The sad news about Anthony Bourdain’s suicide spread fast through the media. What many not be talked about as broadly are the possible connections between alcoholism, depression, and suicide. A recent article in the Miami Herald tackles this topic. For those in the Westside Cleveland area experiencing symptoms of alcoholism or depression, please reach out to us. We’re here to help. For those contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
From Miami Herald:
I didn’t know Anthony Bourdain, but felt like I did in one small important way.
In him, I saw a drinking alcoholic with a front-stage vigorous attempt to do it successfully. His was a fantastic life-embracing show, with drinking taking a prominent role in the joie de vivre, and sometimes that made it hard for me to watch.
When he threw back shots, indeed got wasted, I saw a fellow alcoholic living dangerously whereas most viewers I imagine saw “a man who knew how to drink, knew how to live.” His state of mind will be called depression, and who can argue that in the face of suicide. But can we please, people, start connecting the dots to alcoholism (also a disease of the mind), at least when it is screamingly evident?
Perhaps I should not presume to think I know, but I can at least invite the conversation where it is uncomfortably and amazingly absent. Did alcoholism (which brings depression or ineffectively “treats” depression), ultimately take down Bourdain?
Alcohol is a drug. “Drugs” and “alcohol” remain separate in conversations about addiction like a “bad sister” doing outrageous unthinkable things while the “good sister” quietly nurses a prom hangover and shame from a blackout. A Paris autopsy report shows he had no alcohol, or drugs in his system when he killed himself, but still.…
Can Bourdain’s death please generate a conversation about alcoholism and not just befuddlement about his fantastic life countless people wish they had. Because you don’t. The travel, the breadth of his life, sure, maybe. What an experience-rich life. But this man on the move had to stop sometimes. No cameras, no action. Just himself. I do not presume to know him, but I do know addiction and it can be a fiercely critical companion that may take a back seat but lies in wait. It can tear us down and sometimes just won’t shut up — goading shame, self-loathing and inviting emotional isolation.
To continue reading this article, click here.
To request an appointment with us at the Center for Effective Living, click here.