• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

  • Home
  • Advertise
    • Advertise in One or All of our Magazines
    • Advertising Payment Form
  • Print Subscription
  • Digital Subscription
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Login
  • Contact Us

Mental Illness

Understanding Life After Suicide

October 26, 2019 by Sabra Staudenmaier

(L-R): Sean A. Mayer and Dr. Ashton

Dr. Jennifer Ashton from ABC News & GMA Shares her Experiences with Mental Health and Suicide at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

We need to start looking at mental health and mental illness no differently than we look at physical conditions.

On Sept 26th, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Ob-Gyn, ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent and Good Morning America (GMA) Medical Correspondent, met with members of our community to discuss her recently released book Life After Suicide: Finding Courage, Comfort & Community After Unthinkable Loss.

Westchester Mental Health Association (MHA) Board Member and mental health advocate Sean A. Mayer, who lost his brother to suicide several years ago, joined Dr. Ashton for this discussion; the latest in an ongoing series MHA has developed to educate the public about mental health.

The loss of a loved one to mental illness leaves unimaginable devastation. Ashton experienced this loss first hand in 2017. She pointed out that same year, over 47,000 Americans died by suicide. It is estimated that for every person who dies by suicide 135 people are directly affected. That means over 6 million people are impacted every year. Despite the enormity of this issue, she still felt very much alone.

Ashton and Mayer spoke of sadness, anger, guilt and how one is never prepared for suicide. Ashton’s world seemed to fall apart; she used the metaphor of a plate shattering to describe how she had felt. She was baffled by questions like: What did I miss? Was this my fault? She recalled others remarking: How could this happen; everything looked perfect? What is important to realize is that mental illness and suicide are complex issues and often not a reflection of what is seen on the outside.

As a survivor of suicide, the last thing Ashton wanted to do was to defend the father of her children during this difficult time. Suicide is misunderstood; many think of it as cowardice and selfish. She pointed out that it takes the antithesis of cowardice to take your own life. People who have attempted suicide explain that they were doing it for other people. They feel that they are a burden; that those they love would be better off without them. Mayer offered a helpful explanation that what people don’t realize is that the victim just wants the pain to end. People can’t wrap their brains around that, but it’s not selfish.

(L-R): Brian Halloran, Dr. Ashton & Jolina Halloran
Photos courtesy of Break the Hold Foundation
Ashton was proud of the emotional maturity with which her children viewed their father’s death. Her children felt their dad “had a disease like cancer and it killed him. They wouldn’t be angry with someone who died of cancer so how could they be angry with him?” They did not go down the “anger road,” and so she didn’t either. “When you think of mental illness as an illness no different than cancer, it certainly reframes it.”

Mental health and wellness should be looked at with equal importance to physical disease. Ashton referred to the phrase “check up from the neck up” and asked the audience when the last time their health provider inquired about their mental wellness? Similarly, she wonders how often friends and family inquire? “Until we (ask these questions) we are not going to accomplish as much in terms of prevention as we need to, to save people’s lives.” Ashton warns.

“If you have high blood pressure most people don’t have a problem taking a pill or going on a behavioral regiment to treat that. If you feel anxious, depressed or hopeless, there is help available… but we don’t ask for it…. Why? Because we look at it as a weakness. That must change.

We need to look at mental illness like depression and anxiety no differently than cancer or heart disease.”

Our Youth at Risk

Children, teenagers and young adults have poorly developed frontal lobes in their brains; judgement is not their strong suit. Hence, pediatric and adolescent suicides tend to be impulsive whereas adult suicide is often more methodical. Not only do children and teens have a biological explanation for their impulsivity but they also do not have the life experience to provide context to emotional distress. In addition, social media has opened a huge can of worms for the younger generation; cyberbullying is a big issue. We live in an increasingly complicated world. Awareness and support for those of all ages is needed now more than ever.

The strategy of not talking about suicide so the kids don’t find out about it is about as effective as not talking about sex and substance abuse. It’s not going to work to sweep this under the rug.

Lessons in Healing

Two mantras have been helpful to Ashton throughout the healing process: “If you resist, it will persist” and “If you want to heal you have to feel.” Ashton has reevaluated her focus on perfection, strength and accomplishment. She still wants to achieve her goals, but has learned that accepting flaws and allowing herself to feel pain, weakness and failure is what has enabled her to heal. Ultimately, the only option Ashton had was to glue the ugly, flawed pieces of her life back together. Ashton feels her “plate” is stronger now. She is still picking up the pieces, but she is no longer focused on external appearances and she knows she will be ok.

How Can You Help?

Open discussions like this are important in the fight against mental illness and suicide. Increased awareness is making a difference. Last year, New York State became among the first states in the nation to require schools to include mental health instruction in the K-12 health curriculum. Schools are now mandated to teach students skills they can use if they are facing a mental health issue or what to do if another student needs help.

Getting ahead of this mental health crisis is going to require a lot of compassion and nonjudgement. The stigma associated with mental illness is a huge barrier to the resolution of this highly treatable issue. Local resources, like the Break the Hold (BTH) Foundation of Pleasantville, are making strides by providing safe and accessible resources to those who need them. We know how to recognize and react to someone with asthma, allergies and many other medical concerns. Similarly, we need to arm everyone, including kids and teens, with the knowledge of how to identify the signs and symptoms of mental health issues and the skills to help someone in distress.

Special thanks to BTH (bthbreakthehold.org), MHA (mhawestchester.org) and The Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health (mentalhealth.westchestergov.com) for their work to reduce the risk of suicide in our communities. National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-TALK, or text 741-741.

Filed Under: Armonk Cover Stories Tagged With: Break the Hold, Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Good Morning America, Mental health, Mental Health Association of Westchester, Mental Illness, suicide

Tipper Gore & Breaking the Silence About Mental Illness

May 31, 2019 by Grace Bennett

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

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: anti-depressants, BBRF, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, Breaking the Silence, depression, Gore, innovative, Mental health, Mental Illness, research, Tennessee Voices for Children, Tipper Gore, Tyler Clementi Foundation

Next to Normal: A True Family Affair, and Then Some!

June 5, 2018 by Inside Press

By Kathryn Kitt

Kathryn Kitt

There have been a number of productions of “Next to Normal” since its Tony Award/Pulitzer prize winning moment in 2009 that have been wondrous.  The Armonk Players version is no exception, except, for me, the experience has come full circle.  I am Tom Kitt’s Sister, who is the composer and creator of “Next to Normal’ and have experienced the workshop process at the BMI Music Festival back in 1996 with the original title “Feeling Electric – Up the Dose.” It was the brainstorm of Tom and his college friend/lyricist Brian Yorkey who had the assignment to present a 10 minute musical idea to their BMI musical theatre class. 

The cast of Next to Normal in rehearsal. Photo by is Lauren Oliviero

Thomas, as I called him, and I were both living in New York City at the time and it was quite a special time for us while we were trying to work in the music business.  I trained as an Opera singer, so I went to auditions and sang in performances around the city.  Tom, in addition to being at BMI, played at a piano bar on the East Side where my extended family would gather on weekends – complete with me singing Puccini and Andrea Boccelli.  Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jenn Colella (“Come from Away”) would show up and soon it would become open mic in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan.

While Tom worked on the musical, he recruited me to sing some of the songs from “Next to Normal” in his class.  I was skeptical – who writes this type of musical, about mental health and depression?  I know “Rent” was a big hit, but it dealt with younger people who could wear tight clothes and do high kicks in platform shoes.  “Next to Normal” dealt with family and the dynamics that go along with it.  Needless to say, I eventually was proven wrong, for the show was picked up by David Stone – producer of “Wicked” after he saw a workshop of it in the New York Music Festival. 

The show culminated in Tom and Brian winning the Tony for Best score, beating out Elton John and Dolly Parton, Tom winning for best Orchestrations and then the Pulitzer.  This has resulted in quite a whirlwind for our family.  Tom has gone on to have quite a robust musical career in composing and orchestrating and is up for a Tony for orchestrations for the “Spongebob Musical on Broadway.”

When Christine DiTota and Pia Haas mentioned how they wanted to bring “Next to Normal” to the Tom’s hometown, I was completely on board!  I know that a show like this would bring the community together, be it teachers at Byram Hills (Adam Welsh, John Anthony Lopez), local performers (Christine Gavin, Anthony Malchar, Jess Bulzzaccheli, Jesse Herman), plus Phyllis Padow –Sederbaum and Vivien Bonnist Cord on props!  Everyone was so excited to bring this experience to Whipporwill and I could not be more proud!  Christine DiTota has kept the heart and staging of the story intact while Adam Welsh’s lighting captures the excitement of the Booth Theatre in NYC.

Of course, I had to get someone in the family involved and thanks to the brilliant musical director Ricky Romano, he took a chance and recruited my son Andrew Aldous (Byram Hills Junior) to play guitar in the band.  This has truly been the most exciting experience of all, and I am convinced that Andrew is channeling my brother up there.  

“Next to Normal” is surely a family affair, but this production goes beyond our little town.  It is a story about everyone’s family and how we all try to navigate challenges whether it be mental illness, teenage angst and loss.  I encourage anyone who feels deeply to see this show and prepare to be brought to a transformative place.  I thank the Armonk Players for their commitment and thoughtful production and I know we will never forget this moment!

Next to Normal, sponsored by the Friends of the North Castle Public Library, is playing at Whippoorwill Hall, 19 Whipporwill Road E., Armonk, NY 10504   Remaining Performance dates below.

   

Filed Under: Gotta Have Arts Tagged With: Armonk Players, Bipolar Disorder, Christine DiTota, depression, Kathryn Kitt, Mental Illness, Next to Normal, Pia Haas, theater, Tom Kitt

Mental Illness Not a Life Sentence, MHA of Westchester President Tells Rotary Gathering

March 2, 2017 by Inside Press

By Grace Bennett

Chappaqua, February 27–When it comes to understanding mental health, Michael Lombardi, Chappaqua resident and President of the Mental Health Association (MHA)of Westchester, makes one thing clear: as a society, we’ve come a long way. But there’s still much work to be done, too.

Michael Lombardi, president, Mental Health Association of Westchester

Speaking to a group of Rotary Club of Chappaqua members, Lombardi recalled an old and unhealthy secrecy surrounding serious mental illnesses in both children and adults. He spoke of how alcoholism was rarely acknowledged too. Even in more close minded times, he noted, the MHA was ahead of the curve responding to the needs of the community. ADD including working with the schools to help kids with classroom behavioral problems decades ago.

 “Do any of you remember the expression: ‘Children are meant to be seen and not heard’?” he asked those gathered for the club’s weekly Monday lunch–held this time at Quaker Tavern as renovations were underway at its usual meeting place at Crabtree’s Kittle House.

 The MHA of Westchester today serves 20,000 individuals a year in nine Westchester locations with plans to expand outside of Westchester too, according to Lombardi.  “We’ve tried to address the myth that serious mental illness is a life sentence; it’s not a way to label an individual.” 

 He said MHA staff is “past treating symptoms,” in working with their clients, and that they recognize that recovery from most mental illness “is best managed at home or in a community setting.” The goal now is to reintegrate an individual into the community following hospitalization as soon as possible. 

Lombardi outlined an array of services that MHA offers its clients such as the ‘Westchester Recovery Network’ which, employing ‘peer support,’ helps clients transition from long-term hospitalization, and ‘On Track, New York,’ which helps youth experiencing psychotic episodes. “Intervening earlier leads to healthier lives even in those with serious conditions,” he said.

 Lombardi also mentioned programming initiatives which have included recent forums addressing suicide, depression and substance abuse. For more information about the MHA, visit mhawestchester.org, or follow their programming news on Facebook.

Filed Under: New Castle News Tagged With: Mental Illness, MHA of Westchester, Michael Lombardi, Rotary Club of Chappaqua

Team Daniel Running for Recovery from Mental Illness

May 6, 2016 by Inside Press

Teams up with Byram Hills in a Run for Hope!

Team Daniel is getting ready to follow up its successful Miles for Miles fundraiser in 2015 with another 5K cross-country run and ‘go as far as you like’ track walk in support of mental health. The event will be held at Byram Hills High School on June 5, 2016 with registration from 8-9 a.m. or on active.com(search for ‘Team Daniel’) with the run/walk, food, entertainment, awards and raffles from 9AM to noon.

This year we are again thrilled to have four time Boston and New York marathon winner Bill Rodgers join us, along with State Senator David Carlucci and mental health advocate Hakeem Rahim.

1 in 4 people in the US live with mental illness, including 1 in 5 children; our children are more stressed, anxious and depressed than ever and suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people ages 15-34.

Team Daniel advocates for the best care for people living with serious persistent mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, and would add eating disorders to this list.

Our winner from last year, Lucas Patrizio of Port Chester with Bill Rodgers.
Our winner from last year, Lucas Patrizio of Port Chester with Bill Rodgers.

We support programs for suicide prevention, advocate for the use of integrated medical and mental health care, and believe that treatment for addiction needs to address co-occurring, underlying mental illness. We will have representatives from many mental health organizations available to speak to including NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Westchester, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, Mental Health Association of Westchester, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Harris Project(advocates for treatment of addiction and co-occurring mental illness).

Please come join us and make a difference in the life of someone living with mental illness. Team Daniel…Running, Relationships, Research and Recovery. Tteamdanielrunningforrecovery.org

Filed Under: New Castle Releases Tagged With: Mental Illness, Miles for Miles, Running for Recovery, Team Daniel

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Over 350 Students From 31 Schools Attend 21st Annual Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center High School Institute at Iona University
  • Greeley Boys Swim & Dive Team Wins State Championship Title Second Year in a Row
  • Chabad Center Invitation to a Community Passover Seder: “Don’t Pass Over Passover!”
  • New Castle Fire District No. 1 Announces Bond Referendum to be Held April 25
  • Don’t Resist JUST DESSERTS at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center April 28-30
  • When There’s A Dog in Your Life

Please Visit

Chappaqua School Foundation
White Plains Hospital
William Raveis – Armonk
William Raveis – Chappaqua
Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival
Houlihan Lawrence – Chappaqua
Houlihan Lawrence – Armonk
Houlihan Lawrence – Briarcliff
Westchester Table Tennis
Compass: Miller-Goldenberg Team
Armonk Tennis Club
Raveis: Stacey Sporn
Compass: Natalia Wixom
Temple Beth El
Boys & Girls Club
Raveis: Grace Lobello
Pleasantville Community Synagogue
JRL Land Surveying
Compass: Usha Subramaniam
Briones Weight Loss
Houlihan Lawrence – Rusminka Rose Jakaj

Follow our Social Media

The Inside Press

Our Latest Issues

For a full reading of our current edition, or to obtain a copy or subscription, please contact us.

Inside Chappaqua Inside Armonk Inside Pleasantville

Join Our Mailing List


Search Inside Press

Links

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Digital Subscription
  • Print Subscription

Footer

Support The Inside Press

Advertising

Print Subscription

Digital Subscription

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Did you know you can subscribe anytime to our print editions?

Voluntary subscriptions are most welcome, if you've moved outside the area, or a subscription is a great present idea for an elderly parent, for a neighbor who is moving or for your graduating high school student or any college student who may enjoy keeping up with hometown stories.

Subscribe Today

Copyright © 2023 The Inside Press, Inc. · Log in