Anthony Bourdain has died...Suicide

Cydkar

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Apr 12, 2006
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I know people with mental issues and this scares the crap out of me. They aren't uber-successful people although I can't say that may even matter. a really bad day can lead to a life ending decision.
 
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mj4cy

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Damn this sucks.

Heard him on Joe Rogan and he has a fascinating life story and was very open about his substance abuse.
 

SC Cy

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Between him and Kate Spade, that's two more successful people that you would have never guessed would have mental issues.

I don't know, Bourdain was pretty much celebrated for having such a rough life. I remember seeing on multiple occasions he would talk about his life not being as glamorous as it appeared.
 

cyson

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Jun 24, 2007
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Sad deal. He gave me a ton of inspiration to travel. He will be missed.
Me as well. He made it look so easy. He ate in everyday, working restaurants where you always find the best food. Makes me want to travel, now.
 

CascadeClone

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I hate to say it, but cowards way out. Never do this to your friends and family. Its not worth it.

I know what you are saying, but that is unfair in most circumstances. There are some who just take the easy way out when facing some personal failures, but that isn't most suicides.

Having been up close and personal with 2 immediate family members with severe depression and anxiety, suicide is not (usually) the product of rational thought. The entire point of mental illness is it makes you irrational. It's like you are trying to make decisions based on facts, but all your facts are wrong and misleading you.

Imagine if your spouse, kids, friends all loved you - you are a good provider and caring person. But your mind convinces you that they all hate you, laugh at you, you're worthless, and they'd be better off without you. And these poisonous incorrect thoughts go on over the course of years. That's totally irrational, but you.just.can't.see.it. But that is what it is, at least that is how I have come to understand it.

Say you are schizophrenic and have a hallucination that you are on a diving board and jump into a lovely swimming pool, but in actuality you are jumping off a bridge. Is that taking the cowards way out?

Mental illness is a murderer that tricks you into killing yourself.
 

jsb

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Not a parent but I can't imagine doing this while having a child.

That’s the rub though. When you are mentally ill and contemplating suicide you think you’re loved ones will be better off without you. You think the world will be better off without you. You don’t think rationally.

I think too many people try to paint suicide as selfish or try to apply rationale to it. I think it is important for the loved ones of suicide victims to understand that it wasn’t an act made to hurt them. Obviously for the loved ones, they’ll think that anyway, but hopefully they won’t have people telling them that.
 

Clonefan32

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Nov 19, 2008
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Loved Bourdain. The man certainly had his demons, but boy did he have a way with words.
 
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harimad

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Checking with the thread police first to see if I'm allowed to mourn this man today, who I also was a big fan of. It looks like the prophet Mohammad died on this day in the year 632, so I'm taking a chance with this reply.

This one shocks me. I guess I didn't realize how big of a deal his addictions were, but others seem all too aware of them. I just thought he seemed like a great down-to-Earth guy on his shows, and had great taste. Didn't seem too uppity. Very sad to see him go, and wish we had a better way of identifying people who need some care.
 

EnhancedFujita

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I know what you are saying, but that is unfair in most circumstances. There are some who just take the easy way out when facing some personal failures, but that isn't most suicides.

Having been up close and personal with 2 immediate family members with severe depression and anxiety, suicide is not (usually) the product of rational thought. The entire point of mental illness is it makes you irrational. It's like you are trying to make decisions based on facts, but all your facts are wrong and misleading you.

Imagine if your spouse, kids, friends all loved you - you are a good provider and caring person. But your mind convinces you that they all hate you, laugh at you, you're worthless, and they'd be better off without you. And these poisonous incorrect thoughts go on over the course of years. That's totally irrational, but you.just.can't.see.it. But that is what it is, at least that is how I have come to understand it.

Say you are schizophrenic and have a hallucination that you are on a diving board and jump into a lovely swimming pool, but in actuality you are jumping off a bridge. Is that taking the cowards way out?

Mental illness is a murderer that tricks you into killing yourself.

This 100%. People that claim that suicide victims are cowards often misunderstand the driving motivations of those with severe depression and mental illness. There is a great documentary about suicides at the Golden Gate bridge that includes an interview with a guy that survived. He talks about the feelings he had all day leading up to him jumping and then having instant regret as soon as he jumped. These aren't rational decisions and I think we need more understanding of mental illness versus demonizing those who commit these acts. I had a very good friend that committed suicide, but it wasn't him being a coward, a disease killed him, same as cancer or heart disease, his was just mental.
 

Cycsk

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I wonder sometimes if the drive to be on TV and have everyone watch your exploits isn't itself on the edge of a mental illness problem. Just because people do a good job of TV doesn't mean they don't have all sorts of other things going on.
 

harimad

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I wonder sometimes if the drive to be on TV and have everyone watch your exploits isn't itself on the edge of a mental illness problem. Just because people do a good job of TV doesn't mean they don't have all sorts of other things going on.

It could be. Its definitely a stupid/brave thing to do in today's world.
 

ScottyP

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Is the suicide rate on the rise the past few years? This seems to happen a lot more frequently lately. We have a long ways to go regarding mental health.
 

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