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Anthony Bourdain has died
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Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#152Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
If this is indeed a depression-based suicide (I haven't read all of the details yet; they probably aren't even fully available), then it makes a rather profound statement about depression, because who didn't like this guy? Everyone really liked him, and he has produced years of excellent programming.
I really try to downplay the depression-based suicide angle - at least for my own sanity. I like to think that large part of depression is based on circumstances, I leave out the clinical cases that have underlying physiological causes. If you are unhappy enough to end your life, then there are probably things that you can change to stop feeling that way, i.e. job, relationships, friends, habits. In a lot of ways thi…
You might like to think that, but its not an honest representation of the majority of suicides. Most people who kill themselves do it, not for circumstantial reasons, but physiological ones like clinical depression.
Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#154>, I can only hope that people as a whole start seeing it as a complex issue and the stigma of mental issues and stress can lessen so that people can get help Possibly inappropriate - but why do people immediately link suicide and mental illness? Why do we stand in judgement declaring it wrong to decide ones own fate? Am I not the master of my own existence and do I not have the right to make a decision on it without…
People seek to draw a link between suicide and mental illness because the drastic outcome of suicide stretches one's comfort with the notion of informed consent. The widespread societal taboo against suicide supposes that no rational person free of undue pressures would consent to ending their own life, therefore anyone who commits suicide must have been pushed to do so by serious factors that impaired their ability…
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Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#155>, I can only hope that people as a whole start seeing it as a complex issue and the stigma of mental issues and stress can lessen so that people can get help Possibly inappropriate - but why do people immediately link suicide and mental illness? Why do we stand in judgement declaring it wrong to decide ones own fate? Am I not the master of my own existence and do I not have the right to make a decision on it without…
I see what you're getting at, but I think the reason that suicide is linked with mental illness is because it goes against our very nature as living beings. If I recall correctly, a majority of people who have 'failed' suicide (for lack of a better term) have stated that they immediately regretted attempting once it hits the point of no return. This is just an assumption, but I think the will to live greatly outweigh…
> I see what you're getting at, but I think the reason that suicide is linked with mental illness is because it goes against our very nature as living beings.
This is not really correct. There is in fact an evolutionary advantage in depression leading to suicidal behaviour, and it can be found in animals as well.
The theory is that every member of a species generally consumes from the same pool of resouces. If one member deems himself as a non-contributor, it is better for the species as a whole if that individual perishes. I don't have any references right now but there are recorded instances of animals 'giving up' and refusing to feed and or care for theirselves, leading to death, usually after a series of unsuccesful mating seasons. It makes perfect sense from an evolutionary standpoint.
This explanation helped me significantly in being able to overcome certain emotions. It's not an 'illness', and there is nothing wrong with me. It's a natural thing, and I have the ability to resist it, just like I have the ability to resist other natural urges.
Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
I really try to downplay the depression-based suicide angle - at least for my own sanity. I like to think that large part of depression is based on circumstances, I leave out the clinical cases that have underlying physiological causes. If you are unhappy enough to end your life, then there are probably things that you can change to stop feeling that way, i.e. job, relationships, friends, habits. In a lot of ways thi…
You might like to think that, but its not an honest representation of the majority of suicides. Most people who kill themselves do it, not for circumstantial reasons, but physiological ones like clinical depression.
I can see that.
Would you be so kind as to point me in a direction to get more infos on this?
Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#157My mother committed suicide 8 years ago, and this is something I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about and trying to understand (in part to ensure I never suffer the same fate).
For anyone who has struggled with depression or severe anxiety, if you haven’t read the book The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, I encourage you to read it as soon as possible — it’s one of the best, most approachable, resources out there to understand not only many of the roots of depression, but many strategies to actually overcome it (it’s very different from traditional talk therapy, which is mostly focused on getting people to cope with their past trauma rather than resolve it).
https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/01...
Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#158I've always shared a fairly deep connection with Mr. Bourdain for two reason...number one, I actually look enough like him that when I travel I am constantly being asked if I am him, or do I know that I look like him etc...
The second is that we were both functional heroin addicts for some part of our professional lives.
His tell-all book "Kitchen Confidential" hit home to me like a 20-oz T-bone and a good bottle of red. His unafraid discussions of his addictions were a breath of fresh air in the otherwise stultified environment of talking-about-work.
There is little doubt in my mind that his struggles with addiction are related to the suicide, at some perhaps never to be known level.
He entertained the shit outta me, so he will be missed...cheers to you Anthony we hardly knew you.
Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you elaborate why you brought up your second paragraph? I'm not sure what statement you are trying to make.
Not the OP, but higher availability of guns is correlated with higher suicide rates (most notoriously in US mountains states like Wyoming), because it makes it easier to act on impulse when people hit their lowest points, rather than muddling through because they don't have easy means. However, I don't see any reporting on how Bourdain died, only that he was found in a hotel room. So unless it comes to light that gun…
>Not the OP, but higher availability of guns is correlated with higher suicide rates (most notoriously in US mountains states like Wyoming), because it makes it easier to act on impulse when people hit their lowest points, rather than muddling through because they don't have easy means.
Or you know, there might be a third variable there... Something about declining rural areas possibly.
Re: Anthony Bourdain has died
#160>, I can only hope that people as a whole start seeing it as a complex issue and the stigma of mental issues and stress can lessen so that people can get help Possibly inappropriate - but why do people immediately link suicide and mental illness? Why do we stand in judgement declaring it wrong to decide ones own fate? Am I not the master of my own existence and do I not have the right to make a decision on it without…
> why do people immediately link suicide and mental illness?
There is a very strong relationship between suicide and mental illness. If someone decides to end their own life, it is overwhelmingly likely that they are suffering from some form of mental illness.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12701661
>Why do we stand in judgement declaring it wrong to decide ones own fate?
Most people who survive a suicide attempt do not ultimately end their own life. Most people who have suicidal thoughts eventually stop having those thoughts. If you think that you'd be better off dead, I don't think that you're in any way morally wrong, I just think that you're probably factually wrong. You might think that you want to die, but if you go on living, it is overwhelmingly likely that you'll change your mind. To use an old cliche, suicide is a permanent response to a temporary problem.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0004867060117274...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016503271...