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Kyle Ambrogi's Story
> 5/18/2006 10:38:12 AM

Way back in October we posted on the story of University of Pennsylvania football player Kyle Ambrogi. A favorite son of the city of Philadelphia, Ambrogi committed suicide October 10th, shooting himself in his mother's home. Today, ESPN.com has an extensive feature on the life and death of Ambrogi. It is a powerful picture of a successful student-athlete cut down by crippling depression.

The story addresses "signs" that friends and family missed that could have prevented Ambrogi's suicide, but what the writer doesn't make explicit but is clear from his reporting is that Ambrogi was more than likely suffering from bipolar-disorder. The story gives some statistics on suicide:

According to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, a life is lost to suicide every 18 minutes. Ninety-five percent of college kids who commit suicide are suffering from a mental illness, usually depression. Sixty percent of people who kill themselves do so with a firearm.

Kyle Ambrogi's story is a powerful one, but it is important to remember that suicide is never an answer and should never be romanticized. Giving in to death when life seems a struggle is not the behavior of a hero. As Dr. William Hapworth's earlier post points out, only through therapy can we truly begin to understand the motivations for suicidal ideation. And only through intensive, difficult treatment will sufferers find the strength to live on.

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