this is such a sad sad story. I lost my Aunt in 2014 to Alcoholism and a good friend of mine on October27th 2018, just last year a few months ago. he was only 48 and my Aunt was only 56 years young. this breaks my heart and his little girl doesn't have her Dad anymore. He must have had alcohol poisoning or maybe his heart just stopped. Praying for his family during this sudden unexpected death.
Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
171–180 of 253 posts
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#172It sounds like Tristan did alot of good for people and was very successful in his Career, He just had an addiction and couldn't overcome it. I feel especially bad for his Parents, Family, his girlfriend and his 3 year old Daughter most of all. When she gets older she will fairly barely even remember him or maybe she wont remember him at all. This is such a sad story and he was just so young.
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's an old Irish saying that goes "A man takes a drink, the drink takes a drink, the drink takes the man." If you have a drinking problem, you just need to avoid drinking period. I have some close friends that have drinking problems and what I learned from their experiences: 1. If you're an alcoholic and think you can handle a single drink, you're lying to yourself. 2. It's honestly not worth it. Life is better t…
One thing I'd put out there: AA is great if it works for you, but it's not the only game in town and can be hard to love. If it doesn't work for you, SMART and lifering are both popular and well-validated options.
Another AA alternative is Alan Carr's book "The Easy Way to Stop Drinking".
It's a logical approach to repositioning alcohol as a poison that somehow 90% of our population embraces as normal.
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's no such thing as "illicit" and "legal" substances on the internet - it depends on where each poster and reader is located.
Unless it's LSD. I enjoy LSD as much as anyone here, but it's globally illegal. And it's pretty unlikely that anyone is posting on HN from the international space station, so it's safe to say that LSD is definitely illicit regardless of their location.
> but it's globally illegal.
Technically true, but it’s decriminalized in a handful of countries and thus “tolerated”.
> And it's pretty unlikely that anyone is posting on HN from the international space station
Wouldn’t matter, it’s illegal there (for US astronauts at least, can’t confirm for Russians, but I’d highly doubt it).
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#175It’s starting to seem common. Every time I read some form of ‘successful tech founder dies young’ it’s almost always related to some form of addiction. I wonder if that’s just the only thing being reported on, or it’s just the most likely way for these people to die.
A lot more people die from overdoses each year than you might think. The number in 2007 was ~70,000 people in the US. That's more than double the number of people who die in traffic accidents.
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#176If someone gets a cancer, we don't judge them for having weak DNA replication. If someone gets an infectious disease, we don't judge them for having a weak immune system. If someone becomes addicted to a substance, we shouldn't judge them for having a weak physical or psychiatric system. Addiction is a disease and should be treated as such. All of the xA (Alcoholics/Narcotics/Gambling etc) Anonymous are fine communal…
> If someone becomes addicted to a substance Are you mad? Nobody suddenly becomes 'addicted'. Addiction is something you do willfully and deliberately to yourself. Addiction is not a disease, it is a form of self-harm.
In his examples addiction is a mental illness/disorder. I agree, it is really hard to understand why would anyone get addicted to something out of thin air, but it happens apparently and it is a very big problem. Most of the homeless people you see out there are not just mentally ill; they are addicted.
"Self-harm" you mentioned is a mental problem. Yes, none of these are like cancer and deadly at first, but they really can turn deadly if no one helps. It is hard for me to understand too, but I don't take anything for granted. We never know what would trigger all these. I am sure he didn't want to die at 35 and leave her 3 years old kid behind with his wife alone.
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#177I’ve never been a heavy drinker, but at one point 2 years ago I handled a project by myself to move 6 million dollars a month in charity transactions from one uncooperative payment processor to another. I normally handled stress well, but this was a different level and it was physically taxing on me. I had a glass of wine one night about 3 weeks into this and immediately felt so much better that I ended up having 3-4…
There are certain substances I've found to be helpful for managing intense stress in-lieu of alcohol. If interested, I'd suggest experimenting with each and seeing if any work (or work in combination) for you, as they're all significantly less harmful than alcohol. 1. Agmatine bonus, reduces alcohol cravings: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288735721_Effect_of... 2. L-theanine 3. Taurine 4. Rhodiola rosacea…
L theanine is amazing.
Disclaimer: pure anecdote !
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#178Last 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 actually have found small doses of LSD have helped me lose the desire to drink. There is legitimate research happening that shows this is a real phenomenon...unsure about the science but for me it’s a cleaner better “high” with no hangover effect and not nearly as toxic (if at all)
Suggesting the use of a recreation drug to combat addiction is very dangerous territory. I'm glad it helped you. I am no stranger to recreational drugs and have witnessed some friends suffer from addiction. One particular friend had a coke problem. That person managed to quit coke and became a drunk. Then eventually was able to quit drinking and got addicted to downers. Through out this person's life they took lots of random psychedelics so that certainly was not a cure for them.
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#179Last 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…
in my younger years, up till about 26, i could get drunk and show up to work at 9am the next day, ready to go.
i’m almost 30 now and i literally can’t drink a single beer without feeling hungover the next morning. if i drink 3 or more, i might as well call in sick. as a result, i just stopped completely. there’s other ways to have fun that don’t make me feel terrible.
Re: Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
You’d be surprised how much a person can routinely drink and still function. I grew up and now work in a high alcohol abuse area, and some of the folks that were abusing surprised me. Sadly, I’m sure when their body said enough it came as a surprise to them too. Keep safe folks
It's important to say that the way of drinking is probably everything. No shots, avoiding sugary mixers, avoiding beer if possible (at least the cheaper ones), never mixing different alcohols (even the same type, but of different brands). The worse you feel the next day after alcohol means the more significant damage you did to your body. If you feel fresh, it says that the damage was almost non-existent (besides liv…
is there any evidence that mixing alcohols or drinking cheap booze is worse for you?