Gumleaf
March 8th, 2010, 12:43 AM
click the link for the background of what happened.
http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16685
14:58 AEST Mon Mar 8 2010
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1024608/dragun-appeared-to-have-ideal-live
Charmaine Dragun appeared to have an "ideal life" with "everything to live for" when she jumped from The Gap in 2007.
But the Network Ten newsreader was hiding "deep and troubling issues", a coronial inquest into her death has been told.
Ms Dragun had been battling with diagnosed depression for more than a decade and had survived a bout of anorexia in the mid-1990s, Deputy State Coroner Malcolm MacPherson heard on Monday.
The 29-year-old, who had a budding television career and was soon to be married, drove to the cliff top in Watsons Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs in November 2007 and jumped to her death.
In his opening address, counsel assisting the coroner David Hirsch told Glebe Coroner's Court the inquest would investigate whether a change in Ms Dragun's antidepressant medication had triggered her suicide.
Three weeks before her death, Ms Dragun began a program to wean herself off one antidepressant medication while introducing another, he said.
"Objectively, Charmaine had an ideal life, she had everything to live for, but behind the perfect exterior, there was a deep and troubling issue," Mr Hirsch said.
She had a lot of help and support from her partner Simon Struthers, her family and friends, he added.
"Despite all of that, Charmaine decided to go to The Gap on that Friday afternoon and at the cliff she decided to take one step forward rather than one step back," he said.
"Why she took the step forward is something we cannot know ... (but) Charmaine was not stopped, she did not change her mind and she did die."
Mr Hirsch said Ms Dragun's changed medication couldn't have been the sole trigger of her suicide because she had been "talking about and writing about suicide" since July earlier that year.
Mr Hirsch said much of the evidence to be presented to the inquest would be "traumatic and disturbing and deeply personal" and exposing her private life would have been the last thing she would have wanted.
But Ms Dragun - described by friends as "the happiest person in the room" and actively involved in charity work - would like to know her life was a lesson to others.
"Charmaine would have wanted ... this inquest to have an over-arching purpose and that is to help others ... to deter (other) people from taking that final step forward off the cliff," he said.
Meanwhile, the newsreader's mother says families should be told about their loved ones' risk of suicide, irrespective of doctor-patient privacy laws.
Outside the inquest, Estelle Dragun said she believed her daughter's partner Simon Struthers and her family should have been told to watch out for warning signs of "suicidality" during the changeover.
When asked if she believed patient welfare should overrule patient privacy, she answered: "Personally, yes."
"But it's still an issue to debate because it's doctors that have to go through these issues and decide," she added.
Ms Dragun said the inquest was a "very difficult, but necessary" process and she hoped it allowed her to gain some closure over her daughter's death.
"Hopefully there is an inquiry and we will learn - all of us, from the lay person to the medical professional - about depression and suicide," she told reporters.
There were tears from the Draguns at the inquest earlier in the day as clips from home videos and of Charmaine Dragun reading the news were played to the court.
"I miss everything. Her beautiful smile and her love for life - and she did, please remember that, she loved life," Estelle Dragun said.
The inquest continues.
© AAP 2010
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/asjRlzfPwJM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/asjRlzfPwJM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
................................................................................ ..................
this makes me cry and reminds me that everyone who suffers from mental illness, and in particular depression, need to be looked after, cared for and given the help they need to beat it. this is something close to my heart because i know how dark things can get sometimes. thats why i'm here for anyone who needs support to beat depression because i can tell you, you aren't alone. :(
http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=16685
14:58 AEST Mon Mar 8 2010
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1024608/dragun-appeared-to-have-ideal-live
Charmaine Dragun appeared to have an "ideal life" with "everything to live for" when she jumped from The Gap in 2007.
But the Network Ten newsreader was hiding "deep and troubling issues", a coronial inquest into her death has been told.
Ms Dragun had been battling with diagnosed depression for more than a decade and had survived a bout of anorexia in the mid-1990s, Deputy State Coroner Malcolm MacPherson heard on Monday.
The 29-year-old, who had a budding television career and was soon to be married, drove to the cliff top in Watsons Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs in November 2007 and jumped to her death.
In his opening address, counsel assisting the coroner David Hirsch told Glebe Coroner's Court the inquest would investigate whether a change in Ms Dragun's antidepressant medication had triggered her suicide.
Three weeks before her death, Ms Dragun began a program to wean herself off one antidepressant medication while introducing another, he said.
"Objectively, Charmaine had an ideal life, she had everything to live for, but behind the perfect exterior, there was a deep and troubling issue," Mr Hirsch said.
She had a lot of help and support from her partner Simon Struthers, her family and friends, he added.
"Despite all of that, Charmaine decided to go to The Gap on that Friday afternoon and at the cliff she decided to take one step forward rather than one step back," he said.
"Why she took the step forward is something we cannot know ... (but) Charmaine was not stopped, she did not change her mind and she did die."
Mr Hirsch said Ms Dragun's changed medication couldn't have been the sole trigger of her suicide because she had been "talking about and writing about suicide" since July earlier that year.
Mr Hirsch said much of the evidence to be presented to the inquest would be "traumatic and disturbing and deeply personal" and exposing her private life would have been the last thing she would have wanted.
But Ms Dragun - described by friends as "the happiest person in the room" and actively involved in charity work - would like to know her life was a lesson to others.
"Charmaine would have wanted ... this inquest to have an over-arching purpose and that is to help others ... to deter (other) people from taking that final step forward off the cliff," he said.
Meanwhile, the newsreader's mother says families should be told about their loved ones' risk of suicide, irrespective of doctor-patient privacy laws.
Outside the inquest, Estelle Dragun said she believed her daughter's partner Simon Struthers and her family should have been told to watch out for warning signs of "suicidality" during the changeover.
When asked if she believed patient welfare should overrule patient privacy, she answered: "Personally, yes."
"But it's still an issue to debate because it's doctors that have to go through these issues and decide," she added.
Ms Dragun said the inquest was a "very difficult, but necessary" process and she hoped it allowed her to gain some closure over her daughter's death.
"Hopefully there is an inquiry and we will learn - all of us, from the lay person to the medical professional - about depression and suicide," she told reporters.
There were tears from the Draguns at the inquest earlier in the day as clips from home videos and of Charmaine Dragun reading the news were played to the court.
"I miss everything. Her beautiful smile and her love for life - and she did, please remember that, she loved life," Estelle Dragun said.
The inquest continues.
© AAP 2010
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/asjRlzfPwJM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/asjRlzfPwJM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
................................................................................ ..................
this makes me cry and reminds me that everyone who suffers from mental illness, and in particular depression, need to be looked after, cared for and given the help they need to beat it. this is something close to my heart because i know how dark things can get sometimes. thats why i'm here for anyone who needs support to beat depression because i can tell you, you aren't alone. :(