Vice President Joseph Biden, while speaking at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors’ (TAPS) 18th annual survivor seminar to commemorate Memorial Day 2012, deviated from his prepared remarks to share his thoughts on the issue of suicide. He told the families of fallen soldiers he was so distraught following an automobile accident in 1972 that claimed the lives of his first wife and daughter, that he himself had entertained thoughts of suicide.

Many of us in the Disability Community struggle from time to time with the issue of suicide.  From my own personal experience, even though it's been over 13 years since I was injured, it still comes to mind at times when I am struggling with depression and extreme frustration.  Life with a disability can frequently seem overwhelming. This is especially true at the onset. Often suicide presents itself as a solution to all the problems one faces. Vice President Biden said:  “For the first time in my life, I understood how someone could consciously decide to commit suicide. Not because they were deranged, not because they were nuts, because they had been to the top of the mountain, and they just knew in their heart they would never get there again.”

For many of us our disabilities will prevent us from ever returning to the top of the mountain, and we know it, but in time, I believe, most of us come to accept that and move on accordingly. It is being at the bottom of the mountain or starting to climb up for the first time when suicide is thought of as an option.  Many of the individuals with disabilities to whom I have spoken admit they have struggled with these feelings. So, it is worthy of taking note that if you have thoughts of suicide from time to time, you certainly are not alone. For a while, I contributed blogs to a website for the disabled that refused to publish anything I submitted on suicide or severe depression. In my mind they were omitting an important subject from discussion. What message were they conveying to their readers? That life is always good?  Or that one should never get depressed, and if you have thoughts of suicide there is something wrong with you? What a disservice and loss of opportunity to truly connect with individuals with disabilities.

The psychologist at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital once told me that being depressed and feeling sorry for yourself was an okay place to visit but not a place to set up permanent residence.   As Vice President Biden said in the conclusion of his remarks “Folks, it can and will get better...” and most of us know that. We may have to remind ourselves of that or have somebody remind us of it, but we know it is true. We may never get to the top of the mountain again, but that does not mean we must stay at the bottom; rather it means we must continually climb.


Quotes are taken from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/25/joe-biden-suicide-speech-fallen-troops_n_1546316.html