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The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

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Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#271
post #6

Someone mentioned this here on HN and possibly setting the house on fire but was dismissed as unfounded. I actually realise that they knew something... It is sad that Tony Hsieh didn’t get the help that he needed and instead tried to self medicate in order to get away from all that. This recurrent story where extremely intelligent people are battling mental health issues and cannot speak out because the stigma behind…

> This recurrent story where extremely intelligent people are battling mental health issues and cannot speak out because the stigma behind this issue is too damaging is why we need to normalize the discourse around mental health if we want to avoid this type of tragedies. Where exactly is the "stigma" of mental health in tech nowadays? We're blasted day and night to the point where apparently every other person is "b…

As others have said, people seem comfortable enough to talk about mental health in an abstract way, but less so about their particular needs.

You seem to have a particularly skeptical view though doubting stigma and casting doubt into therapy as well. Your comment is actually a perfect example of stigma.

I’ve struggled with anxiety before and saw a therapist for a while and benefited greatly from it. It was expensive, sure, but not over priced. Less hourly than I make.

I didn’t really talk about it much at work, but I am open about it now.

On top of that, there are less stigma towards certain aspects of mental health and more towards others. I believe anxiety, like I mentioned for myself, is becoming a more commonly discussed topic, but depression or bipolar, for example, still carry stigma that push people into facing these things alone.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zappos didn’t posture. They really believed in what they were doing was good for the people who worked there. They also had imitators who were sincere. Sorry to hear yours wasn’t. Tony Hsieh was not a cynic. I don’t know the financials pre-acquisition but I remember reading they had an excellent repeat purchase rate. Just the fact that they made shoe selling work online, in the first place, was also success as those…

Truely believe that Tony Hsieh wasn't a cynic or a wannabe. My question was centred around their financials because I still believe that the culture that Zappos famously practiced is impossible to imitate without dangerously compromising the company's productivity. So I want to know did it work for Zappos either? Because I think it didn't but I don't have any data. Disclaimer- Nothing against Tony Hsieh. I am sure he…

While it had good gross sales numbers, Zappos had a cash flow problem prior to the sale to Amazon. Hsieh acknowledged this a few years ago in an article titled "Why I sold Zappos". (Even that may have been an overly positive spin on the situation at the time; I've seen speculation elsewhere that they may have been on the verge of insolvency.)

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/872260000491593728

Ah yes a glass of red wine is "substance use", as a French that's a good one.

Think the supposed problem here is mixing wine with sleeping pills.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people do enjoy the taste, or the warming feel you get. I will sometimes have a small glass of whiskey in the evening just for that sensation, not to feel any intoxication.

The warming feeling is mild intoxication?

No. Intoxication is generally considered to be mental impairment or a change of mental state, like mood, inhibition, etc. The warming feeling you get from alcohol is due to alcohol dilating blood vessels, moving more warm blood to your extremities and skin. It is a real physical reaction, not a mental perception. So while you might also be intoxicated, the warm feeling is not intoxication per se.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#275

I think something that gets lost in the concern about COVID is how many addicts and people struggling with mental health are being killed indirectly by these quarantines. I don't have an easy answer of course, it's a serious virus, but while for a normal person these shutdowns are depressing, for addicts these shutdowns can be indirect death sentences. I really think that needs to get factored into these decisions.

I think it's insane to change policy intended to protect a huge segment of our vulnerable population to placate addicts. Addiction is a terrible thing (I've lost family members to it), but I'm not going to prioritize their needs over the needs of the elderly, essential workers, medical staff and high risk individuals.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#276

I think something that gets lost in the concern about COVID is how many addicts and people struggling with mental health are being killed indirectly by these quarantines. I don't have an easy answer of course, it's a serious virus, but while for a normal person these shutdowns are depressing, for addicts these shutdowns can be indirect death sentences. I really think that needs to get factored into these decisions.

I think it's insane to change policy intended to protect a huge segment of our vulnerable population to placate addicts. Addiction is a terrible thing (I've lost family members to it), but I'm not going to prioritize their needs over the needs of the elderly, essential workers, medical staff and high risk individuals.

Fair enough, but it's not only addicts being adversely affected by the quarantines and lockdowns. I would go so far to say that everyone has been adversely affected by the lockdowns--it's just a question of how much and have these costs outweighed the benefits.

Until recently, I'd it was pretty clear that Sweden (no lock-downs) and the US (many lockdowns of varying length and enforcment) have suffered the same per capita fatality rate.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes a glass of red wine is "substance use", as a French that's a good one.

From a french to another, a glass of red wine spiced up with benzos absolutely is substance use, and an extremely dangerous kind.

My bad, I read "Ambient" and thought it was the kind of records he listened to...

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes a glass of red wine is "substance use", as a French that's a good one.

Think the supposed problem here is mixing wine with sleeping pills.

Yeah I missed that part, didn't know about "Ambien" and thought it was "Ambient" music with a typo

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#279
post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could have looked for tanks to save money, but I surely would have died that way. I could control intake with cartridges because the limiting factor was that you had to keep cracking them. A case of 600 whippets one after another would last about 5 hours, so 2 a minute. I've heard too many stories of people dying with tanks.

Forgive me ... I am completely naive regarding this subject but find these descriptions both fascinating and confusing... Do I understand: if you're on a whippet bender you have to do a thing every 30 seconds ? It seems like that would interrupt and greatly diminish whatever pleasurable effects the substance was giving you ... in fact, it sounds somewhat stressful ...

Yes, it’s a fleeting rush. I’ve probably done nitrous 5-6 times over a couple of decades but I can see the allure.

Re: The Death of Tony Hsieh: A Spiral of Alcohol, Drugs and Extreme Behavior

#280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look a few generations back and reset your worldview. Been drafted into combat lately?

I agree. The good old days were terrible. No doubt many suffered through considerable mental anguish. Unfortunately, this knowledge does not usually help people currently living with depression or similar mental illness. It’s like, “I can’t pay my mortgage and I don’t where my family will live, but Grandpa was a POW in Nam, so no worries!”

Man, grandpa was a POW in 'Nam makes me feel so old. Who's grandparents on this forum are young enough to be in Vietnam?
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