Depression was hidden until it was too late: Joseph I. Giarrusso III ...

Southeast Louisiana Hospital is set to close as part of Governor Bobby Jindal's cuts in health care. (Photo by Contributing Op-Ed columnist)

If my dad's death can teach us anything, it is the need for heightened sensitivity to mental health issues.

The recent media accounts of Joe Giarrusso Jr.'s life -- my dad -- suggested that he had it all. First, he was a retired attorney and magistrate who helped create a domestic violence section at Criminal Court. Second, he was related to former and current public officials. Third, he taught theology classes. Fourth, he had a wonderfully loving family.

There was no fairy tale ending, however. Dad died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sept. 12.

After reading the media accounts, many have asked, "What was wrong?" "Did he have a substance abuse problem?" No, though he had a few beers now and then. "Was he near financial ruin?" No, he blossomed in his new career as a mediator and provided for his family. "Maybe, there were marital problems?" No, Dad often said in his own colorful way that being married to him was the best 37 years of Mom's life.

He turned 60 in July and was diagnosed with diabetes a few months earlier. The former is an expected milestone and the latter is a regularly treated chronic medical condition. But neither one was immediately life threatening.

It is now self-evident that Dad was suffering from depression, a serious mental illness, the severity of which was lost on his family, friends and colleagues.

We do not profess to be mental health experts after two weeks, but we are trying to learn what we can about mental health issues. And the evidence is surprising and disturbing.

According to Kay Jamison's 2011 book "Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide," suicide was "the third leading cause of death in young people in the United States and the second for college students." Based on the National Institute of Mental Health's findings in 2007, suicide was the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States among adults ages 18-65.

Mental health issues affect the New Orleans metropolitan area. On July 13 -- which ironically was Dad's birthday --- The Times-Picayune reported on the state's cuts to Louisiana's Medicaid program. That article highlighted massive cuts to hospitals and clinics throughout Louisiana, including the closure of the inpatient mental health facility Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville. Closing Southeast Louisiana Hospital means the loss of 176 beds to treat patients with mental illness.

Mental illness is not a geographical problem. It is not a socioeconomic problem. It is not a racial problem. This is a problem affecting all of us. Put differently, this is not a "their" problem. It is an "our" problem.

If my dad's death can teach us anything, it is the need for heightened sensitivity to mental health issues. Mental illness and suicide are stigmatized largely because of a historical misunderstanding of these diseases and their processes. Two things have resulted from such misunderstanding.

First, mental health issues are often either discussed behind closed doors or swept under the rug entirely. Second, the failure to discuss these problems undermines awareness resulting in the delay of treatment. Awareness of mental health issues can only be achieved through greater education.

In turn, greater education should lead to increased public discourse and the understanding that mental illness must be addressed and combatted in the same way as cancer, Alzheimer's, or any other illness. We would not let family or friends delay or avoid treatment of those conditions. Why should mental illness be treated any differently?

As tragic as this is for my mom, our family and friends, my dad's passing is a teachable moment -- a moment to focus on increased awareness, education, dialogue and treatment. Let's not allow that moment to slip away. We won't.

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Joseph I. Giarrusso III is a New Orleans attorney.

Source: http://www.nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2012/09/depression_was_hidden_until_it.html

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