The afternoon of October 6, 2010 brought reports to campus and local police of a young woman's body found behind a University of Washington Fraternity. Initial concerns of foul play were allayed by evidence that a nearby sorority member who was 20-year-old Carly Henley had taken her own life.
Though the past decade hasn't proven as much to outsiders, it is probable that Carly's reaction to the anti-depressant drug, Zoloft, which she had begun taking only recently, was the central factor in her suicide.
It is difficult to tell, years later, whether Carly's existence as one small databit in general societal trends in suicide can be at all useful there. For it seems that, as sad as it was, her death can be likely traced to the anti-depressant, and as such, still-yet-unknown social factors that might one day help reduce suicidal behavior may not apply.
Trends in suicide are going upward, with white males accounting for approximately 70% of all. That number sort of supports the premise that suicide is more a function of how far one seems to descend (especially "suddenly") in life rather than at what self-perceived altitude a person actually exists on this earth. Among continental U.S. states which are in any part west of Texas, only California has a lower suicide rate than does Carly's home state of Washington.
That suicide rates in California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois are relatively low does give hope that society will eventually make inroads toward reducing suicide rates. For it seems that people who live in some of those larger metro areas know poverty and adverse human conditions at rates far in excess of those experienced by the random American. Yet so many persevere and create self-contentment in spite of those conditions, once again supporting the premise that the angle of (self-perceived) descent, and not the actual level of seeming despair itself, is a chief catalyst for suicidal thinking.
Can humans be better trained to reflexively seek emotional support at times when great misfortune, self-panic, or even poor choices effect a life-altering descent to an unfamiliar and uncomfortable level of existence? Suicide hotlines are great... for the select few who possess the reflexes that would inspire them to call in times of despair. And just to have an outlet that way is enough for many to bridge the gap before their next degree of outside support.
It gives comfort in hindsight to most that Carly Henley likely lived a fairly pleasant life augmented a great deal by the luxury of the social benefits of her own reflection mirrored in the eyes and actions of most everyone she met.
In many ways Carly took the benefits of her natural gifts and ran with them while succeeding in gaining recognition and even more attention for her music. Her videos remain on YouTube, enjoyed by many, with her image seemingly suspended right at a point from which she could have gone on to be anything or anyone.
Carly's friends and associates have each chosen or are at least currently ON singular life paths. Some married, some parents, some well into careers. Carly's little sister is in Med school, perhaps in part impacted directly or indirectly to strive even higher by Carly's death.
The role of anti-depressant drugs is largely unchanged in American society with more and more people surely citing improvement or recovery at what remains the occasional expense of a Carly Henley. If you're just a statistics person in an actuarial setting, then the sacrifice appears to be small or at least manageable.
But were you tasked to put a human form to such a databit, you would be both impressed and deeply saddened by your own efforts if you happened to create a Carly Henley without first knowing it could even be such a person.
No comments:
Post a Comment