Andrew Koenig’s body found in park
By Alexandra Heilbron on February 26, 2010 | 29 Comments
The body of Andrew Koenig, 41, who went missing in Vancouver on February 16, has been found. A group of his friends, along with his father, Walter, spent yesterday morning scouring Stanley park. Just before noon, two members of the group found Andrew’s body 30 to 40 metres off the popular Bridle Path trail, in a densely wooded area. Andrew was best known for playing Kirk Cameron’s best friend in the 1980s sitcom Growing Pains. He had suffered from depression for years and had stopped taking his medication. Andrew’s father and mother, Judy, had flown to Vancouver this week to search for their son. During a police news conference, Mr. Koenig broke down as he spoke about it, saying, “My son took his own life… Obviously, he was in a lot of pain.” He spoke out to others who may also be suffering from depression, giving them words of encouragement: “If you’re one of those people and you feel you can’t handle it any more, you know, if you can learn anything from this, it’s that there’s people out there who really care. Before you make that final, final decision, check it out again. Talk to somebody. And for families who have somebody who they fear are susceptible to this kind of behaviour, don’t ignore it, don’t rationalize it. Extend a hand.” ~Alexandra Heilbron
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So sad. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. How touching that during this devastating time, his father is reaching out to others suffering from depression. I hope his words will help others see that there are always better options, even when life seems unkind.
Very well said, lc. RIP Andrew.
i can understand how easy it is to feel alone in the world. i always feel alone. life is hard, its heart breaking, its painful…there are a lot of good things about life too. theres love (of a child, of a family, of a boyfriend or girlfriend), theres laughter, theres excitement, theres joy, happiness…it is a terrible thing when someone feels so extremely alone that they take their own life, its devastating. no matter WHO you are there is always at LEAST one person in this world that loves you, needs you, would miss you terribly, would be broken hearted over you taking your own life. there are so many options out there that there is really no excuse. you can go to the hospital and talk to a shrink, you can call a crisis hotline, you can tell your parents, you can tell your friend, your neighbour, you can do things to get your mind off of it. you can think about the one person in the world that means the most to YOU and think about how sad THEY would be if you were gone. this is really really sad news. i really feel for his family and friends. rest in peace. i hope you feel better now that youre not on earth.
Unfortunately, depression has little to do with with having people who love you around, and it’s practically impossible to ‘do things to get your mind of it’, mandee, because the problem is your mind, or, more exactlly, your brain. Like any other organ, it can malfunction. I’ve been dealing with clinical depression for most of my life, so I have a pretty good knowledge of the subject. Clinical depression, as opposed to circumstantial, has to do with a chemical unbalance in your brain. It won’t produce enough serotonin (the ‘feel good’ chemical), so it becomes impossible for a person to experience positive emotions, while the negative ones are amplified and take over your life. And just as you can’t tell a person who suffers from diabetes to think positive, and they’ll be ok without insulin, you can’t expect a depressed person to be ok without meds. The problem with that is that most medication for depression is touch and go, and you have no guarantees that what works for one, will work for another. Moreover, your body can get used to the meds you are curentlly using, and you have to start the process again, while dealing with a deep fall into the depression, which, of course, is very sabotaging, because every time you fall it gets harder to get up again, harder to hope again that something will really help.
As for not wanting to hurt the people who you love, and love you, I don’t think there is one depressed person who doesn’t think about that, but when you live in constant pain, and suffering, and inner misery for years, that love becomes a chain around your neck. You feel alone in that nobody can help you, but you know you are not alone, because you have to consider the ones who would be devastated by your act, so you choose the hopelessness of living in despair so your loved ones are spared to a certain degree, because, of course, they also suffer knowing that you are sick.
The worst thing depression does for a person is that it robs you of any hope, and it’s only so long a person can live without hope…
peace be with you.
my prayers and thoughts are with his family. i can relate. my son almost got to the point where Andrew did and we reached out. it CAN make a difference. so if you know anyone who is suffering from this go the extra 10 miles to get them help. its worth it.
jane on February 26, 2010 7:15 PM i didnt mean to imply that the only reason people are depressed is because they feel like no one loves them. it should, however, be enough to keep someone from taking their own life. i mentioned i (as well as many family members) suffer from depression, meaning i KNOW the problem IS your mind, but there are ways to distract your thinking when you get to the point of considering suicide. “it becomes impossible for a person to experience positive emotions, while the negative ones are amplified and take over your life” i suffer from this daily. i spend most of my time in either a very severe angry mood or sad mood, its not often i feel an ounce of any other type of mood. the diabetic comment has no relevance here, i never suggested anyone live without their meds, i simply said there are ways to NOT kill yourself, thinking of doing it and planning it are completely different from the act of actually taking your own life.
your friends and family do not HAVE to know that you suffer. like i said, i suffer from depression, my family has no idea. the only people ive allowed myself to tell are 2 of my friends and my cousin. hiding depression is an easy thing to do (even when youre surrounded by a house FULL of people) and i know, personally, that it is actually easier than it sounds to keep yourself from taking your own life. the problem here is that these people are too weak to do anything other than commit suicide. it is a personal CHOICE its not a disease (the suicide part). it only takes a fraction of a second to think of someone thats important to you to keep you from doing anything you cant undo later. i understand that everyone is different and that people suffer in their own ways, to their own extent. im not denying that. im saying its sad when, instead of going home to see his family and saying “hey i need some help” andrew koenig instead chose to take his own life and leave the blow of his actions behind for his family to have to try to deal with. the guilt ALONE they must be feeling because he chose to end it rather than go to them, i could never imagine someone leaving that with their parents or their family. its selfish and its uncalled for.
I’m sure his doc/shrink feels like a failure losing a patient under their care.
Why oh why can I not post on the Britanny Murphy article Tribute Gods?? Why have you forsaken me?
Hydrocodone (Vicodin) is a narcotic.
I don’t consider people who commit suicide out of severe depression “weak”, I think the disease has affected their mind so severely that they are unable/unwilling to consider how their actions will affect their loved ones, and death seems to be the only way out for them. Actually I’ve heard that many of them, once they decide to commit suicide, suddenly feel like a huge weight has been lifted, and actually seem happy, making their loved ones think they are getting better, but in reality they finally see an escape and end up taking it.
i still find it to simply be a weakness. its taking the easy way out. life is supposed to be hard. i can understand not wanting to deal with it anymore, but it really shouldnt be your choice on whether or not you live.
I’m clinically depressed and at my worst (not on meds) there is no hiding it. I’m unable to concentrate on anything, look at the floor when speaking (mumbling) to people, tears in my eyes, it’s embarrassing and when I got to that point, I knew I had to find help. And I’ve felt suicidal, and actually planned it out at one point, but I think people around me sensed it and though they didn’t address it directly (as in, they didn’t sit me down and ask me what was wrong), but instead got me busy and interacted with me in a way that got my mind off it.
Angela, try Ritalin. You can get that thru family doctor or walk-in clinic.
Thanks, demigod. I did ask for Ritalin (you mentioned it before on an earlier post) two weeks ago, but my doctor went through the roof and said he would be investigated if he gave Ritalin to me without trying known antidepressants first, because it’s not one of the medications widely considered to help with depression. He gave me a prescription for wellbutrin, that seems to be working so far. It’s the fourth I’ve tried, one made my heart beat irregularly, one made me sick (nauseous), one made me gain weight, and then I stopped taking meds at all for awhile. But unfortunately, I guess I need to be one them so hopefully this one will work. Thank you for the suggestion!
If you feel depressed talk to a Shrink, it saved my life, I personally don’t believe in medication, but that’s just me. Find a good shrink and I hope you notice a difference…I certainly did.
With clinical depression (as opposed to depression), it’s a deficiency in the level of serotonin going to your brain. A psychiatrist can’t help with that. Medication that releases serotonin to your brain is the only thing that’ll help. It’s a medical condition, and a lot of people don’t understand that. They say cheer up and when you don’t cheer up on command, they get mad. But you wouldn’t say something like that to an insulin-dependant diabetic. They can’t produce insulin just because someone tells them to, they need to inject insulin for the rest of their lives. It’s the same with clinical depression. My doctor and I were hoping it was just depression, not clinical depression, but unfortunately, it turns out that for me, this is a condition that’s there for life and I can’t “get happy” on my own. Before I was medicated, yes, people talking to me and distracting me helped, but it would always come back, sometimes out of nowhere, sometimes triggered by an event in my life.
I should add that I spoke to psychiatrists when I was a teen (and then almost attempted suicide because when I realized they were no help, I felt I had nowhere to turn) and later on, a psychologist. The psychologist was the best, but like I said, it always comes back. Last year I tried another psychologist but he was no help, actually made me more depressed.
angela, just because i can hide it from my family doesnt mean that im not clinically depressed. i wouldnt know if i was or not because i havent ever told anyone (like i said). my sister was diagnosed with mental depression (is that the same?) and she didnt cry every second of every day. most of my family suffers from depression and they function all right without medication, its just really hard because they ARE sad a lot. me, i dont generally get happy emotions. im always angry, hate my life, sad, feeling sorry for myself. its pathetic. i have planned out suicide many times as well, but again, i refuse to do it because as far as im concerned thats the cowards way out. also, if anyone knows what its like to feel alone, it would definitely be me. i have one friend lol. when i get in my moods she starts a big fight with me and tries to make it seem like im going out of my way to make her hate herself etc. my cousin (who also has depression) was the only person i originally told about my problems and she was the only person ive ever been able to trust or rely on, she just recently decided shes not ever speaking to me again because i simply said that she never would have spoke to me if we werent family because i didnt fit in with her life. the rest of my family just accuses me of being “hateful” and a “b*itch” because when they are rude to me i am rude back. my life basically DOES suck, but im still here.
oh, one more thing. i DID try to reach out to a doctor one time. i mentioned to the doctor that i had depression and i wanted someone to help me with it, do you know what he told me? “youre only allowed to have 2 problems when you come in here, and you already used both of them. if you want to discuss this youll have to come back a different time.” tell me thats not discouraging? i havent attempted to tell anyone since then (except for just now, you guys) and i have no intentions of doing so. i went because i have hearing loss in both of my ears and wanted a second opinion and i went because my stomach was really bad after my gall bladder surgery, and the funny thing is he didnt FIX any of those problems. i didnt get an appointment with another hearing specialist and my friend is the one who told me what to take for my stomach.
mandee, are you saying you’re able to hide that you are “always angry, hate my life, sad, feeling sorry for myself?” So basically, you go around smiling and cheerful, but all of these symptoms are hidden to the outside world? If so, that’s amazing. At my worst (this wasn’t every day, but I went slowly downhill until I got to this point) I was barely able to speak and my hands started to shake. I couldn’t sleep. Stopped eating. Was tired all the time. No motivation to do anything. Couldn’t concentrate on work. That’s when I went to the doctor and was put on a medication. It’s probably not good that you hide it from people, maybe they don’t believe that you’re depressed if you don’t show any symptoms. BTW, go to another doctor and only go for depression this time. Tell him your symptoms and ask him if you’re clinically depressed. You don’t have to be sad all the time. It’s a huge relief to feel happiness again and to be able to enjoy life. I did on Celexia (but gained weight so stopped taking it after a year on it) and now have a new one that so far, seems to be working. I don’t think anyone who meets me would know that I’m clinically depressed.
i can hide pretty much all of the symptoms except the anger. i can not tolerate people when they are rude to me and i come off with an angry tone most of the time. (my mom is the same way with the angry tone, so maybe that is just a learned thing and not actually a symptom?) im glad that you found something that works for you. i am always tired as well, i go through stages of either sleeping 12 hours or more a night or not sleeping at all for weeks. i have no motivation to do anything either. i should be walking or using the treadmill or the exercise bike since i do not work and i dont really go out, but i cant even find the energy or will to do that. the problem is when i DONT do anything when i DONT do things that are physical exercise i feel physically sick, you know when you get sick and in your head feels foggy and gross? like that. i cant keep friends because i tell them when they make me mad and apparently everyone ive ever met simply assumes that having one fight means we should never be friends again. i wonder if thats because of my anger issues? im not THAT rude to these people lol. it definitely makes it seem like im an unlovable person though :S and it certainly adds on to the rest of my crazy issues.
Angela, ditch that doctor seriously. You’ll find out soon enough antidepressants don’t work, neither do pychiatrists/psychologists. Ritalin is more potent, as it’s a psychostimulant. For increase of serotonin try 5-htp (a supplement) you can find at a health food store. Pharmacies don’t carry it. It’s cheaper at Wal-Mart.
If you suffer from headaches/migraines, 5-htp is best for that too.
Angela, ditch that doctor seriously. You��ll find out soon enough antidepressants don��t work, neither do pychiatrists/psychologists. Rit@lin is more potent, as it��s a psychostimulant. For increase of serotonin try 5-htp (a supplement) you can find at a health food store. Pharmacies don��t carry it. It��s cheaper at Wal-Mart.
If you suffer from headaches/migraines, 5-htp is best for that too.
Btw, Rit@lin is a good off-label use to control weight gain. But can’t stress enough the importance of diet.
I was on 5-HTP, but it wasn’t that great. Plus, it was kind of expensive. But I got it at Shoppers, so it is available at pharmacies. The citalopram I was on before was great, I was happy, the only problem with it was that I gained weight. I think it’s just a matter of finding which antidepressant works for you. Ritalin is an upper, that’s why he doesn’t want to hand it out plus he said it’s highly addictive, once I’m on it, I wouldn’t be able to come off it.
Really? What was your dosage of 5-htp? I swear by it lol I’ve suffered migraines my whole life and tried everything. 5-htp was a godsend. It’s only $16 (Wal-mart) for a bottle of 60 caps (100mg)- a 2-month supply.
I wouldn’t say Rit@lin is highly addictive, like amphetamines. It’s only a derivative. It doesn’t get you ‘high’, just levels you out. Anyways, whatever works for you.
Wait, you’re on 5HTP but you’re recommending Ritalin? Anyway, you have me sold on Ritalin, I’d love to try it out (it’s supposed to give you tons of energy) but first I have to try the antidepressants and hopefully that works out. I think I was taking 50 mg of 5HTP twice a day and it was $20 per bottle of 50. I’m on a low dosage of Wellbutrin right now but after a month the doctor is going to see how I’m doing and maybe increase it to twice a day.
mandee: please see your doctor again (just for depression) or see another doctor. It does sound like you have some form of depression. I’m easily irritated when I’m not on medication and yes, it does interfere with friendships. People don’t like to be around me when I’m irritated by every little thing and who can blame them? So please go, you don’t have to suffer, there is help. There are no side effects to the Wellbutrin I’m taking (other than slight loss of appetite) so if you go to the doctor, you could suggest that you would like to try that one first.
im worried if i go and talk to someone right now i wont be able to get in the field of work i want to be in. i plan to go for the personal support worker class in september and they want full medical clearance, as well as i either want to be a psychiatrist, someone that works with children or a social worker (in the end) and i dont think i can if i have depression or any other confirmed mental illness.
yea Angela, cos Rit@lin raises dopamine and norepinephrine levels, and the 5-htp raises serotonin. The combination raises the 3 mood-enhancing hormones.
If Rit@lin is such a concern, they wouldn’t be prescribing them for kids 🙂 With or without hyperactivity.