One of the most meaningful notes I received on my relapse post was from a woman who lost her son to suicide. After reading her words, I felt renewed in my mission to educate as many people as I can about the seriousness of mental illness.

My prayers go out to you Therese – your pain is very real however your faith is stronger and as I read your story I see a strong and determined woman. I wish your article came out 2 years ago for my son to read. I’m a mother of a 25 year old handsome, talented, loving and committed young man with 2 baby girls who he left behind. His Bipolar Disorder mixed with Manic Depression was told to us after he was gone. We thought he had “issues” and his change of behavior was hard for us to understand but figured it was just growing pains and the sudden responsibility of taking care of a wife diagnosed with colon cancer, a premature infant and a go-nowhere job was just too hard for him to handle. His faith was high and knew Jesus was on his side but the enemy spoke to him constantly in nightmares, sleepless nights and bouts of guilt, depression and feelings of worthlessness. He had all the support from a loving family, resources abounding yet he often said he felt completely alone and we didn’t understand. We just couldn’t help him. I truly wish he would have known that others go through these dark days and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for your words.

When I wrote to Melinda to thank her for her note, she wrote even more that I thought Beyond Blue readers could benefit from knowing:

Manic Depression seems like a horrible thing to go through by just witnessing the changes in my son. He was a dancer/singer/actor, funny, happy, excuse the expression “devil may care” character and very much loved. His illness reduced him to a frightened and confused individual who looked in the mirror and saw the ugly side of his disease. We longed to have our Gabriel back again but it was not meant to be I guess. He lives in his girls (ages four and seven) who we see often and our faith in our Lord and Savior has helped us to explain to them the loss of their special Daddy. We remember his happy and loving side and smile. His disease was very real, however, we didn’t know how real at the time. Sure he said “…they told me I was bipolar”. To us, bipolar meant you were happy one day and sad the next. Little did we know that if we just researched it more we would have found out his condition was much worse than we knew – hind sight. We know better now and understand his last desperate act was not his doing but that of the disease. Please continue to write your columns so that people understand the seriousness of this disorder and that it is very real; that they should seek all help possible and know that they are not alone. Prayers to you and yours –Melinda