Nicole Browning '79, chair of the board of Dominique's Fund, a non-profit organization she founded in honor of her late daughter, came to Brown Nov. 9 to give a presentation on the stigma attached to mental illness and suicide. This is the first time Browning has come to campus to talk to students. She said her mission is to change the public perception of suicide and raise awareness about mental illness.
At the lecture, Browning presented a slideshow of pictures from her daughter's life. The point of this presentation, Browning said, was to show students that mental illness can affect anyone — the person next to them, their friend, their sister or even themselves. Browning talked about how her daughter was a very active student at Connecticut College. On the outside, she was a jazz singer, a talented writer and an involved student. Just from looking at her, Browning said people could not tell she was suffering from bipolar disorder, an eating disorder and depression.
Browning said that because there tends to be so much shame associated with mental illness, those affected turn inward instead of seeking help.
Margaret Klawunn, vice president for campus life and student services, said that at Brown, every effort is made to avoid that shame. "We certainly don't stigmatize mental illness," she said. "We try to make help accessible, but still people are not always sure because it's one of those things that, until you find yourself needing to access (it), you're not paying attention to it in the same way."
Browning said that after her daughter's death three-and-a-half years ago, people did not know how to act around her. She said when someone dies of cancer, people say things like "I'm so sorry for your loss," but because suicide is a taboo subject, people sometimes do not know how to convey their sympathy.
‘Like a walking casualty'
"There are so many attachments and stigmas that come from being the parent of someone who commits suicide because I think so many people immediately jump to the conclusion that someone was an inattentive parent — which couldn't be further from the truth," said Samuel Rosen '14, who knew Dominique and her family growing up.
"For Nicole to confront all of those stigmas and stereotypes so directly is really amazing," he added.
Browning said mental illness needs to be recognized as a disease that is out of the victim's control. "When someone has cancer or diabetes, they didn't choose to get struck by that disease. And nobody judges them or their families. And that should be the same with mental illness. No one chooses to be stricken with schizophrenia or an eating disorder, and they should no more be judged than the person who is suffering from any other life-threatening disease," she said.
Belinda Johnson, director of the University's psychological services, said that while mental illness carries a stigma for some students, others feel more comfortable in seeking help.
Johnson said stigmatization was less of a problem on Brown's campus that in society at large, partly attributing the difference to the mental health resources available to students.
Browning said that because suicide conflicts with the basic human instinct for survival, many people view it as cowardly and selfish. Browning said she wants to eradicate these stigmas.
"Their brain is diseased, and the truth is distorted," she said of those suffering from mental illness.
Browning said that it was not until after her daughter's death, when reading "Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness," that she really understood the kind of pain that someone with depression experiences. In the book, author William Styron writes, "For in virtually any other serious sickness, a patient who felt similar devastation would be lying flat in bed. … However, the sufferer from depression has no such option and therefore finds himself, like a walking casualty of war, thrust into the most intolerable social and family situations."
Browning added that after Dominique died, she found a typed note in her drawer that she is unsure her daughter actually wrote: "And it's not pain you can look at. If I break my leg and it hurts, I can scream and scream and point at my twisted leg with maybe a femur or tibia poking out to help emphasize my point. But when your soul, your inner being, your mind, is hurt ... you can't scream and point."
Eugenie Montaigne '12, who grew up a friend of Browning's other daughter and knew Dominique, said she gained new perspective from Browning's presentation.
"I think the writing that Dominique may have written sums up the issue really well. … People have trouble understanding the illness and really comprehending how awful it can be," she said. "I think it's something that definitely needs to be talked more about at Brown."
"I found myself almost making judgments because I was so upset about it and felt so terrible for her family. I was almost angry at her for putting her family through that," Montaigne said. "What Nicole brought out in her presentation is that it's like being angry at someone who died of cancer. It really is a biological issue."
Destigmatizing illness
Browning said her mission is not to condone suicide but rather to raise awareness about it and encourage understanding.
"It was refreshing to hear someone talk about mental illness and bring down the taboo associated with it," said Harry Samuels '13, who attended Browning's talk. "Especially for college students who may have family members with mental illnesses, it's comforting to know that behind the taboo, there are many people dealing with the same issues."
According to Browning, there were 33,000 deaths caused by suicide, 13,000 by AIDS and 40,000 by breast cancer in 2006 in the U.S. alone. The National Institutes of Health spent $700 million on breast cancer research, $33 billion on AIDS and only $34 million on suicide, despite the number of lives it claims. Browning said that when efforts to diminish the stigma attached to AIDS succeeded and the cause gained celebrity support, resources and money started to flow toward research for treatments. She hopes her efforts with suicide and mental illness will have similar effects.
"I think one of the most important things that talks like Browning's can do is that they begin a conversation about suicide and mental illness," said Jessica Biesel '12, president of student volunteers for the Samaritans of Rhode Island, a suicide prevention and resource center. "Opening up this topic for discussion is something that can help us fight the stigma that is associated with suicide and mental illness."
"It allows people to talk about suicide without feeling uncomfortable or feeling like it's something that has to be talked about in secret," Biesel added.
Browning said that at Brown, she found herself among passionate students who all thought they "were going to move forward and save the world." She said that it is this "Brown spirit" that stuck with her and motivates her to try to change the public perception of mental illness.
In memory of Dominique, the fund sells on its website a silver bracelet with four strands that look like a French braid.
"It represents the four of us who Dominique left behind in her immediate family," Browning said.
"It's my dream that you would see these bracelets on as many wrists as you see those pink and yellow bracelets. Mental illness is also a disease," Browning said. "If you were in a world where everyone was wearing the bracelet, it would be an acknowledgment that it isn't your fault, and you would be much more apt to seek help."
