Wednesday, September 30, 2009

GCC student Carol Anne Brown took her own life in April after a struggle with bipolarism and depression ...






During Monday night Oct. 5th's 7 p.m.'Depression & Suicide: Lifting the Stigma' event at Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus in Spotsylvania, prominent local people will share stories of their battles with depression and of dealing with the suicides of loved ones. Attending the event could save a life
Suffering from depression is nothing to be ashamed of. Neither is getting help. If you had diabetes, would you be embarrassed to go to a doctor and take insulin?


Depression affects millions of Americans, including some of the most famous and successful among us.

Please join us for a panel discussion on depression awareness and suicide prevention Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. at GCC's Fredericksburg Campus, Sealy Auditorium.

We are thankful that members of our community are willing to share their experiences and their journeys as we participate in this thoughtful discussion.

Panelists will include Todd Brown, the father of Carol Anne Brown, a Germanna student who suffered from bipolar disorder and took her own life; Nick Cadwallender, associate publisher of The Free Lance-Star, who has battled depression his whole life; Mary Gilkey, Germanna’s Dean of Nursing, who is a licensed clinical nurse specialist psychotherapist and whose sister committed suicide; and H. Reese Butler II, who founded a national teen suicide hotline after his wife killed herself. The moderator will be Ed Jones, editor of The Free Lance-Star.

National Depression Screening Day is October 8th.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

As someone who has struggled with Bipolar disorder, and someone who has attempted suicide, I sympathize with her pain, and am sad that she didn't find her touchstone in time.

If you need help, don't be ashamed to speak out. It saved my life.

Anonymous said...

Been there for 14 years (diagnosed in l996) but have most likely shown symptoms most of my life. God bless the Brown family for sharing their journey and incredible loss. I pray that there will be a cure someday, but right now, we have to hold on to each other to get through the lows and the highs. Please feel free to contact me at thrihg1@cox.net

Anonymous said...

RIP Carol Anne. The world is missing a beautiful smile.