For the record, there is no such thing as a “Suicide Season.” While it may be tempting to think of these long dark days of winter as a critical time for those contemplating ending their lives, this has shown to be statistically not the case.
In fact, the risk of suicide is a four-season phenomenon which makes it all the more understandable that our Mid-Shore’s suicide crisis and prevention center is called For All Seasons. A mental health agency tasked with being the community’s front line to save those suffering from these impulses, For All Seasons have significantly invested resources and public education programming over the years to provide a safe and caring place for those at risk and their families.
The Spy recently sat down with For All Seasons director Beth Anne Langrell and its clinical director, Lesa Lee, to talk about the ongoing threat of suicide in the region and their views of how best to attack this cry for help from loved ones.
As part of that interview, the Spy wanted to match some of Beth Anne and Lesa’s comments to the real and recent faces of suicide in our country that were found online. Young and old, male or female, white or black, over one million Americans are trying to end their lives each year. Those images say so much more about these avoidable tragedies.
Marti Hersey says
It would have been helpful if you had included in your article the address of the For All Seasons facility.
Calling mental illness a disease like heart disease or diabetes fails to do it justice. It does persist throughout a person’s life and IS treatable with drugs for the symptoms, but it isn’t simply the brain that is affected, it is everything about a person: his personality, his thinking, his feelings, his behavior, his five senses, his relations with other people, his ability to get employment and to take care of himself, etc. Mental illness, esp. schizophrenia, is a life-long disease.
As far as suicide is concerned, I have schizophrenia and have attempted suicide once or twice. My daughter was mentally ill and committed suicide in a mental hospital. My two attempts also took place in a mental hospital, under the watchful eyes of who knows who? I might like to go to For All Seasons for help, but I don’t know where it is. We mental patients fear talking about suicide because we fear that we will be committed by the health professional to a hospital.
Thank you for the video.
Beth Anne Langrell says
Hi Marti,
Thank You for reaching out. We could not agree with you more about mental illness effecting the whole person.
Our locations are as follow:
Easton, 300 Talbot Street
Denton, 114 Market Street
Queenstown, 206 Del Rhodes Avenue
Cambridge, 208 Cedar Street
Chestertown, 516 Washington Avenue
To schedule an appointment call 410-822-1018, we are here to help and can provide you an appointment and we currently have no waitlist at this time.
Beth Anne Langrell
Executive Director, For All Seasons, Inc.