Tens of thousands of Americans die from suicide every year, yet fear of stigma and lack of awareness hinders so many from getting the help they desperately need. Everyday Health Sanity Break blogger Therese Borchard breaks through the silence, talking about her personal struggles with suicidal depression in her column “What Suicidal Depression Feels Like.” Borchard posted her blog in the weeks following the suicide death of comedian-actor Robin Williams, whose struggles with depression and substance abuse were well-known. “If this brutal beast of an illness is strong enough to kill someone with the passion, determination, and genius of Robin Williams, then we must do everything we can to protect those who are more fragile,” she writes. Borchard describes what suicidal depression feels like in simple yet vivid terms. She likens the urgency to take one’s life to a sneeze, an impulse so strong “that you simply follow your body’s command without thinking too much of it. All you’re feeling is an incredible itch to sneeze, and you’re certain that anything short of sneezing wouldn’t relieve you of the sensation.” Brave and moving, Borchard’s blog addresses a major mental health problem at the human level and tells a personal story that gives voice to countless others.
