Dan Abbott had a lot in common with many people who end up killing themselves.
Dan Abbott, 67, poses recently with his wife, Maine author Monica Wood, in the backyard of their Portland home.
He felt helpless and hopeless. He was experiencing unbearable psychological pain, and he was ashamed to think other people would find out that he was not as strong as he looked.
But Abbott was different in one way: He was lucky enough to fail in his attempt, and through two years of medical and psychological care, he has been able to get his life back again. Recently he told his story to reporter Bob Keyes, hoping that others will see that they can escape their problems by getting help, and not by killing themselves.
“I think it might be an act of kindness, at this time when suicide is being discussed so extensively, to have someone talk about a suicide attempt and recovery,” he said.
Part of the importance of Abbott’s story is finding out that his mental illness did not simply disappear after he was pulled from his burning truck, at the verge of death. It took months of hard work to overcome a severe depression fed by a deep sense of humiliation. Eventually, he was helped with a controversial therapy that carries almost as much stigma as suicide: Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT), or shock treatment.
The treatment has delivered good results for people whose depression does not respond to medication. It also has critics, who call it a form of medical abuse, and cite cultural images like a famous scene in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” which depict it as a form of torture.
But that scene has nothing to do with actual ECT, which despite the name, does not send the patient’s body into violent convulsions. A common side effect is a period of memory loss, but millions of people, like Abbott, have found the benefit worth the cost.
Unfortunately, like mental illness itself, there is a lot of stigma associated with the treatment and many people who have benefitted from it don’t want to talk about it. As a result, people who are suffering and believe that there is no way out of their struggle may not know that they could be helped.
Abbott’s decision to tell his story is vitally important now, as suicide rates are on the rise. People who are in great pain may hear that famous people like Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade have killed themselves, and wonder whether there could be any hope for them. Abbott shows that you can recover, and a treatment you’ve never tried could be the answer.
It’s a message that people considering suicide need to hear. It’s one that could save lives.
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