Suicide Is Not an Event: Action and Allyship After the Loss of Spade, Bourdain

“Oh god, he sounds suicidal,” I whimpered, curling into my partner. “I can’t watch.”
It was the Sicily episode of Parts Unknown. After a harrowing day of disappointment, floating amongst frozen octopi, Anthony Bourdain was in a full on existential crisis. His narration always hit home; a surlier, snarkier recording of my own inner monologue. The familiarity of his commentary on rigor mortis sinking seafood as a metaphor for the meaninglessness of life, however, was frankly soul-crushing.
The morning Anthony Bourdain died, I woke up groggy and fuzzy. Eyes itching from allergies and opening slowly, I absentmindedly reached for my phone. The news scrolled across my homescreen.
Breaking: Anthony Bourdain dies at 61.
My stomach turned. I clicked on the link but I already knew what it would say: suicide. I could feel it. The frozen octopus scene replayed in my head.
Predictably, my social feeds erupted in shock, despair, judgement, disbelief and my personal favorite: the tired, hollow calls to action by people who have never lifted a finger for those living with mental illness or struggling with substance use.
“Suicides are up 30% since the 90’s?? Why isn’t this a national emergency!!” they exclaimed.
“We need to do something about this immediately,” they demanded.
It’s true. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, over 40,000 people die from suicide each year. And at least 50% of those people have a known mental health condition.
Suici...

Source: World of Psychology - June 12, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Sarah Bond-Yancey Tags: Addiction Bipolar Celebrities Depression General Grief and Loss Personal Policy and Advocacy Stigma Suicide anthony bourdain Celebrity Death Health Insurance kate spade Nami peer support social media Source Type: blogs