A meeting of the minds B Y
When we think of legendary stage and screen actor Kirk Douglas, we think of a tough guy. He was Spartacus and Doc Holiday in “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.” The characters he portrayed were always looking for a fight. In real life, however, Douglas almost gave up the fight.
32 䡲 VOLUME 4, NUMBER 4
M A U R E E N
In 1996, at the age of 79, Douglas suffered a debilitating stroke that severely impaired his speech. In his book “My Stroke of Luck,” he describes feelings of hopelessness. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t act. The cleft-chinned movie icon whose career spanned 40-plus years and more than 90 films had lost his ability to continue his life’s work. What did he have to live for? Through his steely blue eyes — the ones that had caused thousands of young girls to swoon — he saw no future worth having.
K O V A C I K
Severe depression and despair led the three-time Academy Award nominee to put a gun in his mouth, but suicide was not his fate. He bumped his tooth, started to laugh at his failed attempt, and decided he, in fact, did want to live. DEPRESSION CAN HINDER RECOVERY Depression after an illness such as a stroke or chronic medical condition like heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease is not uncommon. In fact, 10 to 27 percent of stroke patients suffer from major depression; and the number grows to 40 to 65 percent of patients who
suffered a heart attack. Comorbid psychiatric disorders — psychiatric disorders that exist simultaneously and usually independently of another medical condition — such as depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms or behavioral and cognitive changes are frequently seen in patients in a hospital setting. “It is important to recognize mood disorders, such as depression in a timely manner because untreated clinical depression hurts the recovery process,” said Dr. Ranjit Chacko, vice chair of psychiatry at The Methodist Hospital.
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