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Nuçi's Space Draws Attention To Depression and Suicide Awareness Week, April 16-20

by Danielle Moore
04/10/2007

Some say it drove Ernest Hemingway to kill himself, Vincent van Gogh to cut off part of his left ear and Seattle-based rock singer, Kurt Cobain, to end his life.

Depression. It affects approximately 19 million Americans according to WebMD, and evidence seems to suggest that it tends to prey on the creative mind.

In a newsletter to the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, titled "Creativity and Bipolar Disorder," Dr. B. Andrew Farah of the Mayo Clinic said, "It is accepted as a matter of fact, not speculation, that there is a correlation between the creative mind and one prone to Bipolar illness."

Nuçi's Space intends to fight fire with fire by inviting creative individuals on campus and in the community to help raise awareness about depression and suicide. From April 16 to 20, the local non-profit organization will use creative mediums such as film and music to promote Depression and Suicide Awareness Week.

Local musicians will compete in a bracket system called "Arch Madness" in order to win a spot in the summer music and arts festival, AthFest. The final two bands will also be asked to perform on the Friday during awareness week.

If moviemaking is your forte, then you can submit a short four to five minute film on the subject of mental illness. If chosen, the film will be shown during awareness week and released in the community.

Will Kiser, development director for Nuçi's Space, said the use of creative methods to illustrate the effects of depression is essential because it's so hard to express verbally.

"Depression isn't like a broken arm. It's hard to be vocal about it because you can't see what you're feeling," he said.

Kiser said they also plan to hold a panel discussion at the Tate Center during the week to educate the campus community about suicide and depression and to help fight stigma that is commonly associated with the illness.

The panel will include Frank Warren, author of "The Secret Lives of Men and Women" and creator of the website Postsecret which publishes secret confessions from people who send them to be displayed on the site. From unrequited love to the phantoms of mental illness, the published postcards provide cathartic revelations from all sides of the emotional spectrum.

One postcard found on the site reads, "Whenever I see a jet flying overhead I secretly wish it was carrying a bomb that would instantaneously relieve people of the pain in their lives."; another admits to sexual pleasure associated with watching "The Price is Right."

During the panel, Warren will read postcards not previously allowed to be published and hold a book signing at the University Bookstore on April 17. The money raised from the signing will go toward Nuçi's Space.

Alyssa Bernstein, a senior sociology major from Marietta and intern for the center, said representatives from Nuçi's Space will have a table set up in the Tate Center all week and said she hopes students will not be ashamed to ask questions or ask for help if they need it.

"We want it to be very public and open, but we still understand that people are uncomfortable with the subject of suicide and depression," she said. "There's a strong stigma attached to it. Everyone puts on a mask, but we're all dealing with something underneath it all."