on the internet.  They now need special permission to visit any but their trusted sites on the internet and set up a blocking program that needs a teacher’s code to override to access any other sites.  This has made me more comfortable with the idea of her attending technology subjects.

A brief family history:

It is because of the family situation combined with bullying at school that caused her depression in the first place.  I have been really sick for the past 3 years.  I have a severe heat allergy, severe migraines and depression.  My husband has diabetes and twelve months ago he had a heart attack and needed a stent inserted.  My oldest daughter has severe asthma and ADD and my son has epilepsy and ADHD.  The family dynamic has been torn apart and it is only in the last twelve months that things are starting to return to some semblance of normal.  To add to this my mother had her leg amputated eight months ago and is now confined to a wheelchair.  We did discover during the first failed counseling attempt that she has had trouble adjusting to all the turmoil we have been through and that is why she thinks we would be better off without her.  Her words were “one less problem to worry about”.

She has not been seen by a psychiatrist at this stage but her previous counseling was through Logan Mental Health where she was assessed by a visiting psychologist.  She attended counseling there for about six months but didn’t feel comfortable with the counselor who she said made her feel like a baby.  Although we tried a different counselor she never felt comfortable with them either.  We now must hope that these sessions with her GP will succeed whey formal counseling did not.  We would still like to know if there are any support groups for teenagers with depression around as her GP thinks it may be beneficial to her if she can meet other teens facing the same problem.

I know I have rambled on a bit but it is so good to know that there is someone who understands and can help.  Because of her depression I have forgotten about myself except when I get really low and I know that is not good for my state of mind either.  Because she is so low at the moment and I am spending so much time helping her, I have even stopped my usual daily meditation time which is normally my time for rejuvenation.  I am extremely grateful for your help and hope that I can join your worthwhile organization soon (money is a bit tight at the moment).  I hope you can help me with support groups and thank you again for letting me ramble on.
Gratefully yours

Hi, my name is M….; I’m a 26 years old male and I live in New Delhi, India. I suffer from Schizoaffective Disorder, Major Depression Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder. Due to the complex state of my mental health I cannot get treatment in India. I am willing to travel to Australia to get my treatment and my life sorted out. I need some help from your organization. Could you please tell me how I can go about this and who are the people I need to contact. If possible, names of insurance companies that can cover me as an international client (I not exactly a rich guy). If you could email me a phone number of someone who can help me out with my case it would be great. I will call up that person. Thank You  

Dear White Wreath,
 Do you know of a similar agency that works in the United States?  I am looking for funeral assistance to aide my son's preschool teacher.  Since her adult daughter committed suicide, there is no insurance money available.  She works at minimum wage is about to inherit all her daughter's bills plus three young children.Thank you,

Dear White Wreath,
I visited your website after learning of the death of a close friend whose death was listed as 'legal' in the obituaries. I suspect that she may have suicided.

I'm interested in what preventative and positive actions I can promote here in Melbourne. Perhaps there are some self-help groups concerned with mental health and wellbeing? Thank you for all your efforts

Dear White Wreath Do you have a UK contact?My brother committed suicide last week and life seems very desolate at
moment Hard to understand and accept
Thanks LB
Dear White Wreath I don't know if you are able to help me but if not, I would be really grateful if you could at least send some sort of reply, even if it's in the negative.  I live in the U.K. but over 10 years ago now (the last time I saw him in fact) my brother moved to Australia.  Prior to his departure overseas he had been 'sectioned' under the Mental Health Act and had received treatment for a, possibly drug induced, episode of schizophrenia - the medical professionals involved were never very clear on this.  I heard from his, now ex, girlfriend in Australia, that this had reoccurred on a number of occasions and he had been admitted to hospital in Adelaide for treatment.  She indicated that he had been on long term medication but, as is often the case, came off this from time to time and ended up having to be readmitted to hospital.  Eventually she could no longer cope and they split up.
Throughout all of this he never told me anything at all about his illness or wanted to discuss it.  I tried to keep in touch with him as regularly as possible by letter and by phone, but there were long periods where he would change address and not remember to inform his family until weeks/months later.  However it is now over a year since I last heard from him.  His ex girlfriend and her mother were written to over Christmas and asked for any news, but we have received no reply.  We wrote regularly to his last known address all through last year, clearly indicating a return address on every envelope, but have received no mail back.  My mother died over a year ago and I wonder if this has all been too much for my brother to cope with.  (When growing up they were very close).  I am concerned that he may have harmed himself, or that he has been admitted to hospital somewhere and that nobody has told us.  How can I find out?  Who can I contact?  Do you have any suggestions or ideas please?  I have trawled the internet and sent e-mails to health authorities/hospitals in and around Adelaide but have received no replies at all.  My brother's full name is A………, his date of birth is ……… and his last known address was ………., South Australia 5016.  He may even still be there and simply not wishing to communicate, but how do I find out?

Please let me know if you can help, or pass on details of any organisation(s) that might be able to.  I would be so grateful for any news at this stage, even if it’s bad.
Yours sincerely
KW

 Dear Ma’am,
To use a medical term, I concur in regards to your position on suicide. As a former patient of Qld health and a private mental health unit in a private hospital, I would have to say that the so called mental health experts are no experts at all. After my attempts to get good mental health service from Qld Health I gave up all hope of ever getting well. When I transferred to a private hospital I felt I was being over serviced and I could not get out of hospital. You might like to see what private hospitals get up to by searching the net in regards to Accreditation. It reads as though those with a mental illness are used like a financial milking cow, (it seems that an empty bed in a private hospital represents lost income where as an empty bed in a public hospital is a financial saving). So after viewing these sites it would seem that those with a mental illness have two choices; we can stick with Queensland Health and risk suicide or we can make the private hospitals rich for as long as our private insurance lasts. The best service I have ever received is from my current GP, (I am on half the medications that my shrink put me on and I feel a lot better). My advice, if a person needs a mental health service do not go to the one your GP refers you to. (See accreditation process for hospitals on the web). My advice is to go and have a talk to centres that take care of the mentally ill person’s rehabilitation and listen to their word of mouth recommendations, (they won’t mention doctors but the patients might, this was my experience, (what I heard made me feel as though I had just bought a house with termites, or a car that had a dodgy engine). The private shrink I went to did not seem to be too well regarded by most of those patients that I spoke to. Also you might like to obtain a copy of Time magazine’s 2005 November edition that highlights the dangers of anti depressants, (in the wrong hands).

If there is anything I can do to help please let me know. My health is unreliable but I manage to have some degree of quality of life. It is very isolating having a mental illness and being on a pension and it is difficult to find purpose in life. I spend half of my day watching TV and I hate it. I too almost became a statistic and I saw my mother age 10 years in ten months back in 2000. It is impossible for me to describe how I feel for you with your loss. As a former Registered Nurse I am ashamed that I was part of a system that let you down. I never realized how bad things were until I became a victim myself. How do the directors of mental health sleep at night while the horrors of mental illness destroy us? As a Christian I try not to hate what happened to me but I feel such hatred, no matter where I go, for those who seem to be more interested in their own self importance than providing real help to those who need it the most. I need counseling but even that comes at a price. For myself I wish that I would come down with amnesia or something, anything that would destroy those memories of my treatment which haunt me now. The tragedy is that I paid thousands in private insurance that is I actually paid for the trauma I am now experiencing. I do not know if I will ever forget, I can’t forget at the moment and it is hard for me as a Christian to forgive them. Please pray for me to forget them and to get on with my life. Maybe as a former Registered Nurse I am getting what I deserve. Bless you for the work that you are doing. I will never trust a psychiatrist again. Based on documents that I have from Doctors I can validate my story as far as not trusting psychiatrists. I am sure that there are those who think that their Doctor is their life saver and then put them up on a pedestal but I am not one of them. I am no saint, but unlike my previous psychiatrist, I do not parade around in a suit and tie and pretend to be God’s gift to mental health.

Yours Sincerely
EF

Dear White Wreath 
It all started in the summer of 2004, August 9th. My mother and I are very close. I have attempted suicide before some time in the year of 2001, I think, but nothing happened. It was an overdose on anti depressants. My own mother fired me that night and didn't want me back at the restaurant. It hurt me. A lot. Seeing that she was so mad at me I thought she hated me. I told my Therapist about what happened that night. She called my mom and told her. After that, she dare not yell at me. This stopped a few years later about something I don't quite remember. That night, 2004, I played depressing music from Evanescence "Missing" all night with a bottle of Advil and Tylenol (ever since, I can't even look at those two pills, let alone taking it without throwing them back up, heck, I can't even hear the name without gagging). I said good bye to most of my friends online, and wrote a letter to those who didn't even have email. I was balling my eyes out, mainly because at the time, I thought hardly anyone cared for me. And those that were online were just online friends. Didn't really matter to me that much, or the other way around.

I went to bed after taking the pills, fell asleep with the same song playing repeatedly and woke up a few hours later feeling sick. For about 6 hours, I threw up before belatedly deciding I didn't want to die and called my mom from the guest house to the main house. She rushed me to the emergency room and I was forced to drink liquid charcoal. Since I was already throwing up so much, I couldn't keep it down, so they had to force it down with a tube going up my nose and down my throat. The doctors were amazed that I haven’t died after taking all those pills and stayed alive.

Ironically, my grandfather died that same summer about a month earlier. In the emergency room, when I was alone, I could have sworn I heard him calling my name. It sounded like he was pissed at me for doing what I did. I guess even the dead are truly really alive.

Well, after not being able to sleep for the nights I was in the hospital and dieting on a strict liquid diet... to make things worst, I was forced into an asylum for a week. It was horrible. They keep you in there to get better and happier to be alive. My psychiatrists in there were not very bright. The first day, he called my mother and telling her how depressed I was. I wouldn't even smile. Not even a fake smile and thought I had to stay longer because of it. Well, there was a reason for that. Tearing me away from my family for a week and shoving me into an asylum for a week won't make anyone happy, for starters. And the other one didn't know the difference between Anorexia and Bulimia. Actually, He thought that not eating AND throwing up was just Anorexia.

Well, I was moved out of the crazy psychopathic ward and into a mellower ward. I haven’t really eaten for a week as I was there, basically because hospital food is nasty, and with the "mucamist" they gave me made me feel not hungry. It's thick and it smells and tastes like sulfur.

After a week of hell, they finally let me go home. At my last hearing, when they told me I could go home, my mum swore she saw colour come back to my face. I wanted to cry, I was so happy. I couldn't even begin to tell you what it's like in a mental hospital or asylum. Whatever you want to call it. What I have just explained to you is only 5% of 100% of hell I had to deal with. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be alive right now. If you feel depressed enough to actually attempt suicide, please think about your friends and family. Dead or alive. Because truly, once you're on the brink of death, like I was, you can actually hear them. And like those who are alive, they, too, won't be happy. Please get help.
LM