That is so incredibly sad. R.I.P. Anthony Bourdain. The mental health issues in the United States are not being addressed as they should be. Until that changes, the rates won't change. There is still so much stigma in regard to mental illness and so many misperceptions about it.
PG, I am so sorry to hear about your friend's daughter. I am glad to hear your son is doing well.
For those with limited resources, I can see why there is hopelessness as suncoastvike referred to.
Quote: @pumpf said:
I could be wrong... but it is my opinion that the same "elements" that are driving more and more people to kill themselves... is the same thing that drives people to kill others. I don't want this to turn political in any way, so I'll just leave it at this: treating the symptoms is never going to bring about a cure.
opinions are all fine and dandy but the reality as in most systemic social problems is science can solve the issue. The cost and the methods are likely not palatable to the extent that people would resist for either moral or cost reasons OR the impact on their freedoms
I don't know if Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade or Robin Williams had alcohol or drug problems, but I can say that my friend's daughter never used drugs or consumed alcohol and neither has my son. Some people are truly mentally ill and have nerve cell circuit issues in their brains that can be caused by such things as low serotonin levels in the bloodstream, for one example. Other times there can be brain trauma caused by loss of oxygen at birth (which we suspect is what could have happened to my son, as he was born premature and spent several days in the NICU under an oxygen hood).
My friend's daughter just struggled. She had good days, sometimes great days, and then a lot of terrible days. She also towards the end of her life was not taking her medication, unbeknownst to her parents. Her mother found a shoe box full of pills that she'd cheeked in some way to make her folks believe she'd taken them. This girl was adopted and her biological mother is bipolar, so there is a hereditary component as well for some.
It would be nice I suppose to be able to sum up all of the mental health issues and blame them on drug and alcohol problems but that's just not the case...though I will most certainly agree wholeheartedly that the drug and alcohol problem in this country is enormous and out of control and most certainly those substances can cause mental illness in otherwise healthy people.
I think there are lots of reasons that people take their own lives, it almost always get labeled as depression, but I think that is to generic of a term to even be useful in any conversation. I also think that if more people were honest that it would be shocking at how many people have/do consider or think about ending themselves. I also think many of "mental health professionals" are likely not nearly educated enough to honestly diagnose an issue and that most of them should not be able to prescribe medications to try and "control" something that they really arent equipped to diagnose to begin with.
IMO a lot of our "mental" disorders stem from how we raise our kids and the society that we raise them in. 30-40 years ago a kids suicide would rock a town of 20,000 people, today its hardly even talked about the day after it happens because its become so common place... what has changed? I doubt the human brain has been genetically altered that much in 30 years so it has to be something outside of our hardwiring that is causing the upswing. I think the whole mental health industry needs to take a hard reset and see if they are really heading in the right direction or really only adding to the issue.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
I also think many of "mental health professionals" are likely not nearly educated enough to honestly diagnose an issue and that most of them should not be able to prescribe medications to try and "control" something that they really arent equipped to diagnose to begin with.
That's a hell of a statement right there.
For me personally if it weren't for mental health professionals.... I would not be here today. For absolute certainty.
Quote: @Mike Olson said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
I also think many of "mental health professionals" are likely not nearly educated enough to honestly diagnose an issue and that most of them should not be able to prescribe medications to try and "control" something that they really arent equipped to diagnose to begin with.
That's a hell of a statement right there.
For me personally if it weren't for mental health professionals.... I would not be here today. For absolute certainty.
not saying that there arent real professionals out there doing good work, but the whole mental health crisis is out of whack.
I truly hate that some people will still say that if someone is depressed, has social anxiety, ADHD or numerous other diagnoses, that person is weak and needs to toughen up or they lack resilience. Do we tell someone with cancer to suck it up buttercup? No. But a mentally ill person will be told to pick themselves up and stop whining. They will be told that they need to let it go. If it was that simple, there would be no issues. Mentally ill people are some of the strongest people out there. They are fighting daily battles that some people don't understand or refuse to have compassion for. Mental illness is complicated by the fact that not every approach works for everyone. Combine mental illness with chronic insomnia or chronic migraines and that battle gets even harder. Mentally ill people are trying medications, therapy or a combination of the two. Some are even utilizing alternative treatments. Combine mental illness with chronic pain, MS or any number of medical conditions and it gets even more complicated to treat. It is a huge problem and we need to keep fighting to help the people suffering.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
I think there are lots of reasons that people take their own lives, it almost always get labeled as depression, but I think that is to generic of a term to even be useful in any conversation. I also think that if more people were honest that it would be shocking at how many people have/do consider or think about ending themselves. I also think many of "mental health professionals" are likely not nearly educated enough to honestly diagnose an issue and that most of them should not be able to prescribe medications to try and "control" something that they really arent equipped to diagnose to begin with.
IMO a lot of our "mental" disorders stem from how we raise our kids and the society that we raise them in. 30-40 years ago a kids suicide would rock a town of 20,000 people, today its hardly even talked about the day after it happens because its become so common place... what has changed? I doubt the human brain has been genetically altered that much in 30 years so it has to be something outside of our hardwiring that is causing the upswing. I think the whole mental health industry needs to take a hard reset and see if they are really heading in the right direction or really only adding to the issue.
I won't disagree completely with you, Jimmy, and I know you aren't necessarily using the word "all" when saying this, but I will once again bring up my friend's daughter as an example. She lived in a beautiful home with VERY SUPPORTIVE parents who loved her dearly. They provided a loving and stable home for her. She had a good circle of friends. She had a boyfriend who was supportive. Her parents had her enrolled in a mentorship program with an adult mentor who was a valuable support person for her as well. She wasn't a victim of bullying (but often spoke up about it when she saw it and was a champion for bullying victims), and as I mentioned earlier she didn't use drugs or alcohol. She received counseling throughout her life and had support within her school environment. She just couldn't overcome her illness, much like many who cannot overcome it.
I don't think it's that the doctors aren't educated enough, they just aren't God, and that's who you'd have to be in order to "cure" mental illness because there is no cure. People who have drug and alcohol issues MAY be able to overcome their demons and be "cured" by virtue of recovery, but that isn't where it ends for them. And for some, unfortunately, they may have gotten into drugs and alcohol to begin with because of their mental illness.
I know that it is easy to have a cynical eye turned toward society these days. I can honestly say what "keeps me sane" if you want to say it like that is not letting it all in--society, I mean. Maybe I'm sticking my head in the sand, but I have made a very purposeful decision to keep as much drama out of my life as I possibly can, and I spend much of my time reinforcing this notion with my son.
Bourdain had a well document history of cocaine and heroin addiction going back decades. In fact, he almost offed himself in 2014 by accidentally overdosing on a weeks worth amount of painkillers and anti-inflammatories and not eating for 36 hours.
He often talked about death in interviews and said his main reason for living was his daughter. Sadly, this latest event might have been triggered by his relationship with his current girlfriend, Asia Argento.
Tragic. His early years on "A Cooks Tour" were some of the most entertaining things you'll ever watch. Goes to show, you may think someone has it all then something like this...
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