Patrick Kennedy Urges for Plan to Address the Mental Health Crisis in Wake of Cousin Saoirse's Death
Patrick J. Kennedy is emphasizing a need for more consideration to psychological health within the wake of Saoirse Kennedy Hill‘s demise.
Almost three months after his cousin, who spoke candidly about her battle with depression, died from an obvious overdose, Patrick, 52, appeared on Monday’s episode of The Dr. OuncesShow, the place he urged for a “comprehensive” plan to deal with the nation-wide “mental health crisis.”
The previous Rhode Island Congressman made the demand as he was discussing the emotionally-raw essay Saoirse wrote for her high school’s scholar newspaper, the place the then 19-year-old candidly described her personal psychological health struggles, together with her time in a remedy facility after a suicide attempt.
“She was chatting with her pals in high school,” Patrick advised Dr. Ouncesof the significance of Saoirse’s essay. “We’re seeing an enormous leap in the variety of suicide attempts and charges of melancholy and nervousness amongst youngsters and amongst college-age, younger individuals.”
“So this is not a crisis that’s going to go away merely after Purdue Pharma stopped promoting oxycodone,” he continued. “We have now an underlying disease of habit and we now have an underlying mental health disaster on this country that we have to tackle and it’s not so simple as slicing off the availability of Pharma, it needs to be extra comprehensive than that.”
RELATED: Saoirse Kennedy Hill Opened Up About Her Battle with Depression 3 Years Before Her Death
One of the ways that Patrick felt progress could possibly be made was by means of an concept referred to as “check-up from the neck-up,” which calls on the nation’s docs to think about different hereditary sicknesses throughout their annual examinations.
“Whenever you go to your doctor’s office they usually take a household historical past of whether you’ve had stroke or most cancers in the family, they should take a household historical past of whether you could have alcoholism, or habit, or mental sickness in your loved ones,” Patrick explained.
“Because the probabilities are, you’re going to be at high danger your self if another relations also endure from a type of sicknesses,” he added.
Saoirse, 22, was found lifeless on Aug. 1 at her grandmother Ethel Kennedy‘s house in Hyannis Port after an apparent overdose. Her cause and method of demise are still pending the toxicology report, based on the Cape and Islands District Lawyer’s Office.
In a press release to PEOPLE, the well-known political household confirmed the news of Saoirse’s premature dying.
“Our hearts are shattered by the lack of our beloved Saoirse. Her life was crammed with hope, promise, and love,” the family stated. “She cared deeply about family and friends, especially her mom Courtney, her father Paul, her stepmother Stephanie, and her grandmother Ethel.”
Shortly after the tragedy, Patrick, who's the son of Ted Kennedy, posted a photograph of his youthful cousin and wrote on Twitter, “Saoirse will all the time stay in our hearts. She is beloved and will probably be deeply missed.”
Saoirse will all the time stay in our hearts. She is beloved and might be deeply missed. pic.twitter.com/HIyLBivXQD
— Patrick J. Kennedy (@PJK4brainhealth) August 2, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
He adopted up his tweet by sharing a hyperlink to Saoirse’s essay and inspiring his followers to learn her words, whereas additionally urging for the nationwide stigma about mental well being to finish.
“Saoirse’s honest account of her melancholy is a strong reminder of how so many individuals endure alone and feel isolated,” he wrote. “I am proud Saoirse was capable of be open and tell her story. I encourage everyone to learn her words.”
“Really feel what she felt. Do whatever you possibly can from your place in life to cease the isolation, the stigma, and the devastating lack of acknowledgment that always results in tragedy,” he continued.
“Households throughout the nation, including ours, are suffering,” Patrick finished. “We should come out of the shadows.”
Later that day, Patrick spoke out on NBC Nightly News and praised Saoirse as a “hero” for being open about her struggles, persevering with to push the dialog forward, and getting professional help when she wanted it.
“She opened the door for her friends to also come out and not feel shamed by this illness and she is a real hero in my family,” Patrick advised the outlet. “She broke the silence.”
“And we mourn her loss but her reminiscence will stay on as somebody who wasn’t going to keep silent and wasn’t going to be feeling as if she had one thing shameful, but relatively one thing medical that she sought remedy for,” he continued.
“This impacts each single family in America,” Patrick added. “It’s well beyond time that we cope with this in a approach that we might cope with some other public health crisis.”
When you or somebody you already know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “residence” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
In case you are battling habit points, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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