SABRINA Di Lembo was preparing for her exams in May when anxiety first crept into her life.

After a three-month battle with depression, Sabrina died by suicide a month ago.

Her family want to share her story to encourage others to talk about depression, and to increase funding for research into causes and treatment of the illness.

The 19-year-old from Parap was sailing through her law degree at Charles Darwin University, and had friends and family who loved her dearly.

Sabrina's mother Lidia said she was always a high achiever. She was a good student, a fitness enthusiast and a lover of Nutella.


Sabrina Di Lembo died at her own hand a month ago.
"She had a very high agenda for herself to become a lawyer and to do well and travel. She really had a zest for life," Mrs Di Lembo said.

Sabrina's father Michael said her story showed the illness didn't discriminate.

"My daughter had everything. She had looks, she had everything," he said.

"She was kind, she helped other people. Whatever took over was something overwhelming, something we never would have expected to happen to us."

The Di Lembos said they wanted depression and mental illness to be treated the same as any other disease.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. If you have cancer, you're not ashamed of having cancer. It's no different to that," Mr Di Lembo said.

They also want an increased focus on research into prevention of the disease.

For Sabrina, the trigger was exam stress.

Already sitting on a high distinction, the scholarship student needed just a few marks to pass her subject.

But anxiety took hold and she couldn't bring herself to sit the test.

"She wasn't sleeping for two or three nights. I knew this was something we couldn't deal with alone," Mrs Di Lembo said.

They called the mental health line, and Sabrina spoke with a psychiatrist, who recommended to her GP she be prescribed medication.

Her family said the medication "wasn't right".

She was taken off the drugs, but wasn't offered a different treatment option.

Her parents said they don't blame the doctors involved, but want more mental health training available to doctors, particularly in the NT, where the pool of psychiatrists is small.

"(Treatment) is so ad hoc and professionals aren't really equipped to deal with it," Mrs Di Lembo said.

Mr Di Lembo said Sabrina appeared to get better, but died in early August, leaving her parents, two brothers, extended family and friends to deal with their loss.

The NT has Australia's highest rate of suicide. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show 18.7 people die by suicide in the NT for every 100,000 residents.


The Di Lembo family is raising money for the Black Dog Institute in her memory.

They have raised about $13,000 and CDU has agreed to donate the remainder of her scholarship – worth about $12,500 – to the organisation.

Mrs Di Lembo said she had been "overwhelmed" by the number of people who had come forward to tell her their own stories of depression.

"We're so humbled about that, because we never would have known otherwise, but it's shown us that it's such a big problem and there is so much stigma attached to it," Mrs Di Lembo said.

"There needs to be more effort, more commitment from not just government but from organisations in the private sector that have a clinical focus. There is more than can be done."

Sunday is World Suicide Prevention Day. Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636; Headspace on 1800 650 890; Lifeline on 13 11 14; Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800