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Nostatic,
Here's a bit of my personal experience dealing with depression/ suicide and substance abuse. I don't really think anyone will care about it, but hey. Maybe it'll help someone who is dealing with someone in a similar situation.
The girl I referenced was my ex GF. After we split up, she fell into a pattern of addiction and ended up in jail. She wrote to me and asked me to pray for her. What I decided to do was to change her life. I found her dad, who abandoned her and her mom when she was 7. I put him in touch with her. I got her out of jail and into a year long substance abuse program, which she is part of today, 4 years later. She was suicidal for about 5 months, which was scary. She tried to kill herself twice. The pain tricks the mind into thinking that there is no other way to end the pain. I helped her by not only paying for her program, but replacing all of her clothing that was stolen while she was in jail by a guy that she met in AA, after we parted ways. She forgave her dad. She forgave herself. She found God. She stopped using excuses for making bad choices.
So do not lecture me about empathy. Let me lecture not just "you" but those who need a crutch to take personal responsibility.
My theory on RW is that he never was allowed to hit bottom. He never was forced to learn how to deal with his pain. People around him would tell him how good he was, but obviously this is not what he needed. Depression is something that will kill you if you let it. Deciding for your loved ones that they are better off without you is the ultimate selfish act that there is. People with depression really don't want sympathy. They just want to get better. They must acquire the skill and ability to deal with their pain. Feel sorry for him? No. Feel sorry for his daughter? Hell yes. He took the coward's way out.
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