RE: (TV) On a minor note...

["Larry F. Holt" <lholt@birminghamchamber.com>]

> What you indicated is that there is medical evidence that 
> chemical imbalance is the cause of most or all cases of 
> depressions, and depression is the only cause of suicides.  
> So from that you infer that all suicides are caused by 
> depression and hence by chemical imbalances.  Here is where 
> you and I disagree -- you can't prove the reverse link, that 
> all suicides are caused by chemical imbalances. 

I really don't think it's that black and white either. This isn't a
logic problem. 

I truly support people's right to decide for instance whether
physician-assisted suicide is appropriate. But I'm afraid for some
reason or another you are stigmatizing mental illness. There was a great
article a while back about jumpers of the Golden Gate Bridge: 

"Dr. Seiden's study, "Where Are They Now?," published in 1978, followed
up on five hundred and fifteen people who were prevented from attempting
suicide at the bridge between 1937 and 1971. After, on average, more
than twenty-six years, ninety-four per cent of the would-be suicides
were either still alive or had died of natural causes. "The findings
confirm previous observations that suicidal behavior is crisis-oriented
and acute in nature," Seiden concluded; if you can get a suicidal person
through his crisis-Seiden put the high-risk period at ninety
days-chances are extremely good that he won't kill himself later." 
Larry
--------------
To post: Mail tv@obbard.com
To unsubscribe: Mail majordomo@obbard.com with message "unsubscribe tv"