title: Torment of the Soul: Suicidal Depression and Spirituality
author: Jessy Ang
description: Fr. Benedict Auer is a Benedictine monk of St. Martin's Abbey in Lacey, Washington. He is chaplain of St. Martin's University and an adjunct professor of religious studies. Fr. Benedict holds a Doctorate in Christian Spirituality from San Francisco Theological Seminary, a diploma in counseling and therapy from the Institute of St. Anselm in the UK, and is a certified guidance counselor in the State of Washington. He is the author of Soulpoeting: Healing Through Poetry (London: St. Paul's, 2000). He has also written numerous articles dealing with various topics of religious formation and psychological development. JESSY A. ANG, M.D. is a psychiatrist in private practice for over 25 years in Tacoma, Washington. He lives in Gig Harbor with his wife Edith. They have four children, Kristin, Hilda, Jessica and Bobby, who have graduated from college and are pursuing their dreams. Dr. Jessy Ang has a medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. He has training in psychiatry at the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Ang has great interest in the neurobiology of depression and bipolar disorders.
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  HAVE	
    RESPECT	
    FOR	
    LIFE!	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  ���������������������������������������	
    
  Suicide	
    is	
    an	
    illusion.	
    
  	
    
  ����������	
    
  	
    
  
   
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  In	
    Defense	
    of	
    Life	
    	
    
  	
    FEB	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  FOREWORD	
    
  	
    
  �The	
     calm	
     and	
     resignation	
     achieved,	
     in	
     the	
     manner	
     in	
     which	
     one	
     considers	
    
  terrestrial	
    life,	
    and	
    confidence	
    in	
    the	
    future,	
    gives	
    the	
    Spirit	
    a	
    serenity	
    which	
    is	
    the	
    
  best	
    preventive	
    measure	
    against	
    madness	
    and	
    suicide...�	
    	
    
  	
    
  (The	
    Gospel	
    According	
    to	
    Spiritism,	
    Allan	
    Kardec,	
    chapter	
    V,	
    item	
    14)	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  	
    
  Dear	
    Reader,	
    
  	
    
  The	
     messages	
     contained	
     in	
     this	
     booklet	
     are	
     like	
     balsam	
     to	
     the	
     Spirit.	
     They	
    
  transmit	
     