Kathy Cronkite spoke candidly to a sold-out audience last Friday evening at the Grand Harbor Golf Club about her incredible journey through depression at this year’s Finding Peace Amid the Chaos fundraising dinner to benefit the Suncoast Mental Health Center.
Cronkite, author of On the Edge of Darkness: Conversations about Conquering Depression, and the daughter of esteemed broadcaster Walter Cronkite, chatted with humor and honesty about her struggle with depression and her current role as a mental health advocate.
“So many people said to me, ‘What do you have to be depressed about? You have a wonderful life, your father is Walter Cronkite … get over it,’” she recalled. “Once I was diagnosed, the stigma I felt internally was huge and I was uncomfortable talking about it. I thought it said something about me, that I was weak. But then I read about Mike Wallace and he was talking about his depression. He was somebody I knew and admired so it was a huge factor in relieving my stigma. Because of that I wanted to help other people deal with the stigma and to understand what the illness looks like so they could get diagnosed and get help.”
Since her book signing and speaking tour Cronkite says many people have shared that her words helped them recognize their own illness. She firmly believes that talking openly about depression and mental illness will encourage others to seek treatment.
“It is what Suncoast does so well by involving the family to support the person,” she said. “You need to combat their stigma, too, so the family can help. The numbers of people seeking help who have mental illness has risen to 40 percent, which is still small but it is an improvement. We are moving into the right direction.”
In addition to raising much-needed funds for the organization, the idea behind the event was to raise awareness of mental health issues by inviting speakers who could discuss their own personal challenges.
“We’re in the schools and in the homes. The more we let people know that our services are available, the more people are going to avail themselves of that help,” said Art Ciasca, CEO of Suncoast Mental Health Center, which offers mental health services to clients in Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Okeechobee counties.
“We want people to come and hear stories about people who suffer with mental health issues and talk about hope and recovery. The event is mission-centered, so we are always going to talk about mental health. There has to be more dialogue to increase the knowledge about depression and other illnesses. I think it is good for people to hear Kathy’s story and know that she had a medical condition, that it is treatable just like diabetes or any other condition and that it shouldn’t have a negative stigma attached.”
An audience member shared that she had struggled with severe post-partum depression and menopausal depression. “Then one day I found your book at the library and what got me through every day was knowing I was going to get through a couple of chapters of your book. I can’t thank you enough,” she said tearfully, before asking if there would be a follow-up book.
“Funny you should ask,” said Cronkite to appreciative laughter, adding that she is looking for a new publisher and is working on determining the book’s direction.