Whenever celebrities and other well-known people die, by whatever means, there are frequently synchronicities related to their deaths. Anthony Bourdain, the host of CNN’s fantastic show Parts Unknown, was found dead in a hotel room in France on June 8. The cause of death was suicide.
The week before, he bought a painting from John Lurie, entitled “The sky is falling, I’m learning to live with it.”
As Lurie tweeted:
Anthony Bourdain walked into my home without a hint of ego.
I loved him in seconds.
A truly decent man.
We needed him.
Good information here, thank you all. For me the hardest to comprehend is the why, what tipped the odds, it is so final…. My sympathies to their loved ones…
Good to see you! The pros left great insights.
Nancy, you have my deepest, sincere sympathy and empathy in the loss of your husband and brother. The trauma, the grief, the mourning, are all emotions each of us handle differently, and we must make that journey according to the dictate of our emotions….but you are so wise to refuse the medications. They simply cloud the mind; never solve the issues. I had an up-close and personal experience with the negligence of physicians when my Mother-in-Law transitioned. She wasn’t sick, just 100 years old; was otherwise in amazing health for a person her age. The week prior to her passing, she developed congestive heart failure. Her old heart decided a century was long enough and it was time to stop its clock. She was admitted to the hospital in N. GA., but wanted to die in her home on the side of the mountain, so she was taken home. Hospice stepped in, and the family phoned to ask me to please go up and take care of her…..I had been a Hospice RN for many years. When my hubby and I got there, she was in a hospital bed in her room, and she simply could not be still. She was in and out of the bed…with my assistance…every five minutes or less. Up and down, up and down, up and down, relentlessly. I thought to myself, good lord, what have the doctors given this woman?? The local Hospice RN arrived to bring me her chart, and when I read it, I had what we in the South call “a conniption fit”!! Alongside other meds, they were administering (orally) no less then SIX….yep, SIX….antihistamine class drugs. Several different physicians had charted her, and not one of them had looked at what the other doctors were giving her! Antihistamine drugs are not opioids. But in excess cause extreme agitation. I immediately phoned her Primary, read him the list of her meds, and he had a fit as I had done, and instructed me to discontinue ALL the antihistamine class drugs. Most of those have a significant half-life and take a while to vacate the patient’s system, so she remained in out-of-control agitation for
many hours. Unfortunately there is no antidote for overdose of antihistamines, and we cleared her system of pretty much ALL medications. She was not in pain or distress, just exhausted, and her ancient heart finally said enough is enough, and she crossed over. My point is this: Everyone, EVERYONE, should request a copy of his or her medical chart from the physicians involved in any care. (Your chart is YOURS and you have the legal right to obtain a copy.) Monitor your prescriptions and be certain they are compatible. I’m not attacking physicians. My closest friends throughout my entire life have been doctors, and still are. Nevertheless, we are responsible to assist in managing our own care, and doing so can save our life. OK. Now I’ll hush!!!
oh ya… attended and said a few words… “first time ever for either” at a beloved friends service… hmmm yesterday… he was the second Andy known to Bozo to go in last 6 months… both cancer….
Referring to what? Who?
referring to a couple of Andy’s…one I loved… the other wasn’t a bad guy…but did introduce to me a “nut case”… “that’s okay nobody listening”…. but that Andy’s… was invited to the first ones service… might of gone and run into the cookoo…. Andy’s as in Andy and Opie!!… kind of self explanatory… well if we knew about the others… Andy T…..
Another issue with “anti-depressant” medications is that they are often contraindicated for use with other drugs the patient is taking. Physicians do not always use due diligence by checking the individual’s chart to see what the patient may already have on board. Last night I saw on a valid news program that the percentage of suicides has tripled since 2015. TRIPLED. This is indicative, in my opinion, of the huge over-use of these medications. Also, many celebrities as well as the general public, without being warned otherwise, will have wine and other alcoholic beverages while taking these drugs, and that is the reason the cause of death is suicide by the combination of alcohol and Class 4 medications, even though the METHOD of death may be by self-hanging, cutting, self-inflicted gunshot, etc. These suicidal actions are
prompted by the medications. The much over-use of narcotics in this country is beyond terrible. Big Pharma is to blame, alongside the physicians who thoughtlessly prescribe them to patients to should absolutely NOT be taking them. They represent suicide waiting to happen. It’s tragic and getting worse, often because people close to the patient aren’t seeing warning signs. Just TRAGIC.
thanks for the info, CJ!
I totally agree, CJ.
You make several important points, CJ. When I read about the surging suicide rate, I also immediately thought — it’s the psych meds being handed out like candy — antidepressants, anti-anxiety, sleeping pills — and the opioid epidemic. Absolutely tragic.
I am so sorry to hear this.
I am, too!
I’m a psychologist, and I *know* that people can be successful and talented, and still have severe unresolved trauma from childhood or later that leads to their committing suicide. However, I feel I have to make a public service announcement about the as yet unrecognized dangers of psychotropic medication.
Both Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain were taking prescription medications. I know from personal experience and from being in online recovery communities for over a decade, that these medications can have side effects and withdrawal effects that can take a person to extreme states that they would never have gone to without the meds.
These meds can cause people to enter severe depression, severe anxiety, or develop physical symptoms like akathisia (severe internal agitation) at any time, but the most risky times are when the dose is changed – – up, down, started, or stopped. There are a couple of really good forums where you can get more information about this.
I’m upset about Anthony Bourdain, and I am very concerned about this unrecognized iatrogenic phenomenon that is currently affecting vast numbers of people.
Thanks for the info, Sheila. What kinds of meds were they on?
I couldn’t agree more. 90% of the school shooters were on some kind of psychotropic medication or meds for ADD, ADHD. Yet, you never hear about it as a contributing factor in the mainstream news. I recently visited my doctor after losing my husband eight months ago and my brother a few weeks ago to drowning. She wants me to go on an antidepressant. I told her I was depressed because I’m grieving, a natural response to trauma and loss, not a because I have something wrong in my brain, which is what these medications are for. I really don’t think doctors really understand that. They may work miracles for those that truly have a disorder, but talk therapy is also recommended for those people. Again, I don’t think doctors are recommending that when they prescribe them. In my abnormal psych class several years ago, it was stated these drugs are not meant for long-term use and do not work in the long run without talk therapy.
I’ve heard this from other people, too, Nancy. You’re grieving, take this drug and be happy again. Makes zero sense. Talk therapy strikes me as the best remedy and treatment by far.
Nancy — I’m so sorry about your husband and brother. So very sorry. But you are very wise to go through the natural, normal human emotions, and integrate these profound life events, and not take a dangerous, unnecessary medication. You’re right on about the school shooters. You’re right on that talk therapy is safer and actually heals, instead of just masking problems. And, most or all of these meds were approved by the FDA after only being used in weeks-long trials, yet now people are taking them for years.
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All I have found so far about Kate Spade is that she was taking anti-anxiety and antidepressant meds, and that her father had warned her about the dangers of taking them.
All I’ve found so far about Anthony Bourdain is that he was taking prescription meds, and that the French authorities are doing toxicology tests to find out what was in his system.
They both hung themselves – spade with a scarf, bourdain with the tie of his bathrobe.
tough moves….