However, The Speaker lost his family, but I will never be able to legally have one in Georgia because of him, and his party; and that makes my heart very heavy.

No body knows why individual humans take suicide as an option. Suicide is something I believe almost everyone ‘thinks’ about at some point in life. Blame the drugs? Might be right. Might be best to blame the drugs.

I hope I never blame the survivors or the ‘victim.’

I agree with ByteMe. Like ByteMe says, when you’re under treatment, you might not even notice how you’re reacting to your ‘meds,’ even with warnings.

But, yes, you’re right. Most anti-depressant meds have a correlation to increased suicidal thoughts and impulses during the initial exposure.

Mad Dog

“I feel your pain.”

To most of the others here.

Well done.

In my humble opinion, mental health issues are much less stigmatized because we have grown somewhat as a society and because we see what an eight war does to an all volunteer defense force. And their families.

Mad Dog

Hugs while you recuperate from your brain surgery!

Daniel, much like any other tragedy or near tragedy, there WILL be a time for reckoning and sifting through the fall out. But 48 hrs later isn’t it.

I’ve been where the Speaker has been, at least in this regard, and it was the beginning of the birth of the man everyone on this board knows. I’m thankful the Speaker was unsuccessful in his attempt, and successful in publicly talking about it. Yes, I acknowledge the political realities of the timing of the announcement, but he is still one of few anywhere NEAR his level of power and influence to openly talk about these issues. That takes some cajones right there.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for opening up this discussion during this season. We’ll sort out the politics of it later, and I may yet ultimately agree with my Chairman on them.

For now, best wishes for a speedy recovery and a heartfelt thank you from a fellow survivor.

I’ve had life-threatening reactions to a number of common drugs for common ailments and found that doctors did not always take such reactions seriously and certainly did not report them to any oversight agency. Trying to report such incidents oneself is an exercise in futility, I found.

We don’t get an accurate picture of drug safety.

My point is that we must consider this factor in the situation under discussion here.

http://www.webmd.com/drugs/mono-8095-SERTRALINE+-+ORAL.aspx?drugid=35&drugname=Zoloft+Oral

Sometimes it really is as simple as taking one drug at a prescribed dosage. Sometimes it’s not and until your in treatment for a while, it’s impossible to know how you will react to the drugs. Or whether you will even notice if you’re not properly reacting to the drugs. Especially if you don’t have a strong personal support structure around you that you trust.

Demonbeck

Depression is one of the most common health conditions in the world. Depression isn’t a weakness, nor is it something that you can simply “snap out of.” Depression, formally called major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a medical illness that involves the mind and body. It affects how you think and behave and can cause a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may not be able to go about your usual daily activities, and depression may make you feel as if life just isn’t worth living anymore.

Most health professionals today consider depression a chronic illness that requires long-term treatment, much like diabetes or high blood pressure. Although some people experience only one episode of depression, most have repeated episodes of depression symptoms throughout their life.

Effective diagnosis and treatment can help reduce even severe depression symptoms. And with effective treatment, most people with depression feel better, often within weeks, and can return to the daily activities they previously enjoyed.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression/DS00175

“Depression is a mood disorder, not a sign of mental instability.”

This is not true it all depends. I am not saying the Speaker has this issue but depression can cause mental instability.

Have you not been paying attention during the last 3+ legislative sessions?

It would not surprise me if this is a major part of the problem here. An acquaintance of mine here in my town was prescribed these drugs and other drugs after recent surgery. She had never shown any suicidal inclinations. A couple of weeks on the drugs, and she was sitting with her husband on the couch one night watching TV, talking calmly and companionably, with no indication of anything wrong. The husband dozed off, and the woman got into her car in her pajamas and drove straight to a river and jumped in. She did not survive. Her shocked husband blames the drugs.

Regardless, Godspeed Mr. Speaker.