From: XXXXXXX@aol.com [mailto:XXXXXXX@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 12:17 PM
To: Info@NoKiddingMeToo.org
Subject: Thank You  

I was just made aware of this organization and just have to say Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.   I was diagnosed with depression after the loss of my 21 year old son in November 2001 to suicide.  This was not the first suicide in my family.  Sixteen years before I lost a cousin to suicide.  We talked about Dan, but no one ever said anything about depression.  Then my son Matthew took his life.  I wanted to talk about this and to my amazement discovered the rampant depression in my family that was not talked about.  My aunt, Dan's mother attempted suicide in her teenage years.  Five out of six of my cousins had been diagnosis ed.  Because of Matthew's death I began counseling and it soon became apparent that I had been depressed since my teens.  I always just thought that was my personality. Nothing good happened to me or would ever happen.  I was just one of those people who was always sad.  I began taking meds and I never knew I could feel this way.  It has helped me through the grieving process and realize I don't have to be sad all of the time.  I also now realize that if my family had been open and talked about the depression, maybe we could have saved Matthew.  Since the year after Matthew's death my husband and I have been participating in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk.  We have walked in every walk.  We talk about Matthew's suicide and the family depression every chance we get.  We believe that with the help of organizations like your's and AFSP one day talking about depression will be just like talking about cancer now.  It's not easy though.  The stigma is always there.  I truly believe that with voices of those in the news and the entertainment industry that stigma will fade away.  So thank you so very much for being out there and giving a voice to bringing depression and other mental disorders "out of the darkness."  

Sincerely,
Mary Anne Burke
Chantilly, VA