Supplements

Commentary

By Liz Quirin

Depression in Rural Areas a Real Problem

Hope springs eternal, or so the saying goes, but evidently not everywhere. In fact, spring is the worst season of the year for people with clinical depression, I learned listening to a mother whose son committed suicide four years ago at the age of 18. A time of hope for everyone else, this time of birth and rebirth magnifies their feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness.
We worry more about this time of year as one when our young people slide behind the wheels of cars to drive after they have been drinking at proms or graduation parties. We want them to live, to relish their youth, to be here so that we can see their life stories unfold, but some families are experiencing more than worry at one particular time of the year. They worry every day about their young adults who don’t believe they deserve to live, are valued and loved by their families and friends.
In the metropolitan area of St. Louis, a number of psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and treatment centers can work with youth and their families to try to return them to health and hope. What about folks whose young people suffer from this same depression but live in rural areas of our diocese and our country? What kind of medical help is available to them, especially if someone has reached a crisis point in their illness? Precious few resources exist, especially when you need help right now to stop someone from becoming another suicide statistic. Here are just a few of those statistics: We lose more young people to suicide than to the top eight leading causes of death combined. Suicide crosses all racial, socioeconomic and cultural lines. Rich and poor can become victims.
Often, those who commit suicide look like they “have it all,” but inside, they don’t believe it. They may tell someone and make them promise “not to tell” anyone else. This is a secret nobody should keep. The sooner help is called, the more likely the help will make a difference. However, again, in rural areas, who do you call, how do you find help? No easy answers are available to that question. Some national hot lines exist, but what if you’re miles and miles from a clinic or hospital? Add to that the possibility that the counselor you find may not be the right one. If a young person doesn’t like a counselor or the counselor lacks the expertise or the personality to work with a young person with depression, you’ve got to keep looking.
It can be frustrating for you and dangerous for a young person, so you have to keep looking. The short answer is that we need to find ways to link rural areas with people and places that can offer immediate assistance. The first place to call may be your parish where, hopefully the pastoral staff will be able to point you in the right direction. Even if you’re not sure, you need to seek help. It may be a matter of life or death.