The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

depression

Demystifying Ketamine Therapy: Take a Look Inside the Treatment Everyone’s Talking About

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NY Ketamine Infusions Westchester Team led by Robert Glatter, M.D.

While images of home breadmaking, disinfecting mail, or finally scoring an N95 mask are common sketches of quarantine life, more serious details about the toll the global pandemic took on our mental health have slowly emerged. The CDC reports that the number of Americans experiencing anxiety or depression today has jumped three times since 2019, while one in five adults live with some form of mental illness. Mental health is deeply personal, and for many, finding an effective treatment can feel like navigating a labyrinth alone.

One approach that’s making waves is ketamine therapy, a treatment that uses low doses of the drug to manage mental health conditions. It can potentially treat a range of disorders, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and even chronic pain. While recreational drugs, like Special K, may come to mind, you’re going to need to hold the glitter. The doses administered in ketamine therapy are nowhere near what’s used recreationally, and do not send patients on a psychedelic trip. To understand how the drug works and who it might serve, we spoke with Dr. Robert Glatter, Medical Director at the newly opened location of NY Ketamine Infusions.

Dr. Glatter has a long history administering ketamine, first as an emergency room physician at NYC’s Lenox Hill Hospital. Ketamine was originally developed as an anesthetic in 1970, and was widely used during the Vietnam War by surgeons treating soldiers injured on the battlefield. After doctors noticed its ability to treat soldiers with PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts returning from the Gulf War, Glatter says that institutions like Yale and NIMH began studying its effects on the brain. “Essentially, they gave the soldiers these infusions, and they noticed that within a day or so, their moods started to elevate. They felt less suicidal,” he says. “They noticed that the medicine was rapid-acting, and led to mood elevation.”

Years of additional research at Yale, NIMH, Mt. Sinai and Columbia University in NYC led to intravenous (IV) ketamine being used “off-label” to treat mood disorders. Ketamine helps to repair and generate new synapses and dendrites. By doing so, the net effect is enhanced communication between nerve cells, in what Glatter refers to as a “structural repair of the brain,” as opposed to a chemical approach using standard antidepressant medications. Ketamine therapy improves connectivity by repairing and enhancing growth of dendrites and synapses, and for some, results in an almost immediate lift in mood regulation and resilience.

Glatter emphasizes that one of the key differentiators in ketamine therapy is that rapid response. Traditional antidepressants, which aim to correct chemical imbalances, may take weeks or even months to produce effects, while ketamine’s restructuring of the brain often works within days. This can be life-changing for patients in severe crisis or who have struggled for years with treatment-resistant conditions.

So who’s it for? Ketamine therapy has shown to be effective in treating PTSD, which includes mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and OCD. That said, ketamine therapy is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and is not for people with high blood pressure or hypertension. It’s recommended to patients who’ve first shown resistance to other treatments, like anti-depressants and therapy. Glatter says certain patient profiles respond best to it, particularly patients under the age of 70, females (due to synergy with estrogen) and those who have experienced childhood trauma.

Patients can receive ketamine through an infusion (via intravenous drip), a nasal spray, or even as a lozenge. Dr. Glatter calls infusions the “gold standard,” and strongly believes they are the best way to receive treatment. At the clinic, patients undergo six infusions over a two-week period. He says most feel results within 3-4 treatments. Patients with positive results return on average three to six times over the following year to receive a booster infusion. “Boosters are important because they prevent people from backsliding,” Dr. Glatter says.

The results speak for themselves. Glatter says among thousands of patients at NY Ketamine Infusions, 84% reported an improvement in mood and function.

A Typical Treatment

Stereotypical ideas of ketamine might conjure up images of a wild rave, but appointments are more akin to cozying up on a comfy recliner with a blanket. “Ketamine’s action is a delayed effect; it begins to act 12 to 15 hours after the infusion. Nothing therapeutic happens during the infusion,” Dr. Glatter says. “They’re here to get the infusion, and certainly it feels good, but they’re not getting psychedelic.” At NY Ketamine Infusions, after patients check in, they go to a private treatment room. There, they discuss symptoms and progress before a nursing practitioner, under physician guidance, starts the monitored infusion, which can be adjusted at any point during the treatment.

Since opening the doors to their Westchester operation this April, Dr. Glatter wants people to know that ketamine therapy is an option. “We really seek to improve your quality of life and hope you will look at us as part of your mental health care going forward.”

Sources:
https://time.com/6308096/therapy-mental-health-worse-us/
https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm

NY Ketamine Infusions Opens Third Location In Westchester County to Serve Community’s Mental Health Needs

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In response to the increasing need for effective mental health treatment in Westchester County NY Ketamine Infusions (“NYKI”), the leading provider of intravenous ketamine therapy for major depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder, anxiety and other debilitating mood disorders, announces the expansion of its treatment services.

NY Ketamine Infusions (NYKI) Westchester Team

With a successful track record of treating more than 5,000 patients in our two current locations in NYC and Long Island, NYKI has more clinical experience than any other ketamine center in the world.  NYKI offers personalized and private care to those suffering from mood disorders. Intravenous ketamine, a highly effective treatment alternative, can provide rapid relief in even the most complex cases of depression, PTSD, and other mood disorders. In 2012, Dr. Glen Brooks founded NYKI in New York City as one of the world’s first therapy centers dedicated exclusively to providing this breakthrough therapy. Dr. Brooks, a Board Certified Anesthesiologist, completed his training at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and taught at Yale University School of Medicine.

In multiple studies performed over the past 20 years by researchers at Yale University, Mt. Sinai, the National Institute of Mental Health and other major institutions, IV ketamine has proven to be a highly effective treatment helping patients who have not responded to either traditional psychiatric medications or psychotherapy–often with tremendous, life-changing results.

But it’s important to understand that intravenous administration of ketamine is the gold standard for treating patients with mood disorders such as treatment resistant depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. Delivery via other methods (intranasal and oral) is inconsistent and does not provide 100% bioavailability of ketamine. By administering ketamine intravenously, NYKI can deliver the precise dose and control the rate of infusion–important factors in ensuring an optimal outcome and patient experience.

At NY Ketamine Infusions, we are very focused on outcomes and are proud to report that 84% of our patients with treatment-resistant depression experienced noteworthy or significant improvement in their symptoms after undergoing ketamine therapy according to our OutcomeMD patient survey data (based on 2200+ patients seen since Jan. 2022).

Robert Glatter, MD

The Westchester clinic will be led by Robert Glatter, M.D., who has trained extensively with Dr. Brooks at the New York City location. With over 20 years of experience administering ketamine as an Emergency Medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Dr. Glatter brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise. Not only is Dr. Glatter an expert in his field, but he is also a sought-after commentator on important breakthroughs in depression treatment and healthcare. He serves on the Editorial Board of Medscape Emergency Medicine and is a longstanding contributor to Forbes Healthcare and Innovation. He is frequently called upon by major media organizations, including CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, The Today Show, and WebMD, to provide medical commentary on a variety of topics.

The newly opened office is located at 222 Westchester Ave STE 306, in West Harrison, NY 10604. For more information, interested patients and families can visit the practice’s website at nyketamine.com or call 914-369-1569 for a free consultation.

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The Space Between Light and Darkness BREAK THE HOLD FOUNDATION

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PHOTOS BY DONNA MUELLER

Changing the Conversation about Youth Mental Health

Mental health issues can be difficult to understand. Struggles of the mind are laden with kaleidoscopic subtleties that can complicate their management and resolution. How can we help someone who is in a place where the pain and suffering in their mind is so terrible that it outweighs everything else life offers? Between the light of wellness and the darkness of mental illness there is a dim place that is under-discussed. It is here that a social network, community, family, friends and self-care plays a crucial role; this is where life-saving opportunities are being missed.

Through a new and innovative program, the Break The Hold (BTH) Foundation of Pleasantville is making strides by breaking down misconceptions about mental illness and building a safety network that mitigates the real risk factors. They are, in effect, extending branches for those suffering to grab hold of and implementing safety nets to catch those who are spiraling into darkness.

Driven by the love for their middle son, Brian T. Halloran, who lost his battle with depression in January of 2018, Pleasantville residents Brian and Jolina Halloran are determined to help those suffering the way he did. Through the BTH Foundation, named after their son’s initials, the

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24. Each day in the U.S., there is an average of over 3,470 attempts by young people in grades 9-12. Four out of Five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs. They don’t want to die.

Source: bthbreakthehold.org

Hallorans provide school and community-based advocacy programs that promote emotional wellness, resilience and suicide prevention in Pleasantville and nearby communities. Their program focuses on suicide education, raising awareness of the warning signs and empowering young people to have the courage to communicate about this difficult but important issue. The BTH Foundation is giving the community the tools to deal with mental health preventatively and is referring those suffering to the appropriate places to get the help they need. The outstanding progress the BTH Foundation has made merits attention.

The Education Platform – BTH 360

In short, the BTH Foundation’s mission is suicide prevention. The BTH program advocates a safety net system of “Recognizing and Referring”; teaching those in the community how to recognize someone suffering and refer them to receive appropriate help. “We often hear that a friend had seen a flag that could have been addressed but felt that saying something about their friend’s struggles is snitching. The message needs to get out that keeping friends healthy and happy is the right thing to do,” says Brian Halloran.

When BTH is contacted, they have a team of clinicians who, based on a triage system, put together an action plan to help connect those in need with viable options and work to overcome barriers to treatment such as financial cost.

Prevention through education is key. The BTH Foundation has worked alongside the Pleasantville High School (PHS) administration and a team of local psychologists.  Together, they have developed programming for the school district that satisfies the NY State mandates for mental health in the curriculum. Their program is focused on teaching Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), which is evidence-based training for emotional regulation. DBT uses mindfulness strategies to manage emotions, increasing student’s tolerance of negative emotions.

The idea is that everyone will be speaking the same language, everyone will learn to respond a little bit more thoughtfully rather than emotionally. We must get to the kids early. They need to be able to understand and communicate what is going on in their heads,” says Halloran.

Last September, ninth graders in PHS had 16 hours of mandated mental health education incorporated into the school curriculum. This coming school year, fifth graders will receive 10 hours of the program. Within 4 years everyone at PHS will have had 26 hours of DBT training. In addition, all staff in the Pleasantville High School, Middle School and Elementary School are receiving 8 hours of DBT training. Parent workshops are offered regularly.

It is especially important to educate teens before they go to college. The BTH Foundation arranges senior transition meetings to help. “Adolescents lose many protective factors once they leave home to go away to college. Many risk factors increase at this time,” Halloran warns.

BTH is sharing their model with neighboring school districts around Westchester. For example, this Fall, the program will be rolled out to ninth graders at Alexander Hamilton High School in Elmsford.  The Foundation is also working to get government resources.

Dismantling the Stigma

Those suffering with mental illness are not the only ones in the dark. Some people think of suicide as “the ultimate selfish act” and wonder “how could they do that to their family and friends?” These judgements are often based on misconceptions. Most who die by suicide do not want to end their life; they want to escape their pain. Suicide is not a rational decision; it is one made under extreme duress.

A person trapped in a burning building might reasonably make the decision to jump out of the window rather than suffer the pain and anguish of being burned by the fire. A person jumping off a bridge to end their life is trying to escape pain that is very real, just like the pain of burning to death. The instinct to escape mental suffering can be as powerful as the instinct to escape physical pain. BTH is trying to break down social barriers to recovery by addressing misconceptions and normalizing the conversation about mental health.

Mental health is a public health issue requiring the help of the entire community. We have lifeguards and life preservers to mitigate the risks of swimming, the Heimlich maneuver to prevent choking and defibrillators in the case of cardiac arrest. Public controls are placed in countless situations to manage health risks. The BTH system of Recognizing and Referring is something everyone can help implement. The community should not underestimate how important they are.

Are you OK? Is something wrong? Can I help you? Those were the words I desperately wanted to hear.” – Kevin Hines, Suicide The Ripple Effect

The Art of Mental Wellness

We can’t stop thoughts from coming into our heads, but we can cultivate an awareness of them. Just because a thought is in your head does not mean it’s true. Skills can be taught so thoughts can be assessed and managed. For someone struggling with a mental illness like depression, thoughts of self-criticism and self-doubt can grow to become powerful and even debilitating. Thoughts like: “everything I do is wrong”, “nobody likes me”, “everyone I love would be better off without me”, “I have nothing to give”, “I am not able to live up to what everyone needs from me” and “I am a failure.”

Living with these ruminating thoughts is frightening and painful.

Unable to control and manage overwhelming negative thoughts, and not understanding what is happening in your head, can lead to a feeling of being trapped. Panic can ensue and bring with it impulses to escape the epic amount of mental and emotional suffering that the negative thoughts create.

The shame of what is secretly happening inside one’s mind prevents resolution and the thoughts continue to spiral. “I felt unable to function. I was being crippled by my struggle as the pain got louder and louder. It might have looked like I was ok on the outside, but the amount of work it took to maintain this false appearance was not sustainable,” recalls one survivor of depression.

The shame that prevents one from reaching out for help is a huge barrier to treatment. The person suffers internally in silence as their condition worsens and signs are missed.

Those who could help don’t know how to read the signs indicating there is an issue, and if they do sense there is something going on they don’t know how to react. If the person continues to suffer in silence, they are unlikely to get better. Depending on the sufferer’s resilience and stress factors, the bubble can ultimately break.

Please remember to be kind. You never know what someone else is going through. Jolina Halloran.

Mental health struggles are managed best when openly discussed. “There is a false belief that talking about suicide will escalate the idea. However, the opposite is, in fact, the case. An adolescent or young adult who is spiraling downward benefits immensely from simply talking about their thoughts”, says Dr. Gayle Augenbaum, a child and adolescent psychiatry specialist who practices in Armonk. BTH gives people a safe and accessible place for these conversations to take place. These simple conversations can deter unhealthy choices such as self-medicating with drugs and alcohol or worse.

Ultimately the BTH Foundation encourages people to be involved in their own self-care. “If you want to beat this mental illness problem, you have to be involved in the process. Everyone can help and we need a network and a community of support, but it is also necessary to take effort in and be proactive in your own self-care,” advises Halloran. Just as an individual with asthma pays extra attention to their breath, and a person with a food allergy has a heightened awareness of what they eat; similarly, a person who suffers from “brain pain” can become aware of the thoughts that enter their minds and learn how to manage them.

You don’t necessarily beat depression once and then it is gone. It is often something you live with throughout your life. When a person who suffers from depression is well, they can learn to practice preventative measures to maintain and manage their mental health. Mental illnesses like depression can break down one’s resilience over time and can turn thoughts into irrational behavior. But the key is “over time”; that’s where the opportunity lies, between the light and the darkness.

How Mindfulness Can Help

The principles behind mindfulness are the basis for much of DBT. Mindfulness concepts like self-compassion, non-judgement and gratitude can redirect thoughts from the darkness into the light. “Meditation helps bring awareness to your thoughts. You are not blocking thoughts but relating to them differently, letting them come and go and observing them. This will help in life because you will be able to recognize when thoughts are not helpful and can dismiss them instead of intensifying them which can lead to sadness or anxiety,” says Jodi Baretz, a holistic based therapist from the Center for Health and Healing in Mt. Kisco.

There are other methods to proactively keep one’s mental health in shape. Exercise can help in many ways including shifting one’s focus from the mind to the body. Getting enough sleep can play a big role as well.

The Next Generation

There is concern that the next generation is especially at risk of depression. Technology fosters social isolation; the omnipresent screens that children and teens are growing up with are barriers to human interaction. Mental illness breeds on social isolation; humans are meant to be in groups and care about one another.

While it is extraordinarily difficult for an adult to manage a mental illness, it is even more difficult for a child or adolescent. “Kids and teenagers don’t have the right words to name their emotions and their frontal lobes are not finished developing. Therefore, they are more impulsive and more reactive and tend to be more rigid with whatever they are feeling, not recognizing that there is hope for change.” Says Augenbaum. Teens don’t have the ability yet to understand that situations aren’t permanent. This is a learned lesson that takes time and life experience they don’t yet have. And so, the risk factors continue to pile up.

Walking into the Light

The Hallorans have suffered the unimaginable in losing their son Brian. But with the work of the BTH Foundation, steps have been taken towards compassion and understanding and away from judgement and misconception. Every time a teen who has gone down the road of darkness is given the tools to recover, Brian is there. With Brian’s light leading the way, steps are being taken in the right direction. This past June, the community showed their support by participating in the BTH Foundation’s second suicide awareness walk. The steps they took communicated a clear message to those suffering from mental illness: you are not alone in this fight; we will walk into the light with you. For more information, please visit:  www.bthbreakthehold.org

 

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:

800-273-TALK (8255) or Text “TALK” to 741-741

A Bit About Brian

Brian was a beloved son, brother and friend. He was well-liked, smart and athletic. He was friendly and had a lot of empathy for others. His parents knew he was a good person but “didn’t realize how kind he was”.  After he passed away, friends and acquaintances contacted his parents and told them that if Brian saw someone who seemed sad he would not hesitate to reach out to them.

Brian appeared to most to be a typical teenager, but underneath his strong exterior he was suffering from depression. Depression can come and go. It can appear to be managed but then come back. Though Brian had been doing well, still the day came in January 2018 when his parents got a knock on their door. Brian had died by suicide while away at school in South Carolina. Before Brian died he reached out to several people but was not able to connect with anyone.

 

Tipper Gore & Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness

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Tipper Gore and Steve Lieber, Chairman of the BBRF Board Photo by Chad David Kraus

“Back in the day, there was bipartisan support for meeting mental health challenges,” Tipper Gore* said in a conversation with Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D, President and CEO  of Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, at the BBRF May New York City luncheon event, Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness. She told the attendees the common ground ‘worked,’ in that it eventually helped lead to the passage of the Wellstone bill which brought mental health parity to the workplace. “Sitting members on both side of the highest legislature of the land acknowledged there were mental health issues in families,” said Gore.

Today, Gore directs attention on mental health issues affecting middle school and high school students via her work with Tennessee Voices for Children (“there are 56,000 underserved children in Tennessee alone,” she said), and the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which focuses on anti-bullying and suicide prevention. She spoke of an alarming rise in the suicide rate among these younger people and a very concerning spike seen in girls. She expressed concern about a shortage of care: “We need more boots on the ground to have a greater impact.”

Gore also said that getting properly diagnosed and receiving the appropriate treatment when she herself suffered from depression provided “real relief,” pointing to the critical nature of BBRF’s efforts.

Dr. Borenstein said BBRF is the leading foundation for grants to scientists to effectively treat brain behavior disorders; since 1987, $394 million has been awarded to more than 4,700 researchers around the world, leading to $4 billion in additional funding.

BBRF funds “out of the box ideas for innovative research” which has led to important new treatments including the rapid acting antidepressant esketamine to treat refractory (treatment resistant) depression, and brexanolone for post-partum depression. “Every dollar donated goes to scientific research and 100% of the research is invested into grants,” he stated.

Luncheon Committee with Tipper Gore including (left of Gore) Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, President and CEO, BBRF, and (to her right) Dr. Herb Pardes, President BBRF Scientific Council   Photos by Chad David Kraus

Gore’s participation in the day’s event was deeply appreciated by everyone at BBRF. “It was an honor and a privilege to have someone of her stature and with her passion help us,” said Chappaqua’s Lauren Duran, the BBRF Vice President for Communications Marketing & Public Relations.

*As Second Lady, Gore served as Mental Health Policy Advisor to the President, Her goals were to diminish the stigma surrounding mental illness and to bring awareness to the need for affordable mental health care. In 1999, Gore hosted the first White House Conference on Mental Health. That same year, she launched the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign (NMHAC) to encourage Americans to seek treatment for mental illness. Gore has frequently spoken about her own experience with depression and treatment following the near-fatal injury of her son Albert.

Source: Wikipedia

Courage & Compassion in Times of Crisis: The Keys to Helping Yourself or Anyone You Know

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Full Disclosure: I was not an active follower of either Kate Spade or Anthony Bourdain. In this day and age of social media and celebrity, I certainly knew who both were and what each brought to the table, pun intended. I never purchased the eponymous bag that made Miss Spade a household name. I should have been quite a fan of Mr. Bourdain, but truth be told, watching his programs discouraged me in recent years. I was reminded of all I have lost since the first of three major surgeries left me even more mobility impaired than I had been for the first 42+ years of my life. Additional truth be told, I’m a fashionista wanna-be born in the wrong body and a frustrated hostess with the mostess not to mention a grounded adventurer.

The two recent high profile suicides early this summer raised the serious topic of depression once again. It takes the hard to believe self-inflicted deaths of the famous for this to be covered in the news with the exception of occasional reporting on teen suicide as well as the high suicide rate among veterans. The death of beloved Robin Williams highlighted the topic that still today seems taboo. The vast majority of his fans, knowing him only from the small or big screens making us laugh, found it unbelievable that he could be desperately unhappy, depressed. Do we really WANT to know that friends, family or celebrities can be feeling hopeless?

Many who have read my blogs or followed my Just Call Me Geri Facebook page probably know that my Mother (the one who chose me from a newspaper picture), from my earliest consciousness, taught me the importance of not feeling sorry for myself. The message included the tacit warning that no one would like me if I showed self-pity. It was only decades later that I would learn that there is a significant difference between whining and legitimately feeling down due to my circumstances.

By no means have I had the worst life, far from it, but I started life with strikes against me, first being born in a deformed shell with a condition called Diastrophic Dysplasia (some still call it dwarfism) that would embody my soul and personality. Being abandoned in the hospital by biological parents who left instructions behind that “no pictures to be taken of this baby” added 2nd and 3rd strikes, yet I was never out.

I won’t list the entire litany of hardships faced through 50 years but some include:

  • Being asked why I would want to have a baby and do to them what happened to me;
  • Being humiliated at a summer camp by someone supposedly to have been family;
  • Hearing sighs, groans and whispers when people had to help me in/out of cars or up stairs (who’s going to help Geri?”) and to stay away during emergencies;
  • Being “gently” told I could never provide a home for a man I had feelings for and not to expect to ever get married;
  • Being “harassed” by a married man who knew I would have little to no other intimate opportunities;
  • Being belittled and disrespected in hospital facilities when known I was alone;
  • Having inappropriate medical treatments or not having appropriate medical interventions due to Government restrictions;
  • Being at mercy of caregivers, who can be rude, rough and larcenous;
  • Being told I’m too depressing to talk to …

When at 40 I had finally obtained a Master’s Degree to begin a long in trying to figure out career, I was soon stymied, having that career cut short by three surgeries that left me in worse shape than before. The last two surgeries I never would have consented to if I had been warned my mobility would be all but lost completely. I would have opted for shorter life span over non quality of life. When over 10–30 years ago I’d fall into pits of despair, I struggled mightily, conjured up plans, fingering bottles of medication, really my only option. Remembering the haunting conclusion of Edith Wharton’s “Ethan Frome” always prevented me from trying anything self destructive with my car, the only other possible tool at my disposal. Yet, I always dug deep, as far inside as I could to keep the wavering flame from going out. Once such night in the wee hours, I remember sitting on the floor by my bed sobbing with heaving muted screams. What brought me back was thinking of “my kids” and their parents …how would they explain to them that I gave up?

This disclosure can possibly hurt my alternate career in the making …aiming to be a successful inspirational speaker but this is my truth. I cannot be phony. I’m not asking for people to feel sorry for me, but to understand that there are no easy answers.

More additional truth be told, I’d much rather laugh than cry. I actually enjoy having others laugh at my sometimes corny, other times bawdy, humor. I really should find an amateur Stand Up/Sit Down Comedy venue. Ridiculous irony from the universe, I’m rather an extrovert. God couldn’t have made me an agoraphobic?

I have my “highs” when I have several speaking engagements booked but then the “lows” (oxymoronic?) come rising up. (oxymoronic?) when I can’t seem to break through, catch that one break. My life is not one that made headlines because of a national crisis such as the Boston Marathon Bombing. I didn’t lose limbs while fighting for my Country. I didn’t grow up in

the age of social media where Promposals to kids with Special Needs go viral. I do not begrudge today’s kids who benefit from widespread inclusion.

I do not begrudge these later generations of kids who have benefited from widespread inclusion. In fact, I’d like to think I helped pave the way. Perhaps I have been “of use” to quote John Irving’s Dr. Larch.

Depression can take deep hold of anyone. For those suffering, suicide can seem like the only way out. Others may see it as selfish. Feeling like a burden is not easy but once a person has that initial thought, it becomes nearly impossible to erase it from one’s mindset. Please have compassion for those who have left via their own actions. And if you “can handle the truth,” reach out to those who may be struggling. When I encourage students to look after each other, I ask, “wouldn’t you want someone to look after you?” For those who are struggling, please try to let someone know you’re hurting, reach deep down inside and find the courage to reach out for assistance without shame. Keep your flame lit!