BEFORE anything else, this column is about suicide. I have to write that trigger warning just in case the reader is currently going through the worst of times and is avoiding anything that will worsen his depression.

Suicide, though, is not necessarily caused by depression, and depression doesn’t always result to suicide.

There are times when it’s just the blues that may go away after a day or two. And there are times when the blues may morph into depression.

There was a time when suicide wasn’t reported as such since the family would rather keep it as a secret due to the stigma attached.

Jeanne Goulbourn, however, chose to spread awareness about mental health after her daughter Natasha’s suicide. In 2007, Goulbourn launched the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation which is now NGF Mindstrong. She was here in Cagayan de Oro in March 2025 for the SuPEERheroes of the Millennium program, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Makati, the Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro, the Department of Health, and the Department of Education.

Held at the Cagayan de Oro National High School in Nazareth, Cagayan de Oro, with the theme, “Empowering the Youth to Combat Depression and Self-Harm Through a Network of Peer Support,” the program included workshops for the Junior High School students from several CDO schools.

In my interview with Goulbourn, I asked her if there were warning signs of Natasha’s mental-health condition then. She said there were five:

“First, she was losing weight. Maybe she had bulimia because I found a mouth freshener in her bag.

“Second, she was making sure that everything with me would be okay. She came to my garment factory, fixed it, and recommended employees who deserved a promotion. That was six months before she died.”

That’s the garment factory for Jeanne Goulbourn’s fashion business, Silk Cocoon.

“Third, she bought me a whole set of sporty outfits, and said, ‘Mom, I always want you to look young and gorgeous. Don’t give up gym at all. I don’t want flab, I don’t want you to be like an old lady. Just keep doing gym.’

“She bought me shoes, which she always did, using her salary.

“Fourth, she said, ‘Mom, do you mind if I bring home Zoey?’ That’s her dog, a cocker spaniel. Natasha was then working at Nine West in Hong Kong. She said, ‘I think I’ll bring her home because she’s always left alone.’ She also brought home the two cats that she and her sister owned, from New York. When she finally brought Zoey home, I felt very strange.

“Fifth, very interestingly, she paid a beauty salon for three to six months in advance for me to have a facial once a month, a massage every week, and nails every three weeks. She wrote the whole schedule and she paid for everything. I had no clue. Then she left for Hong Kong on May 2. We lost her on May 25. That was in 2002.”

Natasha was 27 years old.

It took me months to finally find the courage to write this. I should have delved deeper into the subject but that would only produce more triggers.