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Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

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Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#131
post #21
post #14

It was alcohol addiction.

Really makes you wonder how much is too much, how many years, frequency of regular vs binges, etc.. apparently some alcohol-related diseases only take a few decades to manifest.

In all likelihood, pills were also involved. People rarely die at 35 from just alcoholism alone. It can happen, but it's rare.

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#132
post #79

Just putting this out there... https://soilandhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/02/0201hyglibca... One of the early uses of fasting was to treat alcoholism. Edit: why would anyone in their right mind downvote this? Why do I even bother with HN anymore. Suggest a lifelong drug/vaccine with who knows what consequences, and HN celebrates the post. Suggest a 3-5 day fast to rid oneself of alcoholism and get downvoted and fla…

It's probably just not the right context for introducing this topic.

The suggestion that a fast might have cured this person's alcoholism and saved their life is highly speculative and may be seen as offensive by some.

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#133
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> appalling to see this comment being downvoted I didn’t downvote. But AA has a mixed track record with respect to effectiveness [1]. It’s also been likened to a cult [2]. This might explain some downvoted. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ [2] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/04/the-irr...

> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2746426/ That article shows that people who regularly go to AA meetings are more likely to be sober (e.g. 67% people who went to one or more meeting a week were sober 16 years later). Because of the universal nature of AA, it is hard to randomize for it (if you just randomly tell an alcoholic to go to AA, they have already been told that by others, so that's not a very g…

AA works fundamentally by substituting an addiction to Alcohol to one for AA - This to me has always seemed like a workable (if in the short term) way to solve the problem.

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#136
It is not impossible to stop using and drinking completely. I am a very high performing software engineer and 20 years ago I had an opioid problem. I experienced bad things and out of control things as part of my addiction. My thinking was nuts. Yes I could have killed myself. My productivity dropped so much I was told "all the managers are wondering about you," but no one could figure it out, because I didn't seem like the type. I quit my job. Then I did the whole rigamarole of getting clean and I followed the suggestions of people who had struggled with the same problem and gotten freedom around it. I still do that. I am saying this (under a brand new login) because if there are people out there who are feeling hopeless, there is hope for you. I don't think about using anymore and I have learned tools to deal with my (substantial) success. You can too. The best thing was I got clean when my son was very young, he never saw me loaded, I had a good and stable relationship with his mother, and my son has no attraction to drugs or alcohol at this point. I was raised in an alcoholic home so I can't tell you the sense of accomplishment and gratitude I have about that. You don't have to be a genius to do this. You need willingness and honesty and you need to get some help. Good luck, I am rooting for you.

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#137

Some of the photographs in his portfolio are amazing, I'd suggest a look: http://otierney.net/cities

If you like those, here’s a bunch more: https://500px.com/tristan https://instagram.com/tristan https://www.flickr.com/photos/tristanotierney/ I’m coordinating a memorial in San Francisco the end of this month. We intend to have it at an art gallery with his photography on display. If you want to be notified about it, reach out (contact info on my profile).

I trust there are separate plans to preserve his websites & photos on archive.org’s wayback machine.

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#138

Last year, at age 35, I started drinking heavily. I would buy a bottle of Absolute and would not stop till I see the bottom of it. 2 bottles a week at min. About 5-6 months, I've stopped drinking without anyone's help. Yesterday and today, I'm having a strong urge to get completely wasted. Just go to the store around the block, buy bottle of Absolute. Yesterday, while driving on I-695, I saw a guy with a child seat o…

I'm surprised you were able to function the next day with that amount. I recently turned 30, and I definitely cannot drink as much as I used to. I get an allergic response to alcohol, which really sucks because I used to enjoy it. There is a mutation in OPRM1 in certain populations that causes your opiate receptors (particularly mu subtype) to release endorphins when drinking. I've definitely had that happen to me wh…

This is super interesting, as someone with that mutation that gets extra sedated/euphoria from drinking and is predisposed to alcoholism, from a family tree full of alcoholics.

What do you think the lsd did to dampen the effects on opiate receptor to release endorphins? I have experimented with naltrexone and it works well to block my opiate receptors when drinking. It just scares me that I'm blocking all euphoria and how I'm messing with neuroplasticity and encoding long term memories... Thoughts?

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#139
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reading this on mobile, and there is a huge ad for Belvedere Vodka. Just like the "Fuck Cancer" movement, it's time we had a "Fuck Alcohol" movement. I'm hoping with cannabis gaining more and more support throughout the US that we see a drop-off in alcohol consumption. It may take a generation or two, but I think it's time to drop this poison as a society. R.I.P. and so sorry to hear that his young daughter will not…

> it's time we had a "Fuck Alcohol" movement How completely out of it do you have to be to think that we need 'Fuck Alcohol' movement? If you hadn't noticed, we had one about 100 years ago and it was an utter failure, and is honestly responsible for the awful drinking culture Americans have today.

There was no suggestion of a return to prohibition, just an increased societal resistance to alcohol’s pernicious effects.

I live in Australia, which has never had prohibition, but like the UK, our drinking culture is probably as bad or worse than the U.S.

I should know; I was an excessive drinker from my late teens to my early 30s, and it could have turned out very badly had I not taken abrupt action when I did.

I took two full years off drinking from age 33, and adopted techniques to develop emotional health that I continue using to this day, and these days I can enjoy alcohol in moderation and have no ill-effects.

There's an Australian organisation called Hello Sunday Morning [1] that supports people trying to adopt a healthier relationship with alcohol, just as I did.

They have no agenda to prohibit or restrict people's ability to buy/use alcohol; they simply offer methods and support services to help people to cease their dangerous use of alcohol.

All power to them, I say.

[1] https://www.hellosundaymorning.org

Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35

#140
side note: you can have addictive and obsessive behavior non related to alcohol too. You have peace and happiness inside of you [1]. The twenties seem like a transitional period full of intense, if not overwhelming, emotions that can shadow the calm and joy .. only to be replaced by substances or ~hobbies (gambling, sex, whatever).

best of luck and rip TOT

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