“She did it while I was talking to her (on the phone). I heard her last breath.” My daughter Gia Allemand passed away from suicide on August 14th, 2013. She was my light, my world, my very purpose for existing and in a moment, she was gone. I walk for Gia. I walk so no other mother has to endure the pain associated with loosing a child to suicide.
Although Gia was a successful model, actress, and reality tv star popularly known from television shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelor Pad, behind all that glitz and glamour was a woman ravaged by an illness; an illness that has very little recognition by the medical community. Gia suffered from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, known also as PMDD. PMDD is a severe form of PMS that often progresses to suicidal ideation. Her symptoms were further perpetuated by insecurities developed from her absent father. Like Gia, I myself was plauged by PMDD and suffered suicidal ideation and began acting on my thoughts from age 8 and continued through age 42. After being hospitalized several times I was finally diagnosed and effectively treated. Unlike me, Gia did not survive her suicidal ideation.
Gia was so incredibly full of life. She possessed an inpecable spirit and had such a beautiful path laid out in front of her, but that was ripped away by an illness that so many other women don’t realize they have.
In addition to co-founding Gia Allemand Foundation for PMDD, which works to provide peer support, education, research, and resources for those affected by PMDD and female suicidal ideation, I keep Gia’s spirit and essence alive by walking with AFSP to ensure women who suffer from PMDD know that there is an entire community and foundation available to help them survive. Please visit http://giaallemandfoundation.org/ to learn more about Gia’s story and help fight PMDD and female suicidal ideation by joining our organization
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https://supporting.afsp.org/campaign/GiaAllemandMemorialFund