The information you've listed here is so important for all of us to know.

It is such a sad photo.....

Maybe that's why the title doesn't make sense. What's in the photo?

Like an electrical box that sits on the sidewalk. Oh, it's a phone equipment box; it says AT&T on it.

On it someone wrote "my best friend killed himself."

I have no idea why the photo wouldn't show. Sorry!

That can take one by surprise when we least expect it. The poster went out to walk his dog, but before long was forced by the graffiti message left by someone in his midst tragically affected by suicide. A sign of the times. They say people in Spain are jumping from Windows lately. Sad. V. Sad.

That's why the title says that.

though it's never been to the point of considering suicide.

Even as a teenager, I found myself becoming depressed as the leaves fell. While others marvel at the changing colors, I have always looked at it as more of a death of sorts. I just figured it was an "Oh no, the party's over till next spring" feeling.

I have learned that turning lights on in the middle of the day helps immensely. Background noise is a must for me. I try to find a couple major projects to keep me busy.

I figure if I can tough it out until March 1st, I've got it made...

until next Fall.

Helped a friend with this problem. If this is your issue, you should know within 48-72 hours if it will help. Very noticeable.

I had not considered that. I take calcium with Vit. D twice daily. My daughter's doctor told her that people in the US don't get enough.

Couldn't hurt. And, with all that is going on here lately, it might even give me an added boost of energy. I will give it a shot.
Thanks for the suggestion.

other organs if you take too much.

If you think you might be D deficient, get tested and follow up accordingly.

D is not just a vitamin, it is a hormone and poor balance can upset your parathyroid, calcium, vitamin D axis.

Be safe. Consult your primary provider.

My assumption is that you are smart enough to use common sense, and use the FDA guidelines/not overdose on it.

I also recommend talking to a pharmacist (as opposed to a physician), unless you have specific health concerns that *should* be addressed with a physician. (Cheaper, plus they can talk about any concerns with any other medications you are already taking.)

You can read about it here: http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

Table 2: Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin D [1]

0–12 months* 400 IU (10 mcg)
1–70 years 600 IU (15 mcg)
>70 years 800 IU (20 mcg)

* Adequate Intake (AI)

Wikipedia says this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

Mortality: Low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with increased mortality, and giving supplementary vitamin D3 to elderly women in institutional care seems to decrease the risk of death. Vitamin D2, alfacalcidol, and calcitriol do not appear to be effective. However, both an excess and a deficiency in vitamin D appear to cause abnormal functioning and premature aging. The relationship between serum calcidiol level and all-cause mortality is U-shaped, Harm from vitamin D appears to occur at a lower vitamin D level in the black population than in the white population.

Milk is one of the few dietary sources of vitamin D — a critical nutrient that helps our bodies absorb calcium.
•The American Academy of Pediatrics recently doubled its recommended daily intake of vitamin D from 200 IU to 400 IU for all infants, children and adolescents.
•It is estimated that fewer than 5% of adults 50 and over are getting enough vitamin D.

consider taking up an outdoor wintertime activity. Doesn't necessarily have to be a sport, but just a regular outside activity or chore, like walking the dog or sweeping the driveway, whatever.

The point is to confront the season and neutralize the dread of it, which gets to be chronic. Find a way to embrace it.

if he didn't see it coming.

The symptoms are not always as clearly visible as the ones written here.

We don't know all the circumstances...

The best friend just couldn't stop it.

maybe his best friend did something like getting drunk and crashing his car, or did some other thing that resulted in his accidental death.

not likely though, admittedly.

without it being a suicide. Think the wording would have been "my best friend died" if it was an accident. So sad no matter what.

I've heard it used in the context of accidental death.

No one, not family or friends, saw it coming. He owned a business that was doing very well. He and his wife had their second daughter just six weeks earlier.

He called his brother who is a Catholic priest, made a confession of sorts, and hung up. By the time the police got there, he was gone.

No note, nothing. He left behind a wife who loved him, two young children, and several employees who had no clue that anything was wrong.

For people who have never experienced severe depression, the symptoms are hard to spot.

I still remember the shock and horror I felt when I learned. I still think of him with sadness and feel guilty for not saving him somehow, even though he was a thousand miles away when it happened. Until you experience having a close friend commit suicide - or even worse, a child - you can't imagine the pain.

Vitamin D3 has been shown to help those with SAD - which makes a LOT of sense if you think about it. For months out of the year- fall and winter - much of the US has greatly reduced ability to make VD3 naturally because the sun is simply too far away.

If you go over to the Vitamin D Council (www.vitamindcouncil.org) - a non-profit advocacy agency - to to health conditions, then to "Mental Health and Learning Disorders" - or do a search.

........I have had issues in winter.

Using plant-grow/bluish daylight type fluorescent bulbs for 15 minutes in the evening & morning used to help a lot.

The theory was to reset circadian rhythms to spring/summer.

My Australian friend grew up where Christmas is in summer. When she came to America she said she thought all the Christmas lights were so over-the-top--until she experienced a full winter. She said the lights helped her get through it. Now she understands the urge to illuminate.

When I'm home I turn on strings of Xmas lights inside from Nov to March. Cheap solution.

***Those of you who, at some point, should have gotten involved - but didn't - know what I'm talking about.***

Survivors, many of whom did everything possible to get help for their friend or family member, experience years of guilt wondering, "What service did I miss?" "Why couldn't I find the answer?" "What more could I have done?"

Furthermore, some forms of depression tend to run in families. Bi-polar disorder shows up in families with a history of alcoholism, for example. Thus you are expecting someone who has great difficulty coping with their own life to find the perfect solution for another troubled person.

Your post has great value until you ruin it with that bit of righteousness.

Give me a fucking break.

I stand by my OP.

Never said it applied to me...but as a grief counselor I witnessed just how hard people, who have done everything humanly possible, struggle with a deep sense of failure. Your sanctimony has no place in any discussion of suicide. You have just rendered your OP worthless.

If someone has done "everything humanly possible" it wouldn't apply to them either, would it?

That comment was made because of a personal experience that will haunt me for life. I am trying to save others from having to endure that grief. For someone who professes to be a grief counselor, your post is one of the most clueless I've seen on this board.

I was talking about the fact that people who have done everything they could still feel enormous guilt about their failure to prevent a suicide. That they could easily interpret your closing statement, ***Those of you who, at some point, should have gotten involved - but didn't - know what I'm talking about.*** as further proof they didn't do enough.

I am merely pointing out that your otherwise excellent post should not point fingers at anyone.... There is no guarantee that your intervention would have prevented the suicide, it might have simply postponed it. There are 150,000 registered users on DU, and some no doubt, are coping with the pain of this type of loss. But perhaps I expect too much from someone who resorts to an ad hominem attack to win a point. Have a nice day.

Some questions you might want to ask yourself:

Should the fact that intervention doesn't always work prevent someone from doing it anyway?
Should someone who professes to be a grief counselor know that it's better to intervene than not?
Is there any basis for your bizarre interpretation that "not getting involved" is the same as "not doing enough"?
Do you have any idea what "ad hominem" actually means?

You have a nice day, too.

I said there was no guarantee. Of course intervention helps...I never said it didn't. Nor did I say you should not advocate for intervention. Calling me clueless was definitely ad hominem...