As we settle into the promise of a new school year, summer tragedies—which include recent high-profile suicides—remain heavy on our minds. The news of Saoirse Kennedy Hill’s death shocked our nation and shook the mental health advocacy community to the core. Saoirse was a young advocate who shared her cousin Congressman Patrick Kennedy’s passion and drive for mental health reform. Her tragic death is a casualty of the brain disorders that we need to do more to treat and prevent. With the added stressors of the transition back to school, it is especially important to kick off the academic year with a reminder to care for our mental health.
In 2016, in her school newspaper, The Deerfield Scroll, Saoirse shared her experience of returning to school after a leave of absence to receive treatment for depression. Her words are an inspiring example of the power of open communication to improve mental health care. By using the power of the page as her platform, Saoirse left us with wise advice to guide our way forward. 
1. Heeding Saoirse’s Call to Action
In her Deerfield article, Saoirse captures the isolation of living with mental health challenges. When she returned to school, Saoirse didn’t feel encouraged to open up about her illness. But after deciding to go public with her story, she felt a shift in the attitude towards mental health on campus. Many of her peers began to approach her and open up about their own difficulties. Saoirse’s article has gone viral in the wake of her death, reaching thousands of people. Her hope is our hope: that her message will continue to bring people out of the shadows to share their stories.
2. The Family Tree
Like other health challenges, brain disorders—including addiction—are often inherited. While in many ways we are the product of genetics, we are also impacted by inherited trauma. Saoirse’s mother has shared that she, too, has struggled with depression. We each have unique life experiences, brain chemistry and family history. Remaining aware of all elements of brain health can help each of us create a personalized guide to prevention and treatment.
3. Perils of Privacy
“Many people are suffering, but because many people feel uncomfortable talking about it, no one is aware of the sufferers.” —Saoirse Kennedy Hill
Many adults at Deerfield were uninformed about Saoirse’s illness and leave of absence, due to HIPAA privacy laws. This left Saoirse feeling isolated at a time when what she needed most was to connect.
Although a person is a legal adult when they turn 18, research tells us that the brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. It is during this developmental period that many people experience their first episode of mental illness. It is especially critical that young people know where to go for help and encounter fewer barriers to support and treatment. While privacy is important, HIPAA laws need to be reexamined to balance the needs of young people during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
4. The Brain is the Brain is the Brain
Immediately following Saoirse’s passing, Patrick Kennedy issued a public call to action for mental health reform, emphasizing the artificial division between addiction and mental illness:
“It’s a shame that we even separate overdoses from suicide, mental illness from addiction. Frankly they are both the same. They are brain illnesses and if you add them both together it would be 110,000 Americans per year.” —Patrick Kennedy
Though brain disorders call for individualized therapies, at their core, they are determined by the same singular part of the body. The brain requires the same attention and care as our other organs. Recognizing this just further clarifies the importance of brain health awareness and education. In schools, we have programs to teach about the dangers of drug and alcohol use, sex education and drivers education, but where is the brain health education? Given the rising suicide and overdose rates, we think this is long overdue.
5. Words Matter
In reporting on Saoirse’s death, the media used sensationalized terms like “demons,” and talked about her family’s “curse.” We must actively discourage this type of language, which creates damaging myths around these disorders. Saoirse’s death has nothing to do with demons or curses. While she was exceptional, her disease was not. She struggled with a medical condition, to which no family or individual is immune.
Saoirse modeled for us the transformative power of voicing our truths. She reminded us that, with brain health challenges, the illness is often invisible, so communicating about it is that much more important. Accurate language can temper the “othering” of people with mental health issues, while insensitive language will just reinforce it.
We owe it to Saoirse, and to her legacy, to come together around this epidemic, as we have rallied in service of other health crises in the past. Advocate for improved access to mental health services for everyone. Advocate for the most vulnerable, the economically disadvantaged, for those living in rural areas. Advocate for veterans to receive treatment to help reduce the risk of suicide. Support and advocate for brain research. Most importantly, speak openly about mental health and encourage others to do the same. We need to end the isolation and taboo around this topic. Saoirse called on her community to “come forward and talk freely about mental health issues.” Let’s raise our own voices, choose our words carefully, and unite in our common humanity around this crisis that impacts every single one of us.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
