Out of the Darkness Walk 2010
Please enjoy this video of our walk on Siesta Beach in support of suicide prevention.
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2010 Out of the Darkness Walk
On Sunday, October 24 at 8:00 a.m. I’ll be walking at Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Florida. Siesta Key is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I’ve done this walk before. It is intense – partly because of the beauty which provides an elegant backdrop to a very deeply emotional gathering.
The walk is a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This organization is studying the causes of suicide. They also provide support to the survivors of suicide. They produce materials to teach, train, support and illuminate – on a topic that has traditionally remained in the dark. Thus, the theme: Out of the Darkness.
My son Adam was a casualty of suicide. Suicide is preventable. Please support me in this effort. If you cannot walk , please donate. Even a small donation will help. It all adds up. Adam was important to me and to many other people. He was well loved. I walk in his honor and out of my love for him, and I walk to help prevent this tragic loss from happening to another mother. Please join me.
To sign up to walk with me: click here.
To donate: click here.
View Last Year’s Walk
Suicide Prevention on the College Campus
My son, Adam Szychowski was a senior at the University of Connecticut when died by suicide.
Adam (2nd from left) with his best friends.
He was 23. His suicide took place during the winter mid-semester break. Adam had achieved 20 credits in the fall semester, and had made dean’s list. It was his best semester ever.
He was one of only a few students who remained on campus. He loved his apartment, and the independence of living there, and it was only a 30 minute ride to his father’s home. I had wanted him to come to Florida and spend his break with me, but he insisted that he had too much work.
There were bits of information that I did not have at the time. Adam’s stellar performance was in part due to his prescription of Ritalin. He was not only taking Ritalin, but he was taking it in excessive doses, and at times paired with alcohol. Little by little during the fall semester, he had begun to unravel mentally even as he excelled academically. Lack of sleep played a role in his unraveling.
As I look at what happened to Adam, I realize that what I have now learned could have helped me to intercede before Adam felt he had no options. He had painted himself into a corner, and he felt he had only one option.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has an initiative that is focused on suicide prevention on the college campus.
Please follow the link below and support the AFSP in their efforts to prevent college student suicide.
AFSP: College Student Depression and Suicide
AFSP: College Student Depression and Suicide
AFSP: College Student Depression and Suicide
