July 30, 2015
Thursday July 30 marks 25 years since Carly Henley's birth and it will probably cause many to imagine Carly thriving on whatever path she might have taken had she not ended her own life on October 6, 2010.
It warrants mention/notice here that Carly's catchphrase, "Love Wins", has become very popular all over since Carly died as it has been the mantra for the "marriage equality" movement. This writer doesn't know whether Carly had any particular feelings about that subject of "marriage equality". No doubt anybody who knew of Carly before or after her death might enjoy something to cause their thoughts to drift to Carly at random times whenever the phrase is repeated in the media.
No doubt it is especially satisfying, really, for most anyone to envision a mythical Carly Henley of 2015 doing very well on some chosen path. Aiding that possibility is that Carly's cousin, Tess Henley has evolved quite far in the music business and is now touring the United States while performing several shows each month. (www.tesshenley.com for details)
For some odd reason it makes people feel good to be so confident that Carly would be thriving as of this, her would-be 25th birthday. Nearly five years after she died, it remains challenging to find so much as a blemish on Carly's image - and that is no easy task for most people. But people want to envision the very best for Carly's would-have-been-if-only fate because we want to feel that somebody who had so much, and somebody who gave and did so much to make others feel accepted and cared-for, would get it all back ten times over.
Carly Henley's image just seems to grow and grow, with time, and that is largely due to her having harbored so much ability and potential to a point where she could have done well on any path, before she was taken away so suddenly and without significant warning. The human mind doesn't even want to recognize, that no matter how successful or sought-after, Carly could have known just one path. Instead we contemplate a vast array of enviable destinations and wonder for a while which of them would have been Carly's alternate fate.
Recognizing that we can never know which it would have been, we instead multiply exponentially our own expectation of Carly's would-be success and happiness with each new possible path we create in our minds.
Maybe that's wrong, but it makes people feel good to do so, and with Carly so seldom revealing a blemish or a noteworthy flaw, it is pretty easy to anticipate only answers which please us. So in that way Carly Henley's image soothes those she has touched even to this day, and unlike our favorite living athletes or politicians, Carly's image as held in our minds isn't going to make a misstep anytime soon.
Carly's image is sort of like a lottery ticket in your pocket, allowing you to dream, and imagine, only in this case the drawing never comes along to spoil the contentment Carly has placed in your heart and mind for whenever you need it.
Listening on YouTube to Carly's performance of "Love The Skin You're In" as shared with a high school audience in front of which Carly won her school's talent competition on this, the 25th anniversary of Carly Henley's birth.
Carly Henley was someone I'd never even heard of before she took her own life at the age of 20 while a talented, popular and attractive junior at university. She seemed the person nobody would ever guess for such a fate. The media doesn't generally cover suicide but Carly Henley could inspire so much caring and understanding and it has to start somewhere... I attempt to present this blog without hurting or offending Carly Henley's family or anyone else but suicide is a delicate subject.
I learned of the death of college student Carly Henley two days after her passing, on October 6, 2010. In the days soon to follow it became clear that scores and scores of people were wounded to the core by the loss. Wonderful evidence around the internet serves to almost suspend Carly Henley's personable allure, her impressive musical talent, and a short life the likes of which most anybody could envy.
Various reports tell of her short term struggle with depression of perhaps three months in duration. Significant in that was the introduction of anti-depressant drug Zoloft via prescription some two weeks before Carly took her own life.
Not lost on me now, finally, is the wording in the "Black Box Warning" with Zoloft, which states that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in persons younger than 25. Risk is especially heightened during the first two months of taking anti-depressants.
The labels on anti-depressant drugs in the U.S. were altered to reference young adults aged 18 to 24 just three years earlier - in 2007.
It is my belief, now, that Carly just happened to land among the small percentage of anti-depressant users who are susceptible to being so affected by a powerful drug such as Zoloft.
One need not ever have known such a remarkable woman to feel the pain all around at the loss of Carly Henley.
So many life lessons are so well represented by Carly Henley's compelling spirit. Let me see if I can help some to gain fuller appreciation for a woman who continues to inspire everyone who ever knew of her.
Various reports tell of her short term struggle with depression of perhaps three months in duration. Significant in that was the introduction of anti-depressant drug Zoloft via prescription some two weeks before Carly took her own life.
Not lost on me now, finally, is the wording in the "Black Box Warning" with Zoloft, which states that antidepressants may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in persons younger than 25. Risk is especially heightened during the first two months of taking anti-depressants.
The labels on anti-depressant drugs in the U.S. were altered to reference young adults aged 18 to 24 just three years earlier - in 2007.
It is my belief, now, that Carly just happened to land among the small percentage of anti-depressant users who are susceptible to being so affected by a powerful drug such as Zoloft.
One need not ever have known such a remarkable woman to feel the pain all around at the loss of Carly Henley.
So many life lessons are so well represented by Carly Henley's compelling spirit. Let me see if I can help some to gain fuller appreciation for a woman who continues to inspire everyone who ever knew of her.
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