A Mysterious Rise in Suicides

Kelly Gifford's heart sank on a Friday morning in August 2006 when she checked her e-mail and no message popped up from her older sister, Linda. For decades, Linda, 42, had suffered from bipolar disorder, depression, and eating disorders, and had checked in and out of several rehabilitation clinics. Although she lived alone in Denver, 1,800 miles from Kelly and the rest of their family in Arlington, Virginia, the two sisters were close. On the previous Friday, Linda had admitted to Kelly that she had called a suicide hot line. Kelly talked to her constantly that weekend, begging her to call a doctor. When last they had spoken on Monday, Linda had assured Kelly that she was feeling much better. But now there was no word.During the next four days, Kelly called and e-mailed Linda repeatedly — with no response. Friday morning, Kelly finally called the Denver police and asked them to check on her sister. Two hours later, the police confirmed her suspicions: Linda was dead in her apartment from an overdose of prescription drugs. "It was always in the back of my mind, but I didn't think it would actually happen," Gifford says. "It was absolutely devastating."This is a very serious problem in our society, each day more people are overdosing. If you have a family member or a friend in need on help, the Recovery Place St. Johns deals with many types of substance abuse problems and can help you with this. Its necessary to keep our love ones safe.Read more at...Johns Hopkins Magazine, February 2009.