12 ms·

Anthony Bourdain has died

590 points by chewymouse 8y ago

johncolton 8y ago
Bourdain was such a friend to so many cities and countries as he introduced their food and culture. I am not sure who can take his place. It's so sad that he could not find another solution to defeat his demons.
oblong 8y ago
Nooooooooooo...
digianarchist 8y ago
http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html
- throwaway435388 8y ago
  Has anyone called these before? What's it like? Thanks.
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    I don't know if I've ever called any of these, but they usually are well trained, non-confrontational, and solely there to help. Many are volunteers who greatly desire to be there. Additionally, if your thoughts are affected by a medical condition, I would suggest calling a nurse hotline through a health insurance company or university. They can often confirm or deny if you should seek emergency care ASAP.
  - 616c 8y ago
    I used to volunteer at one. Its part of a national network. Ask away.
    - nerdy 8y ago
      What's the best way to encourage someone to call when they're showing outward signs of depression but you don't know them? I saw someone who was very clearly depressed streaming the other day. They weren't responding to chat. Crying. Fetal position on the floor for 7+ hours. Very depressing social media posts, etc. But I did not know this person. I did encourage them to call, however it was a difficult message to compose. You don't want to make them feel like they're a burden or weak ("call if you need someone") and some people may need encouragement to actually pick up the phone. So in a situation with a stranger online, who may not see or respond to your message, what would you say?
      - calvinbhai 8y ago
        I think this is where social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) should allow friends to suggest anonymously to contact such a helpline (probably show it as an ad/post). Any other way would be considered judgmental/confrontational by the one who is already suffering. An inanimate / non-human thing like facebook suggesting to contact the local helpline may be very very effective in such cases.
  - _spoonman 8y ago
    Contact info is in profile if you need to reach out. Not a counselor, but have ears (eyes).
    - throwaway435388 8y ago
      Thank you
  - thebigspacefuck 8y ago
    I called one because my Facebook friend said he was going to kill himself. They found his address and sent someone to check on him. No idea if he was home at the time or was even serious, but I'm pretty sure he's still alive.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - bridanp 8y ago
    Without saying the same as others, they are there to listen for the most part. A lot of the times, that's what someone under stress and who might be considering taking action needs. What a lot of people don't understand is that a friend who might be considering suicide doesn't need to be "fixed", or to be given a bunch of quick solutions, or worse to be told "just get over it". What they need is someone who is willing to listen without passing judgement. And if necessary, to provide that friend guidance in getting to a safe place where those with experience can provide care. For disclosure, I am not a trained counselor. I've had various, very short, training sessions for several close friends and relatives so that I would know what to do, and more importantly what not to do or what not to say.
frankwiles 8y ago
If your friends or coworkers seem off, check in on them. Everyone needs to know it’s ok to not be ok.
- obelix_ 8y ago
  I'll qualify that with - only if you know what you are doing. If someone is struggling in the deep sea, dive in to help only if you have experience swimming in the deep sea. This stuff is not simple and can have lifelong negative effects on both parties if done wrong.
  - _mitch 8y ago
    I don't think OP was implying you should attempt to counsel the person. You don't need experience to check in on friends and coworkers if they seem off. Ask them if they're having thoughts of hurting themselves. Listen to their answer. If they are, encourage them to seek professional help; whether that is giving them the information to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or assisting in getting them in to see a mental health professional.
    - jrs95 8y ago
      Has anyone done this and had success? As someone who has dealt with suicidal thoughts for years and continues to struggle with it, it wouldn’t do me any good. I’d lie and act like it’s a ridiculous question, and then I’d probably be binge drinking for the next week from the stress and paranoia from being “found out”.
      - _mitch 8y ago
        I had success when someone did this for me fifteen years ago after years in the dark. I was also ashamed of my feelings and hid them as a result of the stigma in society. No two people experiences of mental illness are the same, but I'm glad someone said something. I lied and acted like it was a ridiculous question multiple times before I finally admitted to myself that I needed to commit to getting help. I'm glad I did. No two experiences are the same, but if you're interested in talking more about it my contact info is in my profile.
warent 8y ago
I involuntarily gasped for air. This isn't someone I expected would die for a long time. Depression is a silent beast, and the stigma around talking about these problems is fatal as ever. Anthony was inspirational to me in part because, among many reasons, though he lived his life in a very unusual way he was still successful and always adventurous. The world has suffered a great loss today.
- tcbawo 8y ago
  Very sad, indeed. The same age as another author and larger than life figure, Ernest Hemingway.
  - vixen99 8y ago
    And even sadder for his 10 year old daughter who will live this experience while most of us are focusing on other things in a day or so.
- arwhatever 8y ago
  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.
  - oldsklgdfth 8y ago
    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 this make sense to me, he was probably under a lot of pressure to be the guy that everyone really liked. Created this unrealistic expectation that was stressful to meet. Add in poor habits, maybe strained relationship and friends to lean on. It's not hard for people to feel like there is not point in going on with life. EDIT: I am open to being wrong and invite a discussion of others opinions.
ianai 8y ago
I will sorely miss his show. He had a unique way of communicating what a place and culture were like.
camdenreslink 8y ago
Very sad news. I watched No Reservations throughout my teenage years, and loved it.
readhn 8y ago
God damn it Anthony.... The only guy for me worth watching on entire TV. This. Sucks.
emptyfile 8y ago
Wow, suicide... Most people would tell me his life is their dream. Rest in peace.
- JshWright 8y ago
  Depression doesn't care how awesome your life is.
  - ianai 8y ago
    It can be a literal chemical imbalance in the brain. Nothing anyone has free will to decide to feel. (Ie they can’t “think it away”) We need a more inclusive society for this reason. Things like bullying and other ego boosters at the cost of others separate people.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - 69132 8y ago
      That whole "chemical imbalance" thing is a myth.
      - jrs95 8y ago
        Yup. Just to get rich selling pills that barely make a difference. As someone who’s probably had a prescription for every major anti-depressant, the only difference I never noticed from taking them is that my dick didn’t work. Not saying that depression isn’t a serious issue and that it can just be “thought away” though. But the drugs are really only helpful to some people, and there’s not much evidence to substantiate that this is just a chemical problem. There may be a chemical element, but IMO this is being exaggerated for profit. Meanwhile we aren’t dealing with any of the underlying social problems that probably play a much larger part.
        ianai 8y ago
        Funny, I’ve known several people who clearly were depressed through physiology. Nothing to do with being able to “think it away”
acjohnson55 8y ago
This is a real gut punch for me. Talk about a rock and roll icon who never released an album. I feel so bad for the pain he must have been in. If you're in a dark place, please, please consider reaching out for help. I love this community. We gotta look out for each other y'all.
anoncoward111 8y ago
Really, really horrible news. The anecdotal data is really starting to pile up in my mind- Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain... ... suicide is all too common in our world, and some professions (especially doctors) are affected more than others. All of the money and fame in the world cannot protect you from the depths of your mind. I hope that anyone struggling with this affliction can know its ok to step away from everything they're doing, get a breath of fresh air, and know that it's ok for everything to go wrong in life. Your life is always still valuable and fixable.
- DanBC 8y ago
  > and some professions (especially doctors) are affected more than others. Doctors don't have higher rates of death by suicide. I think female doctors do have a higher rate of death by suicide than women in general. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    Actually that is the statistic I was thinking of (I read an article from a formerly-suicidal female doctor). I assumed that the trend applied to males too but now I am quite curious as to why it does not apply. Regional statistics would be helpful too- some have thought that Finns and Russians carry a genetic marker for suicidal tendencies.
    - soared 8y ago
      Males die of suicide more often because they use more successful methods. It makes sense that a female doctor would be much more successful than the average female due to her education. Most women use pills, men use guns.
      - anoncoward111 8y ago
        Agreed. Randomly and anecdotally, I am reminded of Iris Chang, who was a famous author responsible for our knowledge of the Rape of Nanking. Her cause of death was brutal, and she was going through immense pressure during her last research project. A self-influcted gunshot to the mouth sounds like a horrible way to go.
101km 8y ago
I can't decide if celebrity suicides are just more frequently reported these days or suicides overall have actually increased because we live in, what we collectively perceive as, darker times. I suspect it is the latter, but I don't have the heart to google it. Every Robin Williams, Chris Cornell, Anthony Bourdain no doubt causes a bit of a ripple of none famous suicides and thus this news is doubly sad.
- spooneybarger 8y ago
  The sucide rate in the United States has increased over the last 20 years according to the Centers for Disease Control: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/suicide-rates-are-30-percent-1999-cdc-says-n880926 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/suicide-rates-are...
  - overcast 8y ago
    What I find interesting is that Nevada actually decreased, a place where you can literally lose it all. All of those Midwest states, where quality of life is generally considered the highest and happiest, have the highest increases.
    - jetti 8y ago
      I would imagine that most people losing it all in Nevada don't actually live there though.
    - grasshopperpurp 8y ago
      Nevada already had a very high suicide rate. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/...
- pilsetnieks 8y ago
  There are also more celebrities these days.
fiblye 8y ago
The CNN article about his death had this: >Suicide is a growing problem in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a survey Thursday showing suicide rates increased by 25% across the United States over nearly two decades ending in 2016. I remember a while back that the general public's tone on suicide was a lot less sober. More of a "man up" sort of attitude. With a growing list of famous, financially successful people committing suicide, 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. Or at least be able to talk to their friends/family when they first notice problems instead of hiding it until it's too late. When people first start having these sorts of thoughts and even hint at it to other people, the whole "What are you depressed about? Your life is good" response so many people give only makes it worse, and hopefully it's beginning to go away. Depression has nothing to do with how "good" your life is on paper.
- specialist 8y ago
  "...only makes it worse..." I recently initiated a suicide intervention for a loved one. I would like to know what would make it better. Or at least what not to do. I am relentlessly optimistic (cancer survivor, a learned skill). I definitely feel like my efforts here ("talking someone off the ledge") had mixed results at best. Good stuff for other cancer victims. Not so good for depression, suicidal tendencies. Sure, I took careful notes of conversations with the various care providers, professionals. But I don't feel any better equipped to handle the next flare up. PS- RIP Anthony Bourdain. Kitchen Confidential deeply influenced me. My first exposure to his ideas, worldview was a "Trial By Fire" profile on his management style in HBR (?). I loved how he accepted everyone to work in his kitchen, so long as they didn't miss a shift. How it was his crew versus the world, every night.
  - throw501 8y ago
    DEF CON 21 - Amber Baldet - Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention Tactics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfYJE-qCVaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfYJE-qCVaM Slides https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-21/dc-21-presentations/Baldet/DEFCON-21-Baldet-Suicide-Intervention-Risk-Assessment-Tactics-Updated.pdf https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-21/dc-21-presentations/... Extras https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=bfYJE-qCVaM&redir_token=-wumCs8eaRWwbPtki835Dp34pJR8MTUyODU0Nzc2OUAxNTI4NDYxMzY5&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.defcon.org%2Fimages%2Fdefcon-21%2Fdc-21-presentations%2FBaldet%2FExtras.zip https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=b...
nautilus12 8y ago
Anyone have any idea why? Not to encourage speculation but was there something hes been publicly struggling with?
- readhn 8y ago
  Have you ever watched his shows? There is a sad dark thread going through all of them.. dark humor, his comments on life, interactions with other people etc. She time He made it interesting and very real. The world is not all roses and I think that's what he tried to show.
  - paulie_a 8y ago
    That is an interesting take and I will need to watch some of his shows again. But I always thought he had a joy about experiencing things and explaining it.
  - nautilus12 8y ago
    This doesn't give any additional information, his gruffness was part of what made him famous. I dont think that was a source of sadness for him. I was talking more to the effect of Asia Argento being seen with other people last week (not that I think thats the reason, just identifying possible causes).
  - nscalf 8y ago
    I will never forget the episode where he goes diving for octopus in Sicily. The comments on how disgusted he was by his guide throwing dead octopus into the water for them to "catch"... it was Bourdain at his best.
- Zealotux 8y ago
  From the article: "In the book he wrote candidly about his abuse of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and LSD."
- post_break 8y ago
  Well it looked like his wife was cheating on him.
ransom1538 8y ago
I remember watching Robin Williams perform ~2009. He was hilarious and positive on stage at Cobb. After the show he hung out with us and Bing Gordon (his friend). His entire demeanor changed. Unable to smile, look people in the eyes, and holding back tears. People thought he would be funny off stage but he just was extremely anxious and wanted to leave asap. Anyhow, I feel like people (esp. famous people) hide the their internal deadly struggle. I always try to remember - more than half [1] of gun related deaths in the US are people taking their own gun and pointing it at their head then pulling the trigger. Who cares what side of the gun debate you are on. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_Sta...
- ataturk 8y ago
  "Remember this while purchasing" WTF? What is that supposed to mean? Do you believe that guns have some basic, inherent ability to make people want to commit suicide? What planet do you live on? Anyone who is going to commit suicide using a gun is going to commit suicide by some other means if a gun isn't readily available. Cite: Japan!
- adamc 8y ago
  Performances are just that.
- tudelo 8y ago
  Can you elaborate why you brought up your second paragraph? I'm not sure what statement you are trying to make.
  - rectang 8y ago
    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 guns were involved (unlikely, because gunshots would have been heard), I don't think this sad event begs for a discussion of guns as opposed to many other topics around the issue of suicide.
dewey 8y ago
I’m usually not that affected by celebrity deaths but this one really hit me hard :(
- rickyspanish 8y ago
  I'm the same way. I usually think "why is this even news, it's not like these people were friends of this person." Then at times like these, I'm reminded what an impact his work had on my life.
curveship 8y ago
I really wanted Bourdain to become a salty, profligate old man, throwing barbs from behind a stiff drink and an ever-craggier face. Sad news.
- organicmultiloc 8y ago
  He was an addict and got sober, but otherwise yeah the image is fitting.
  - hellofunk 8y ago
    > He was an addict and got sober Commenter was talking about alcohol. He drinks a lot of alcohol in most of the episodes I’ve seen.
    - jadell 8y ago
      Addicted to drugs, not alcohol.
      - hellofunk 8y ago
        But the comment was in response to him having a stiff drink.
      - 24gttghh 8y ago
        This separation needs to end. The sooner, the better. Alcohol is very much a drug. "An estimated 88,0008 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women8) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity."[0] [0]https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-co...
      - smolder 8y ago
        It may be worth pointing out here that with substance abuse, people often end up substituting one dangerous thing for another. Just because someone's a recovered heroin or cocaine user and not an alcoholic doesn't mean alcohol's not riskier for them than for other people. Whether or not that'd be true of Anthony Bourdain or not I can't weigh in on.
pjmorris 8y ago
We went to see him speak once, together with Jacques Pepin and Eric Ripert. It was clear that he felt things deeply, and had a great deal of integrity in his own way. He will be missed.
nefasti 8y ago
Anthony was ad close to an idol to me, since his cooking book was the first one I Read, I will surely miss him and his work. I haven’t felt this sad for some public figure since Steve jobs death.
ninjamayo 8y ago
I've been binge watching Bourdain on Netflix over the last few days. Really really strange to watch one more tonight knowing he is now dead. Very sad news indeed!
jolesf 8y ago
The New Yorker profile is how i rememember him https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/anthony-bourdains-moveable-feast https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/anthony-bourda...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
xvf22 8y ago
I really enjoyed his work, it genuinely inspired me to up my cooking game. Eric must be so overwhelmed right now :( I've had friends take the same way out so this is bringing up some awful memories. The demons within are a powerful force no matter how good things seem to be going.
ada1981 8y ago
I struggled with mental health issues my entire adult life. Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Biploar, Anxiety, Suicidal Depression, Panic Attacks. It wasn’t until I changed my relationship to all emotions and then sought out a variety of support to safely go deeply into my experience that I was able to find relief. 1 session of MDMA therapy lifted a decade of suicidal thoughts; session 2 a year later largely freed me of anxiety and paranoia; combined with a NARM therapist to help me heal developmental and shock trauma, yoga, holotropic Breathwork and a loving stable romantic relationship. And a lot of grace. No meds, no longer a prisoner, and my life is vibrant and alive and the past feels like nothing more than a straight jacket I wriggled out of. The often unspoken truth is that Trauma (developmental, shock, generational) underpins most all mental health issues (save issues of malnutrition, poisoning,tumors and TBI). This is on the radar of few practioners who instead offer very limited tools to suppress symptoms. And because mental health is actually a context, folks typically are surrounded by others who don’t have a very deep capacity to honor our expeirences and would rather try to “cheer us up” or change what we feel. The actual need is to have people who help us feel more of what we feel (that leads to deeper relief). The Suicidal Impulse is a an impulse for the pain of our default mode network to stop. When we have unprocessed traumas, we are in a state of fight or flight and this activation is painful. It also leads to addiction. Ego (default mode network) death and rebirth is possible without killing the body. It requires a safe context to release the old trauma and form new pathways in the incresed plasticity. Know that there are actual solutions, it’s not your fault, and there are people here to help — but you will need to take responsibility for healing this as our current society is doing a terrible job thus far.
- aklemm 8y ago
  This is playing out with someone I know, so it's validating to see it as a good path or outcome. How do you get access to MDMA treatments?
  - ada1981 8y ago
    Maps.org has clinical trials one can get into. And depending on the local laws re prohibition some countries have therapists or guides who will help facilitate. Holotropic Breathwork gets at the same mechanism of action, albeit a more manual process, and is legal everywhere. Email me if you’d like to talk more.
the6threplicant 8y ago
I was reading about the Hong Kong episode for Parts Unknown just yesterday where his girlfriend directed it and they used a famous cinematographer too that Anthony always wanted to work with. I read Kitchen Confidential when it came out. A hge fan and followed him ever since. Sympathy goes out to his young daughter and his friends and family.
linsomniac 8y ago
One phrase I've found a lot of wisdom in is: Depression is a life-threatening illness.
bevinahally 8y ago
This is a very sad day for me. I have never expressed this to anyone before. Anthony Bourdain was one of my heroes. Anthony changed the way that I view the world and inspired me to explore the world's rich tapestry of life. We have lost someone who truly was a world citizen who built the culture that "different" could be good. The man's struggles through addiction and journey to peak physical fitness in his late 50s is nothing short of inspiring. I hope that he is immortalized through his work.
- donatj 8y ago
  Yes. The way this man LIVED made me forever envious. He was and is still a personal hero of mine as well.
- bootsz 8y ago
  Same. He was a hero to me as well. I'm devastated
Ntrails 8y ago
>, 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 a bunch of hand wringing from other people refusing to countenance the possibility that I am still of sound mind? Living is a choice, just as death is. (apologies if this is distasteful, I'm mostly interested to hear responses)
- adamc 8y ago
  I think we link it because, most of the time, it is linked to mental illness -- typically depression. It's not an issue of "rights" but of whether you are really functioning competently. Sure, there are cases where someone makes the decision to commit suicide because of a terrible terminal illness (e.g., bone cancer). But that is not the norm. FWIW, I say this as someone who has had severe depression and been suicidal.
- chatmasta 8y ago
  Suicide is inherently a selfish act, and I think that’s where the perception of it being “wrong” comes from. Sure you have the right to decide your own fate, but you should consider that you affect other people. In taking your own life you’re also fucking up the life of everyone who cares about you, forcing them into a state of grief and possibly causing them to blame themselves for what was ultimately a selfish act on your part.
  - choko 8y ago
    Isn't it also a little selfish to expect someone to live out their life in misery simply because you would feel bad if that person ended their own life? I have people in my life who have been struggling with mental illness for many years. If any of them decide that they no longer have the will to fight, I would not think less of them (or call them selfish) if they decide to end their own life. If I did, I would be selfish.
piker 8y ago
A powerful quote that may resonate with many of us and sum up his humility and fight with depression, from an interview with Biography.com (via reddit): "I should’ve died in my 20s. I became successful in my 40s. I became a dad in my 50s. I feel like I’ve stolen a car — a really nice car — and I keep looking in the rearview mirror for flashing lights." Rest in peace.
- lurquer 8y ago
  Is a victim of suicide suffering from depression by definition? If not, why would one immediately assume Bourdain was depressed?
  - WalterSear 8y ago
    Because he says so in the parent's quote.
    - lurquer 8y ago
      Thanks. I'd missed that.
ryan606 8y ago
Very sad. Bourdain seemed like one of the few on TV who didn't take himself too seriously. I can't think of too many people who didn't like him or enjoy his show.
Lotus123 8y ago
Just yesterday I watched a interview clip on new Yorker from 2017 and it was so lively. 16 hours and this news. Very much saddened. Rip.
partycoder 8y ago
I enjoyed his show, he was a good narrator and storyteller, and he had an interesting perspective of the world. However, it is important to remember that traveling around the world in planes is not a very ecological activity. So traveling as a way of living is better left to a few people.
- seattle_spring 8y ago
  Have you considered not using a tragedy as your little political soapbox?
  - partycoder 8y ago
    Don't get me wrong. I think he did a great job, his show was very enjoyable and highly entertaining and his fame is well deserved. He could make a successful show anywhere, from a very modest restaurant like Waffle House to a very fancy one. Quoting another chef: "He brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food." I am just saying, that long distance transportation technology doesn't scale in terms of carbon footprint right now, and that we should be mindful of that when traveling.
sbenitoj 8y ago
My 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/0143127748/ref=nodl_ https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/01...
- dgzl 8y ago
  As someone who's currently going through a wave serious depression, I'm curious about this book. Thanks for sharing.
  - occam65 8y ago
    Hey, I don't know you and you don't know me, but I'm here if you'd like to chat. Hit me up.
  - saw-lau 8y ago
    Likewise. I'm devastated about the news, and it's brought back my demons to the fore.
- njoro 8y ago
  I remember finding this talk quite insightful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc
- betterworldb 8y ago
  I'm definitely going to check this book out. Thanks for the recommendation.
- mindgam3 8y ago
cubano 8y ago
I'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.
petecox 8y ago
Thanks for the memories, Tony. No Reservations was great TV - travelling to exotic destinations, hanging out with chefs and sampling all kinds of street food good and bad. He made the cooking/travel genre fun.
smn1234 8y ago
this really hurt me, I'm usually not as affected by "high-profile suicides." There's some terrible correlations beginning to surface, in my mind, with the psychiatric drugs taken by Robin Williams, Kate Spade, Chester Bennington, and Tim Bergling for example that seem to be the final push-over-the-edge for these folks - whose lives are full of options and [appear] far from hopeless. Surely we can't judge how things really are, but can they truly be SO desperate? I've seen people in terrible shape- unable to work, loss of body part(s), loss of wealth, loss of friends, loss of family, etc. and still carry on. It seems, to me, mental illness is created as a result of these Big Pharma medicines. I don't believe sadness or unhappiness day to day are unhealthy, most people deal with not being 100% successful in life. There's always another day to work at it and try again to win. When things become inexplicable is when there's some strange substance playing with the mind - in my opinion. School shootings being in this category as well. I'd love to see a study investigate the prescription medications used in all of these "high profile suicide" cases, results protected by First Amendment.
- sleazy_b 8y ago
  This comment betrays a remarkable ignorance of mental illness. There is, in fact, a link between the commencement of a course of antidepressants and suicide, but to claim that "...mental illness is created as a result of these Big Pharma medicines" is to ignore a tremendous body of research. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about vaccines?
  - smn1234 8y ago
    it's a statement of opinion- "It seems, to me" Happy to explore this with you further. What exactly is the mental illness? How is it being identified, how is it being measured? I'm against vaccines, as you presumed, as I've personally seen resulting correlations to increased occurrence of Autism, and [lesser] conditions of peanut allergies and gluten intolerance. There may be elements in vaccines become unintentional casualty to the body being trained to reject what we are intending for it so classify as foreign, to fight. There's observable overall increases in these conditions from those who've been vaccinated. We haven't been able to isolate for these yet. I believe we haven't investigated enough. Or perhaps they're not related... but it's my hypothesis. We don't have ENOUGH information to draw conclusions for MANY things, these observations are merely mine and are thus my opinions. I recommend everyone does their own research and make their own decisions.
southphillyman 8y ago
I wonder what impact, if any, the Kate Spade suicide had on his decision. Sometimes I wonder if people suffering from depression observe the attention people who have committed suicide recently receive and if it's influences their decision in any way. I imagine someone feeling really down right now see's all the love and empathy Bourdain is receiving post posthumously, and it could perhaps incentivize them to make the same decision. Am I reaching here?
- mmiliauskas 8y ago
  I read somewhere that suicide headlines increase the probability of plain crashes.
  - jquinby 8y ago
    Robert Cialdini talks about this in his book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion."
- codingdave 8y ago
  You are not reaching - that is always one of my concerns when news like this comes in. But I am gratified to see how many comments on HN are approaching it from a perspective of increasing visibility of the mental health problems we need to solve. Hopefully that message gets out just as strongly as anything else.
spraak 8y ago
> "That was a shock when I woke up this morning: Anthony Bourdain is dead! I enjoyed his show, he was quite a character." It seems like Trump is incapable of saying anything with heartfelt sincerity.
beat 8y ago
The obituary I wrote on Facebook when I found out... "'Fuck you,' he says. 'You don't even cook. You're not one of us anymore.' Far from being offended (although I am hurt), I want to give him a big hug. Another drink or two and I just might. I don't cook. I'm not a chef. The chefs and cooks who are better than I used to be - better than I ever was - know this and don't need to say it. They certainly don't need to say it to my face, like this kid, pressing me up against the bar now with the force of his rage and hurt. He will channel those feelings, appropriately, into a demand that I do a shot of tequila with him. Or two. Which is a relatively friendly and diplomatic solution to an awkward situation." - Anthony Bourdain, "Medium Raw" (I opened to a random page) Another great artist lost to suicide. Anthony Bourdain reinvented food writing with his book "Kitchen Confidential", injecting a brutal honesty and punk rock ethos into the stuffy world of restaurant reviews and travelogues. He continued writing with more terrific work like "Medium Raw" and "Nasty Bits". It's not just that his writing was full of practical advice for diners (never eat fish on mondays, never eat mussels, bread is recycled, etc)... it's that he was brutally honest about himself, about his struggles with depression and drug addiction. If you read his books, his suicide should come as no surprise. He went on to reinvent food television with "No Reservations", a travelogue show that celebrated highbrow and lowbrow in equal measure, that put third world street food vendors in the same breath with Michelin-starred chefs, that ate the weird stuff not because it was weird, but because it was a new experience. From there, he went to "Parts Unknown" on CNN, elevating his work's already broad international beat to a more explicitly political level, visiting little-known and often dangerous places such as Libya and Myanmar, celebrating the joy and creativity people took in their food, even in the poorest, most oppressed places on Earth. He was a cultural ambassador for all of humanity, the likes of which had never been seen before. And then there was that time that !Kung bushmen in Namibia punked him into eating a warthog's asshole by convincing him that it was their finest and most exclusive culinary delicacy. And then laughed their asses off at him. And he ran that on tv. I'm going to miss him so much.
nyae 8y ago
This is very sad. I wish his friends and family ease and comfort during their grieving process. This news is not relevant to the content discussed hacker news and doesn't belong here. This is not Reddit.
skellera 8y ago
So many assumptions going around but as someone who has turned their life around, if I relapsed at this point then I would seriously consider suicide. It’s such a hopeless feeling to be addicted. I’ve come too far to roll back down that hill. But that’s just me. I didn’t climb anywhere near the same heights as he did which it why it made me think that. I hope it’s something more positive (as it could be for something like this). Edit: Just to add, this death affected me so much more than any other celebrity. I look up to him so much for turning his life around and turning it into what it is. I forget which episode of his newer show it was but he goes out hunting with the guy and shoots a... deer/elk/something. He tells the guy it’s the healthiest he’s ever been. You could tell how much it meant to him to be healthy and be able to do the hike they did. Don’t know why it stood out so much but I was so happy for him. It encouraged me to keep going.
bernardino 8y ago
I love Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain — I’ve always wanted to become a chef because of that book. Otherwise, somehow, and I may be wrong, I think suicide might be deep rooted to our toxic: media, culture, attachments, conditioning, etc. It does sound a bit wrong to say. It might because I’m in my early twenties and still live with my parents and have lots of time to think but I’m becoming more aware of how, maybe, be of the world not in the world is so important. It seems like escapism but again, these days: I’m not reading the news as much or partaking in entertainment especially the internet, I’m spending more time alone in solitude, watching the evening sky, I’m going on walks, I’m deciding what has meaning and what does not, I’m just living but with no fuss, noise, or ego. Some may think it’s a boring way to live but it may be a true way to live, I think. It’s almost as I live in my own bubble and I’m not sure if that’s a right thing to do or not. To the point, suicide and depression are terrible and I think, in modern day, we have to have a strong inner self to conquer it or else we get sucked in. It also reminds me of Thoreau’s Walden or Wallace’s understanding of American culture.
- FireBeyond 8y ago
  I found the best summation in one of the most unlikely places, the show Nip/Tuck: "I think that if a person is in a great deal of pain, physical or spiritual, and they've exhausted all their options, I wouldn't judge them for it. I'd say a silent prayer and hope death brought them the peace of mind life never could give them."
ButterflyWar 8y ago
Got a TensorFlow up if anyone has the data because I'm curious: Heroin addicts who commit suicide by violent means vs. intentionally O.D.ing. I ask because Anthony's wife is one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers. https://archive.li/rxIHn https://archive.li/rxIHn
DamnInteresting 8y ago
I have a hypothesis about this based on personal experience. For creative people with an audience, there's this expectation from the audience that every thing you release to the world will be as good or better than what you did before, and that you will produce this brilliance on a reasonably consistent schedule. Any slip in quality (say, from experimenting with something new) or any delay in delivery, and the toxic parts of your audience will hurl their bile. You're labeled a burnout, or you're losing your edge. The people who didn't like your work in the first place openly relish your stumble. Some creatives like to pretend that these critiques don't sting, and maybe some fortunate souls truly are immune. But it's human nature to build our self-image based on feedback from others, and a good self image can be essential for survival. I feel like some creatives such as Bourdain try to meet the demands of the public, and keep upping their game and pushing, but that can't go on forever. Exhaustion, harsh self-criticism, and a sense of responsibility to one's audience combine into a caustic soup, and it shrivels the soul. One is expected to be increasingly brilliant even as one's energy diminishes to the effects of burnout. Quitting will just invite more cries of "failure!" It's unsustainable, and sometimes the part that breaks is the willingness to continue to bear it. To any creative people suffering from this cycle, I think the best remedy is to make a "temporary" lateral move if you can. Move out of the spotlight and lend your skill to up-and-comers for a while. It's hard to get mad at that. And there's an odd comfort in knowing that you never have to go back, but the option is there when/if you're ready.
gringoDan 8y ago
Anthony Bourdain was a global ambassador and a gifted writer who helped instill in me a love of travel. He will be missed. He had a life envied by many and this goes to show that you never know what is going on in someone else's head. Today are more interconnected than ever, but the skin-deep interactions we have through our phones & the digital highlight reels we project can mask both mental health issues and a lack of true meaningful relationships. The article mentions that he committed suicide while shooting Parts Unknown in France. This will affect many lives, not the least of which are all of the people working on the show. I hope CNN takes care of them financially. A relevant but tangential point - Slate Star Codex just published an analysis that after controlling for guns, the US has one of the lowest suicide rates of the developed world[0]. That's not to say that mental health isn't the main issue, but rather that there are also practical policy steps that should be taken to limit the number of preventable suicides. [0] http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/05/31/in-search-of-missing-us-suicides/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/05/31/in-search-of-missing-us...
zeeembao 8y ago
He's the chef that hated on Vegans, right? No surprise he's offed himself. It's hard to have compassion for yourself if you're constantly full of rage and hate towards others, especially ones more compassionate towards all beings.
abalone 8y ago
Rob Delaney (of Deadpool 2 and "funniest person on Twitter" fame) has written great stuff on overcoming suicidal depression with support and medication.[1][2][3] It affects the best people. [1] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7bw89a/comedy-545-v17n10 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7bw89a/comedy-545-v17n10 [2] https://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/414007899/on-depression-getting-help https://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/414007899/on-depression-g... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Rob-Delaney-Warrior-Yardstick-Cabbage/dp/0812983181 https://www.amazon.com/Rob-Delaney-Warrior-Yardstick-Cabbage...
hi41 8y ago
This makes me very sad. When I saw him on the show he came across as a person who had achieved great success. Doesn't so much travel and meeting people make one more enlightened? How did this tragedy occur. I for one sometimes feel I should never have been born. My failings are too much to bear. I have hurt a lot of people with my actions, inactions and words.
jderick 8y ago
Something I just learned: suicide is 120 times more prevalent among alcoholics and alcohol is involved in a quarter of all suicides. http://www.mces.org/pages/suicide_fact_alcohol.php http://www.mces.org/pages/suicide_fact_alcohol.php
- geezerjay 8y ago
  Coreelation doesn't imply causality. I'm sure some people dealing with depression seek refuge at the bottom of a bottle.
  - staticautomatic 8y ago
    Correlation does imply causation. It just doesn't prove it.
    - cookingrobot 8y ago
      Even when there is causation, you still don't which is the cause and effect, or if both are effects of hidden common cause.
      - staticautomatic 8y ago
        That doesn't make any sense.
        alehul 8y ago
        There could be a causation link between alcohol and suicide, but whether suicidal thoughts lead to alcohol or alcohol leads to suicidal thoughts is unknown. Alternatively, both alcohol and suicidal thoughts could be the result of a 'hidden common cause', such as drugs or unemployment.
    - geezerjay 8y ago
      > Correlation does imply causation. Yeah, and maternities cause pregnancies.
aloukissas 8y ago
One of my favorite quotes from Tony: "Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn."
AIX2ESXI 8y ago
"F" for respect. Take care of yourselves my fellow techies. The brightest of us sometimes are consumed by the blackest abyss. Condolences to all who were impacted by his life.
WheelsAtLarge 8y ago
Very sad, sometimes the inner demons win. I didn't know him but I loved his exploration of different cultures thru food. I will miss him and his work. I hope he's finally at peace.
anonbit 8y ago
do we know that he
anonbit 8y ago
Floating the possiblity that it was an auto erotica choking accident.. Maybe he hung himself for plessure but he passed out accidentally. Not judging him anyway.
meko 8y ago
I'm at a week-long point of one of the harder depression episodes I've ever had. It came from running out and thus taking a break from my adhd meds. A week ago, I was worried about my health, because I loved life and wanted to live it to the fullest. The last 3-4 days has been 14 hour sleep sessions, lack of will to get up and out, and a profound sadness about my place in life. I had to keep talking myself out of saying I didn't want to be alive anymore last night; it was uncontrollable despair accompanied by insomnia. Went to my shrink today who gave me a welbutrin script so I'm hoping that works out for me. My saving grace in all this is how I've come to externalize the prolonged feeling of down-ness. I talked to a good friend about it, who proceeded to tell me how it was just my state of mind and that "Its literally the way you look at a situation". Not only is that patronizing, it tries to erase the agony of my experiences. I've experimented with mdma, psychs (lsd, dmt, shrooms), weed, ket, none of it has sustained any sort of cure. The problems just come right back.
- drukenemo 8y ago
  Please try to keep seeing professional help. My personal path with depression has been talking to a shrink who was also a psychologist. Se then indicated me to a cognitive behavioral therapist who has helped me immensely.

590 points by chewymouse 8y ago

Bourdain was such a friend to so many cities and countries as he introduced their food and culture. I am not sure who can take his place. It's so sad that he could not find another solution to defeat his demons.

oblong 8y ago

Nooooooooooo...

digianarchist 8y ago

http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html http://www.suicide.org/international-suicide-hotlines.html

throwaway435388 8y ago
Has anyone called these before? What's it like? Thanks.
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  I don't know if I've ever called any of these, but they usually are well trained, non-confrontational, and solely there to help. Many are volunteers who greatly desire to be there. Additionally, if your thoughts are affected by a medical condition, I would suggest calling a nurse hotline through a health insurance company or university. They can often confirm or deny if you should seek emergency care ASAP.
- 616c 8y ago
  I used to volunteer at one. Its part of a national network. Ask away.
  - nerdy 8y ago
    What's the best way to encourage someone to call when they're showing outward signs of depression but you don't know them? I saw someone who was very clearly depressed streaming the other day. They weren't responding to chat. Crying. Fetal position on the floor for 7+ hours. Very depressing social media posts, etc. But I did not know this person. I did encourage them to call, however it was a difficult message to compose. You don't want to make them feel like they're a burden or weak ("call if you need someone") and some people may need encouragement to actually pick up the phone. So in a situation with a stranger online, who may not see or respond to your message, what would you say?
    - calvinbhai 8y ago
      I think this is where social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat) should allow friends to suggest anonymously to contact such a helpline (probably show it as an ad/post). Any other way would be considered judgmental/confrontational by the one who is already suffering. An inanimate / non-human thing like facebook suggesting to contact the local helpline may be very very effective in such cases.
- _spoonman 8y ago
  Contact info is in profile if you need to reach out. Not a counselor, but have ears (eyes).
  - throwaway435388 8y ago
    Thank you
- thebigspacefuck 8y ago
  I called one because my Facebook friend said he was going to kill himself. They found his address and sent someone to check on him. No idea if he was home at the time or was even serious, but I'm pretty sure he's still alive.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- bridanp 8y ago
  Without saying the same as others, they are there to listen for the most part. A lot of the times, that's what someone under stress and who might be considering taking action needs. What a lot of people don't understand is that a friend who might be considering suicide doesn't need to be "fixed", or to be given a bunch of quick solutions, or worse to be told "just get over it". What they need is someone who is willing to listen without passing judgement. And if necessary, to provide that friend guidance in getting to a safe place where those with experience can provide care. For disclosure, I am not a trained counselor. I've had various, very short, training sessions for several close friends and relatives so that I would know what to do, and more importantly what not to do or what not to say.

frankwiles 8y ago

If your friends or coworkers seem off, check in on them. Everyone needs to know it’s ok to not be ok.

obelix_ 8y ago
I'll qualify that with - only if you know what you are doing. If someone is struggling in the deep sea, dive in to help only if you have experience swimming in the deep sea. This stuff is not simple and can have lifelong negative effects on both parties if done wrong.
- _mitch 8y ago
  I don't think OP was implying you should attempt to counsel the person. You don't need experience to check in on friends and coworkers if they seem off. Ask them if they're having thoughts of hurting themselves. Listen to their answer. If they are, encourage them to seek professional help; whether that is giving them the information to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or assisting in getting them in to see a mental health professional.
  - jrs95 8y ago
    Has anyone done this and had success? As someone who has dealt with suicidal thoughts for years and continues to struggle with it, it wouldn’t do me any good. I’d lie and act like it’s a ridiculous question, and then I’d probably be binge drinking for the next week from the stress and paranoia from being “found out”.
    - _mitch 8y ago
      I had success when someone did this for me fifteen years ago after years in the dark. I was also ashamed of my feelings and hid them as a result of the stigma in society. No two people experiences of mental illness are the same, but I'm glad someone said something. I lied and acted like it was a ridiculous question multiple times before I finally admitted to myself that I needed to commit to getting help. I'm glad I did. No two experiences are the same, but if you're interested in talking more about it my contact info is in my profile.

warent 8y ago

I involuntarily gasped for air. This isn't someone I expected would die for a long time. Depression is a silent beast, and the stigma around talking about these problems is fatal as ever. Anthony was inspirational to me in part because, among many reasons, though he lived his life in a very unusual way he was still successful and always adventurous. The world has suffered a great loss today.

tcbawo 8y ago
Very sad, indeed. The same age as another author and larger than life figure, Ernest Hemingway.
- vixen99 8y ago
  And even sadder for his 10 year old daughter who will live this experience while most of us are focusing on other things in a day or so.
arwhatever 8y ago
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.
- oldsklgdfth 8y ago
  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 this make sense to me, he was probably under a lot of pressure to be the guy that everyone really liked. Created this unrealistic expectation that was stressful to meet. Add in poor habits, maybe strained relationship and friends to lean on. It's not hard for people to feel like there is not point in going on with life. EDIT: I am open to being wrong and invite a discussion of others opinions.

ianai 8y ago

I will sorely miss his show. He had a unique way of communicating what a place and culture were like.

camdenreslink 8y ago

Very sad news. I watched No Reservations throughout my teenage years, and loved it.

readhn 8y ago

God damn it Anthony.... The only guy for me worth watching on entire TV. This. Sucks.

emptyfile 8y ago

Wow, suicide... Most people would tell me his life is their dream. Rest in peace.

JshWright 8y ago
Depression doesn't care how awesome your life is.
- ianai 8y ago
  It can be a literal chemical imbalance in the brain. Nothing anyone has free will to decide to feel. (Ie they can’t “think it away”) We need a more inclusive society for this reason. Things like bullying and other ego boosters at the cost of others separate people.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - 69132 8y ago
    That whole "chemical imbalance" thing is a myth.
    - jrs95 8y ago
      Yup. Just to get rich selling pills that barely make a difference. As someone who’s probably had a prescription for every major anti-depressant, the only difference I never noticed from taking them is that my dick didn’t work. Not saying that depression isn’t a serious issue and that it can just be “thought away” though. But the drugs are really only helpful to some people, and there’s not much evidence to substantiate that this is just a chemical problem. There may be a chemical element, but IMO this is being exaggerated for profit. Meanwhile we aren’t dealing with any of the underlying social problems that probably play a much larger part.
      - ianai 8y ago
        Funny, I’ve known several people who clearly were depressed through physiology. Nothing to do with being able to “think it away”

acjohnson55 8y ago

This is a real gut punch for me. Talk about a rock and roll icon who never released an album. I feel so bad for the pain he must have been in. If you're in a dark place, please, please consider reaching out for help. I love this community. We gotta look out for each other y'all.

anoncoward111 8y ago

Really, really horrible news. The anecdotal data is really starting to pile up in my mind- Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain... ... suicide is all too common in our world, and some professions (especially doctors) are affected more than others. All of the money and fame in the world cannot protect you from the depths of your mind. I hope that anyone struggling with this affliction can know its ok to step away from everything they're doing, get a breath of fresh air, and know that it's ok for everything to go wrong in life. Your life is always still valuable and fixable.

DanBC 8y ago
> and some professions (especially doctors) are affected more than others. Doctors don't have higher rates of death by suicide. I think female doctors do have a higher rate of death by suicide than women in general. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  Actually that is the statistic I was thinking of (I read an article from a formerly-suicidal female doctor). I assumed that the trend applied to males too but now I am quite curious as to why it does not apply. Regional statistics would be helpful too- some have thought that Finns and Russians carry a genetic marker for suicidal tendencies.
  - soared 8y ago
    Males die of suicide more often because they use more successful methods. It makes sense that a female doctor would be much more successful than the average female due to her education. Most women use pills, men use guns.
    - anoncoward111 8y ago
      Agreed. Randomly and anecdotally, I am reminded of Iris Chang, who was a famous author responsible for our knowledge of the Rape of Nanking. Her cause of death was brutal, and she was going through immense pressure during her last research project. A self-influcted gunshot to the mouth sounds like a horrible way to go.

101km 8y ago

I can't decide if celebrity suicides are just more frequently reported these days or suicides overall have actually increased because we live in, what we collectively perceive as, darker times. I suspect it is the latter, but I don't have the heart to google it. Every Robin Williams, Chris Cornell, Anthony Bourdain no doubt causes a bit of a ripple of none famous suicides and thus this news is doubly sad.

spooneybarger 8y ago
The sucide rate in the United States has increased over the last 20 years according to the Centers for Disease Control: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/suicide-rates-are-30-percent-1999-cdc-says-n880926 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/suicide-rates-are...
- overcast 8y ago
  What I find interesting is that Nevada actually decreased, a place where you can literally lose it all. All of those Midwest states, where quality of life is generally considered the highest and happiest, have the highest increases.
  - jetti 8y ago
    I would imagine that most people losing it all in Nevada don't actually live there though.
  - grasshopperpurp 8y ago
    Nevada already had a very high suicide rate. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/...
pilsetnieks 8y ago
There are also more celebrities these days.

fiblye 8y ago

The CNN article about his death had this: >Suicide is a growing problem in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a survey Thursday showing suicide rates increased by 25% across the United States over nearly two decades ending in 2016. I remember a while back that the general public's tone on suicide was a lot less sober. More of a "man up" sort of attitude. With a growing list of famous, financially successful people committing suicide, 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. Or at least be able to talk to their friends/family when they first notice problems instead of hiding it until it's too late. When people first start having these sorts of thoughts and even hint at it to other people, the whole "What are you depressed about? Your life is good" response so many people give only makes it worse, and hopefully it's beginning to go away. Depression has nothing to do with how "good" your life is on paper.

specialist 8y ago
"...only makes it worse..." I recently initiated a suicide intervention for a loved one. I would like to know what would make it better. Or at least what not to do. I am relentlessly optimistic (cancer survivor, a learned skill). I definitely feel like my efforts here ("talking someone off the ledge") had mixed results at best. Good stuff for other cancer victims. Not so good for depression, suicidal tendencies. Sure, I took careful notes of conversations with the various care providers, professionals. But I don't feel any better equipped to handle the next flare up. PS- RIP Anthony Bourdain. Kitchen Confidential deeply influenced me. My first exposure to his ideas, worldview was a "Trial By Fire" profile on his management style in HBR (?). I loved how he accepted everyone to work in his kitchen, so long as they didn't miss a shift. How it was his crew versus the world, every night.
- throw501 8y ago
  DEF CON 21 - Amber Baldet - Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention Tactics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfYJE-qCVaM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfYJE-qCVaM Slides https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-21/dc-21-presentations/Baldet/DEFCON-21-Baldet-Suicide-Intervention-Risk-Assessment-Tactics-Updated.pdf https://www.defcon.org/images/defcon-21/dc-21-presentations/... Extras https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=bfYJE-qCVaM&redir_token=-wumCs8eaRWwbPtki835Dp34pJR8MTUyODU0Nzc2OUAxNTI4NDYxMzY5&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.defcon.org%2Fimages%2Fdefcon-21%2Fdc-21-presentations%2FBaldet%2FExtras.zip https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=b...

nautilus12 8y ago

Anyone have any idea why? Not to encourage speculation but was there something hes been publicly struggling with?

readhn 8y ago
Have you ever watched his shows? There is a sad dark thread going through all of them.. dark humor, his comments on life, interactions with other people etc. She time He made it interesting and very real. The world is not all roses and I think that's what he tried to show.
- paulie_a 8y ago
  That is an interesting take and I will need to watch some of his shows again. But I always thought he had a joy about experiencing things and explaining it.
- nautilus12 8y ago
  This doesn't give any additional information, his gruffness was part of what made him famous. I dont think that was a source of sadness for him. I was talking more to the effect of Asia Argento being seen with other people last week (not that I think thats the reason, just identifying possible causes).
- nscalf 8y ago
  I will never forget the episode where he goes diving for octopus in Sicily. The comments on how disgusted he was by his guide throwing dead octopus into the water for them to "catch"... it was Bourdain at his best.
Zealotux 8y ago
From the article: "In the book he wrote candidly about his abuse of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and LSD."
post_break 8y ago
Well it looked like his wife was cheating on him.

ransom1538 8y ago

I remember watching Robin Williams perform ~2009. He was hilarious and positive on stage at Cobb. After the show he hung out with us and Bing Gordon (his friend). His entire demeanor changed. Unable to smile, look people in the eyes, and holding back tears. People thought he would be funny off stage but he just was extremely anxious and wanted to leave asap. Anyhow, I feel like people (esp. famous people) hide the their internal deadly struggle. I always try to remember - more than half [1] of gun related deaths in the US are people taking their own gun and pointing it at their head then pulling the trigger. Who cares what side of the gun debate you are on. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_Sta...

ataturk 8y ago
"Remember this while purchasing" WTF? What is that supposed to mean? Do you believe that guns have some basic, inherent ability to make people want to commit suicide? What planet do you live on? Anyone who is going to commit suicide using a gun is going to commit suicide by some other means if a gun isn't readily available. Cite: Japan!
adamc 8y ago
Performances are just that.
tudelo 8y ago
Can you elaborate why you brought up your second paragraph? I'm not sure what statement you are trying to make.
- rectang 8y ago
  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 guns were involved (unlikely, because gunshots would have been heard), I don't think this sad event begs for a discussion of guns as opposed to many other topics around the issue of suicide.

dewey 8y ago

I’m usually not that affected by celebrity deaths but this one really hit me hard :(

rickyspanish 8y ago
I'm the same way. I usually think "why is this even news, it's not like these people were friends of this person." Then at times like these, I'm reminded what an impact his work had on my life.

curveship 8y ago

I really wanted Bourdain to become a salty, profligate old man, throwing barbs from behind a stiff drink and an ever-craggier face. Sad news.

organicmultiloc 8y ago
He was an addict and got sober, but otherwise yeah the image is fitting.
- hellofunk 8y ago
  > He was an addict and got sober Commenter was talking about alcohol. He drinks a lot of alcohol in most of the episodes I’ve seen.
  - jadell 8y ago
    Addicted to drugs, not alcohol.
    - hellofunk 8y ago
      But the comment was in response to him having a stiff drink.
    - 24gttghh 8y ago
      This separation needs to end. The sooner, the better. Alcohol is very much a drug. "An estimated 88,0008 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women8) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The first is tobacco, and the second is poor diet and physical inactivity."[0] [0]https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-co...
    - smolder 8y ago
      It may be worth pointing out here that with substance abuse, people often end up substituting one dangerous thing for another. Just because someone's a recovered heroin or cocaine user and not an alcoholic doesn't mean alcohol's not riskier for them than for other people. Whether or not that'd be true of Anthony Bourdain or not I can't weigh in on.

pjmorris 8y ago

We went to see him speak once, together with Jacques Pepin and Eric Ripert. It was clear that he felt things deeply, and had a great deal of integrity in his own way. He will be missed.

nefasti 8y ago

Anthony was ad close to an idol to me, since his cooking book was the first one I Read, I will surely miss him and his work. I haven’t felt this sad for some public figure since Steve jobs death.

ninjamayo 8y ago

I've been binge watching Bourdain on Netflix over the last few days. Really really strange to watch one more tonight knowing he is now dead. Very sad news indeed!

jolesf 8y ago

The New Yorker profile is how i rememember him https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/anthony-bourdains-moveable-feast https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/anthony-bourda...

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xvf22 8y ago

I really enjoyed his work, it genuinely inspired me to up my cooking game. Eric must be so overwhelmed right now :( I've had friends take the same way out so this is bringing up some awful memories. The demons within are a powerful force no matter how good things seem to be going.

ada1981 8y ago

I struggled with mental health issues my entire adult life. Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Biploar, Anxiety, Suicidal Depression, Panic Attacks. It wasn’t until I changed my relationship to all emotions and then sought out a variety of support to safely go deeply into my experience that I was able to find relief. 1 session of MDMA therapy lifted a decade of suicidal thoughts; session 2 a year later largely freed me of anxiety and paranoia; combined with a NARM therapist to help me heal developmental and shock trauma, yoga, holotropic Breathwork and a loving stable romantic relationship. And a lot of grace. No meds, no longer a prisoner, and my life is vibrant and alive and the past feels like nothing more than a straight jacket I wriggled out of. The often unspoken truth is that Trauma (developmental, shock, generational) underpins most all mental health issues (save issues of malnutrition, poisoning,tumors and TBI). This is on the radar of few practioners who instead offer very limited tools to suppress symptoms. And because mental health is actually a context, folks typically are surrounded by others who don’t have a very deep capacity to honor our expeirences and would rather try to “cheer us up” or change what we feel. The actual need is to have people who help us feel more of what we feel (that leads to deeper relief). The Suicidal Impulse is a an impulse for the pain of our default mode network to stop. When we have unprocessed traumas, we are in a state of fight or flight and this activation is painful. It also leads to addiction. Ego (default mode network) death and rebirth is possible without killing the body. It requires a safe context to release the old trauma and form new pathways in the incresed plasticity. Know that there are actual solutions, it’s not your fault, and there are people here to help — but you will need to take responsibility for healing this as our current society is doing a terrible job thus far.

aklemm 8y ago
This is playing out with someone I know, so it's validating to see it as a good path or outcome. How do you get access to MDMA treatments?
- ada1981 8y ago
  Maps.org has clinical trials one can get into. And depending on the local laws re prohibition some countries have therapists or guides who will help facilitate. Holotropic Breathwork gets at the same mechanism of action, albeit a more manual process, and is legal everywhere. Email me if you’d like to talk more.

the6threplicant 8y ago

I was reading about the Hong Kong episode for Parts Unknown just yesterday where his girlfriend directed it and they used a famous cinematographer too that Anthony always wanted to work with. I read Kitchen Confidential when it came out. A hge fan and followed him ever since. Sympathy goes out to his young daughter and his friends and family.

linsomniac 8y ago

One phrase I've found a lot of wisdom in is: Depression is a life-threatening illness.

bevinahally 8y ago

This is a very sad day for me. I have never expressed this to anyone before. Anthony Bourdain was one of my heroes. Anthony changed the way that I view the world and inspired me to explore the world's rich tapestry of life. We have lost someone who truly was a world citizen who built the culture that "different" could be good. The man's struggles through addiction and journey to peak physical fitness in his late 50s is nothing short of inspiring. I hope that he is immortalized through his work.

donatj 8y ago
Yes. The way this man LIVED made me forever envious. He was and is still a personal hero of mine as well.
bootsz 8y ago
Same. He was a hero to me as well. I'm devastated

Ntrails 8y ago

>, 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 a bunch of hand wringing from other people refusing to countenance the possibility that I am still of sound mind? Living is a choice, just as death is. (apologies if this is distasteful, I'm mostly interested to hear responses)

adamc 8y ago
I think we link it because, most of the time, it is linked to mental illness -- typically depression. It's not an issue of "rights" but of whether you are really functioning competently. Sure, there are cases where someone makes the decision to commit suicide because of a terrible terminal illness (e.g., bone cancer). But that is not the norm. FWIW, I say this as someone who has had severe depression and been suicidal.
chatmasta 8y ago
Suicide is inherently a selfish act, and I think that’s where the perception of it being “wrong” comes from. Sure you have the right to decide your own fate, but you should consider that you affect other people. In taking your own life you’re also fucking up the life of everyone who cares about you, forcing them into a state of grief and possibly causing them to blame themselves for what was ultimately a selfish act on your part.
- choko 8y ago
  Isn't it also a little selfish to expect someone to live out their life in misery simply because you would feel bad if that person ended their own life? I have people in my life who have been struggling with mental illness for many years. If any of them decide that they no longer have the will to fight, I would not think less of them (or call them selfish) if they decide to end their own life. If I did, I would be selfish.

piker 8y ago

A powerful quote that may resonate with many of us and sum up his humility and fight with depression, from an interview with Biography.com (via reddit): "I should’ve died in my 20s. I became successful in my 40s. I became a dad in my 50s. I feel like I’ve stolen a car — a really nice car — and I keep looking in the rearview mirror for flashing lights." Rest in peace.

lurquer 8y ago
Is a victim of suicide suffering from depression by definition? If not, why would one immediately assume Bourdain was depressed?
- WalterSear 8y ago
  Because he says so in the parent's quote.
  - lurquer 8y ago
    Thanks. I'd missed that.

ryan606 8y ago

Very sad. Bourdain seemed like one of the few on TV who didn't take himself too seriously. I can't think of too many people who didn't like him or enjoy his show.

Lotus123 8y ago

Just yesterday I watched a interview clip on new Yorker from 2017 and it was so lively. 16 hours and this news. Very much saddened. Rip.

partycoder 8y ago

I enjoyed his show, he was a good narrator and storyteller, and he had an interesting perspective of the world. However, it is important to remember that traveling around the world in planes is not a very ecological activity. So traveling as a way of living is better left to a few people.

seattle_spring 8y ago
Have you considered not using a tragedy as your little political soapbox?
- partycoder 8y ago
  Don't get me wrong. I think he did a great job, his show was very enjoyable and highly entertaining and his fame is well deserved. He could make a successful show anywhere, from a very modest restaurant like Waffle House to a very fancy one. Quoting another chef: "He brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food." I am just saying, that long distance transportation technology doesn't scale in terms of carbon footprint right now, and that we should be mindful of that when traveling.

sbenitoj 8y ago

My 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/0143127748/ref=nodl_ https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/01...

dgzl 8y ago
As someone who's currently going through a wave serious depression, I'm curious about this book. Thanks for sharing.
- occam65 8y ago
  Hey, I don't know you and you don't know me, but I'm here if you'd like to chat. Hit me up.
- saw-lau 8y ago
  Likewise. I'm devastated about the news, and it's brought back my demons to the fore.
njoro 8y ago
I remember finding this talk quite insightful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOAgplgTxfc
betterworldb 8y ago
I'm definitely going to check this book out. Thanks for the recommendation.
mindgam3 8y ago

cubano 8y ago

I'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.

petecox 8y ago

Thanks for the memories, Tony. No Reservations was great TV - travelling to exotic destinations, hanging out with chefs and sampling all kinds of street food good and bad. He made the cooking/travel genre fun.

smn1234 8y ago

this really hurt me, I'm usually not as affected by "high-profile suicides." There's some terrible correlations beginning to surface, in my mind, with the psychiatric drugs taken by Robin Williams, Kate Spade, Chester Bennington, and Tim Bergling for example that seem to be the final push-over-the-edge for these folks - whose lives are full of options and [appear] far from hopeless. Surely we can't judge how things really are, but can they truly be SO desperate? I've seen people in terrible shape- unable to work, loss of body part(s), loss of wealth, loss of friends, loss of family, etc. and still carry on. It seems, to me, mental illness is created as a result of these Big Pharma medicines. I don't believe sadness or unhappiness day to day are unhealthy, most people deal with not being 100% successful in life. There's always another day to work at it and try again to win. When things become inexplicable is when there's some strange substance playing with the mind - in my opinion. School shootings being in this category as well. I'd love to see a study investigate the prescription medications used in all of these "high profile suicide" cases, results protected by First Amendment.

sleazy_b 8y ago
This comment betrays a remarkable ignorance of mental illness. There is, in fact, a link between the commencement of a course of antidepressants and suicide, but to claim that "...mental illness is created as a result of these Big Pharma medicines" is to ignore a tremendous body of research. Out of curiosity, how do you feel about vaccines?
- smn1234 8y ago
  it's a statement of opinion- "It seems, to me" Happy to explore this with you further. What exactly is the mental illness? How is it being identified, how is it being measured? I'm against vaccines, as you presumed, as I've personally seen resulting correlations to increased occurrence of Autism, and [lesser] conditions of peanut allergies and gluten intolerance. There may be elements in vaccines become unintentional casualty to the body being trained to reject what we are intending for it so classify as foreign, to fight. There's observable overall increases in these conditions from those who've been vaccinated. We haven't been able to isolate for these yet. I believe we haven't investigated enough. Or perhaps they're not related... but it's my hypothesis. We don't have ENOUGH information to draw conclusions for MANY things, these observations are merely mine and are thus my opinions. I recommend everyone does their own research and make their own decisions.

southphillyman 8y ago

I wonder what impact, if any, the Kate Spade suicide had on his decision. Sometimes I wonder if people suffering from depression observe the attention people who have committed suicide recently receive and if it's influences their decision in any way. I imagine someone feeling really down right now see's all the love and empathy Bourdain is receiving post posthumously, and it could perhaps incentivize them to make the same decision. Am I reaching here?

mmiliauskas 8y ago
I read somewhere that suicide headlines increase the probability of plain crashes.
- jquinby 8y ago
  Robert Cialdini talks about this in his book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion."
codingdave 8y ago
You are not reaching - that is always one of my concerns when news like this comes in. But I am gratified to see how many comments on HN are approaching it from a perspective of increasing visibility of the mental health problems we need to solve. Hopefully that message gets out just as strongly as anything else.

spraak 8y ago

> "That was a shock when I woke up this morning: Anthony Bourdain is dead! I enjoyed his show, he was quite a character." It seems like Trump is incapable of saying anything with heartfelt sincerity.

beat 8y ago

The obituary I wrote on Facebook when I found out... "'Fuck you,' he says. 'You don't even cook. You're not one of us anymore.' Far from being offended (although I am hurt), I want to give him a big hug. Another drink or two and I just might. I don't cook. I'm not a chef. The chefs and cooks who are better than I used to be - better than I ever was - know this and don't need to say it. They certainly don't need to say it to my face, like this kid, pressing me up against the bar now with the force of his rage and hurt. He will channel those feelings, appropriately, into a demand that I do a shot of tequila with him. Or two. Which is a relatively friendly and diplomatic solution to an awkward situation." - Anthony Bourdain, "Medium Raw" (I opened to a random page) Another great artist lost to suicide. Anthony Bourdain reinvented food writing with his book "Kitchen Confidential", injecting a brutal honesty and punk rock ethos into the stuffy world of restaurant reviews and travelogues. He continued writing with more terrific work like "Medium Raw" and "Nasty Bits". It's not just that his writing was full of practical advice for diners (never eat fish on mondays, never eat mussels, bread is recycled, etc)... it's that he was brutally honest about himself, about his struggles with depression and drug addiction. If you read his books, his suicide should come as no surprise. He went on to reinvent food television with "No Reservations", a travelogue show that celebrated highbrow and lowbrow in equal measure, that put third world street food vendors in the same breath with Michelin-starred chefs, that ate the weird stuff not because it was weird, but because it was a new experience. From there, he went to "Parts Unknown" on CNN, elevating his work's already broad international beat to a more explicitly political level, visiting little-known and often dangerous places such as Libya and Myanmar, celebrating the joy and creativity people took in their food, even in the poorest, most oppressed places on Earth. He was a cultural ambassador for all of humanity, the likes of which had never been seen before. And then there was that time that !Kung bushmen in Namibia punked him into eating a warthog's asshole by convincing him that it was their finest and most exclusive culinary delicacy. And then laughed their asses off at him. And he ran that on tv. I'm going to miss him so much.

nyae 8y ago

This is very sad. I wish his friends and family ease and comfort during their grieving process. This news is not relevant to the content discussed hacker news and doesn't belong here. This is not Reddit.

skellera 8y ago

So many assumptions going around but as someone who has turned their life around, if I relapsed at this point then I would seriously consider suicide. It’s such a hopeless feeling to be addicted. I’ve come too far to roll back down that hill. But that’s just me. I didn’t climb anywhere near the same heights as he did which it why it made me think that. I hope it’s something more positive (as it could be for something like this). Edit: Just to add, this death affected me so much more than any other celebrity. I look up to him so much for turning his life around and turning it into what it is. I forget which episode of his newer show it was but he goes out hunting with the guy and shoots a... deer/elk/something. He tells the guy it’s the healthiest he’s ever been. You could tell how much it meant to him to be healthy and be able to do the hike they did. Don’t know why it stood out so much but I was so happy for him. It encouraged me to keep going.

bernardino 8y ago

I love Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain — I’ve always wanted to become a chef because of that book. Otherwise, somehow, and I may be wrong, I think suicide might be deep rooted to our toxic: media, culture, attachments, conditioning, etc. It does sound a bit wrong to say. It might because I’m in my early twenties and still live with my parents and have lots of time to think but I’m becoming more aware of how, maybe, be of the world not in the world is so important. It seems like escapism but again, these days: I’m not reading the news as much or partaking in entertainment especially the internet, I’m spending more time alone in solitude, watching the evening sky, I’m going on walks, I’m deciding what has meaning and what does not, I’m just living but with no fuss, noise, or ego. Some may think it’s a boring way to live but it may be a true way to live, I think. It’s almost as I live in my own bubble and I’m not sure if that’s a right thing to do or not. To the point, suicide and depression are terrible and I think, in modern day, we have to have a strong inner self to conquer it or else we get sucked in. It also reminds me of Thoreau’s Walden or Wallace’s understanding of American culture.

FireBeyond 8y ago
I found the best summation in one of the most unlikely places, the show Nip/Tuck: "I think that if a person is in a great deal of pain, physical or spiritual, and they've exhausted all their options, I wouldn't judge them for it. I'd say a silent prayer and hope death brought them the peace of mind life never could give them."

ButterflyWar 8y ago

Got a TensorFlow up if anyone has the data because I'm curious: Heroin addicts who commit suicide by violent means vs. intentionally O.D.ing. I ask because Anthony's wife is one of Harvey Weinstein's accusers. https://archive.li/rxIHn https://archive.li/rxIHn

DamnInteresting 8y ago

I have a hypothesis about this based on personal experience. For creative people with an audience, there's this expectation from the audience that every thing you release to the world will be as good or better than what you did before, and that you will produce this brilliance on a reasonably consistent schedule. Any slip in quality (say, from experimenting with something new) or any delay in delivery, and the toxic parts of your audience will hurl their bile. You're labeled a burnout, or you're losing your edge. The people who didn't like your work in the first place openly relish your stumble. Some creatives like to pretend that these critiques don't sting, and maybe some fortunate souls truly are immune. But it's human nature to build our self-image based on feedback from others, and a good self image can be essential for survival. I feel like some creatives such as Bourdain try to meet the demands of the public, and keep upping their game and pushing, but that can't go on forever. Exhaustion, harsh self-criticism, and a sense of responsibility to one's audience combine into a caustic soup, and it shrivels the soul. One is expected to be increasingly brilliant even as one's energy diminishes to the effects of burnout. Quitting will just invite more cries of "failure!" It's unsustainable, and sometimes the part that breaks is the willingness to continue to bear it. To any creative people suffering from this cycle, I think the best remedy is to make a "temporary" lateral move if you can. Move out of the spotlight and lend your skill to up-and-comers for a while. It's hard to get mad at that. And there's an odd comfort in knowing that you never have to go back, but the option is there when/if you're ready.

gringoDan 8y ago

Anthony Bourdain was a global ambassador and a gifted writer who helped instill in me a love of travel. He will be missed. He had a life envied by many and this goes to show that you never know what is going on in someone else's head. Today are more interconnected than ever, but the skin-deep interactions we have through our phones & the digital highlight reels we project can mask both mental health issues and a lack of true meaningful relationships. The article mentions that he committed suicide while shooting Parts Unknown in France. This will affect many lives, not the least of which are all of the people working on the show. I hope CNN takes care of them financially. A relevant but tangential point - Slate Star Codex just published an analysis that after controlling for guns, the US has one of the lowest suicide rates of the developed world[0]. That's not to say that mental health isn't the main issue, but rather that there are also practical policy steps that should be taken to limit the number of preventable suicides. [0] http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/05/31/in-search-of-missing-us-suicides/ http://slatestarcodex.com/2018/05/31/in-search-of-missing-us...

zeeembao 8y ago

He's the chef that hated on Vegans, right? No surprise he's offed himself. It's hard to have compassion for yourself if you're constantly full of rage and hate towards others, especially ones more compassionate towards all beings.

abalone 8y ago

Rob Delaney (of Deadpool 2 and "funniest person on Twitter" fame) has written great stuff on overcoming suicidal depression with support and medication.[1][2][3] It affects the best people. [1] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7bw89a/comedy-545-v17n10 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7bw89a/comedy-545-v17n10 [2] https://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/414007899/on-depression-getting-help https://robdelaney.tumblr.com/post/414007899/on-depression-g... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Rob-Delaney-Warrior-Yardstick-Cabbage/dp/0812983181 https://www.amazon.com/Rob-Delaney-Warrior-Yardstick-Cabbage...

hi41 8y ago

This makes me very sad. When I saw him on the show he came across as a person who had achieved great success. Doesn't so much travel and meeting people make one more enlightened? How did this tragedy occur. I for one sometimes feel I should never have been born. My failings are too much to bear. I have hurt a lot of people with my actions, inactions and words.

jderick 8y ago

Something I just learned: suicide is 120 times more prevalent among alcoholics and alcohol is involved in a quarter of all suicides. http://www.mces.org/pages/suicide_fact_alcohol.php http://www.mces.org/pages/suicide_fact_alcohol.php

geezerjay 8y ago
Coreelation doesn't imply causality. I'm sure some people dealing with depression seek refuge at the bottom of a bottle.
- staticautomatic 8y ago
  Correlation does imply causation. It just doesn't prove it.
  - cookingrobot 8y ago
    Even when there is causation, you still don't which is the cause and effect, or if both are effects of hidden common cause.
    - staticautomatic 8y ago
      That doesn't make any sense.
      - alehul 8y ago
        There could be a causation link between alcohol and suicide, but whether suicidal thoughts lead to alcohol or alcohol leads to suicidal thoughts is unknown. Alternatively, both alcohol and suicidal thoughts could be the result of a 'hidden common cause', such as drugs or unemployment.
  - geezerjay 8y ago
    > Correlation does imply causation. Yeah, and maternities cause pregnancies.

aloukissas 8y ago

One of my favorite quotes from Tony: "Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn."

AIX2ESXI 8y ago

"F" for respect. Take care of yourselves my fellow techies. The brightest of us sometimes are consumed by the blackest abyss. Condolences to all who were impacted by his life.

WheelsAtLarge 8y ago

Very sad, sometimes the inner demons win. I didn't know him but I loved his exploration of different cultures thru food. I will miss him and his work. I hope he's finally at peace.

anonbit 8y ago

do we know that he

anonbit 8y ago

Floating the possiblity that it was an auto erotica choking accident.. Maybe he hung himself for plessure but he passed out accidentally. Not judging him anyway.

meko 8y ago

I'm at a week-long point of one of the harder depression episodes I've ever had. It came from running out and thus taking a break from my adhd meds. A week ago, I was worried about my health, because I loved life and wanted to live it to the fullest. The last 3-4 days has been 14 hour sleep sessions, lack of will to get up and out, and a profound sadness about my place in life. I had to keep talking myself out of saying I didn't want to be alive anymore last night; it was uncontrollable despair accompanied by insomnia. Went to my shrink today who gave me a welbutrin script so I'm hoping that works out for me. My saving grace in all this is how I've come to externalize the prolonged feeling of down-ness. I talked to a good friend about it, who proceeded to tell me how it was just my state of mind and that "Its literally the way you look at a situation". Not only is that patronizing, it tries to erase the agony of my experiences. I've experimented with mdma, psychs (lsd, dmt, shrooms), weed, ket, none of it has sustained any sort of cure. The problems just come right back.

drukenemo 8y ago
Please try to keep seeing professional help. My personal path with depression has been talking to a shrink who was also a psychologist. Se then indicated me to a cognitive behavioral therapist who has helped me immensely.