RIP Chester B

[ballpythonluvr]

I am very saddened to hear of this loss. I loved his voice, he was very talented. I suffer from depression and I just got out of the hospital yesterday for feeling very unstable and unsafe. Help is out there and there is no shame in crying out and admitting that you need it. I knew that I needed it so I put myself in the psychiatric unit for 5 days and now I feel even better, stronger. Got my meds straightened out. No matter how bad it seems, it just isn't worth dying for. I had a lot to lose and I didn't want to lose it. My life, my boyfriend that means everything to me, and my children are all the things I thought of when I hit that low point.

[Craiga 01453]

It saddens me greatly that some of the most talented individuals aren't able to escape the grip of depression. Chester B was another unique vocalist lost. When you look at the individuals that came out of the Seattle scene alone, we have had some of the most inspirational artists and incredible vocalists taken by depression. Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, Scott Wieland, and Chris Cornell, all lost to suicide or overdose. I believe the overdose is still suicidal at its roots. My favorite of them is Alice in Chains who was the inspiration for my youngest daughter's name, Allison Layne.
Not even one of the greatest comedic minds of our time could control the impulse to end the suffering. When you think of Robin Williams your first thought is hilarity not depression. And yet, he too took his own life despite all of the laughter. Wish I had answers.

Yup, so true and so sad. I have the AIC sun logo tattooed on my leg, and I have Layne's lyric from Nutshell tattooed on my ribs "If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead."
Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Prince come to mind as far as recent celeb deaths that are suicide/drug related as well.

I have to disagree with overdoses being suicidal though. I am an alcoholic and drug addict who has been clean and sober for over 4 1/2 years. I've been to a LOT of meetings, talked with a lot of people, both addicts and counselors, etc.. Granted, some suicides are intentional overdoses, but I know for a fact that overdoses can happen with no intent of dying. I overdosed twice, once was legally dead for what EMTs estimated 4-6 minutes and had they arrived 2 minutes later they would have been too late to revive me. I didn't want to die either time.

[Craiga 01453]

I am very saddened to hear of this loss. I loved his voice, he was very talented. I suffer from depression and I just got out of the hospital yesterday for feeling very unstable and unsafe. Help is out there and there is no shame in crying out and admitting that you need it. I knew that I needed it so I put myself in the psychiatric unit for 5 days and now I feel even better, stronger. Got my meds straightened out. No matter how bad it seems, it just isn't worth dying for. I had a lot to lose and I didn't want to lose it. My life, my boyfriend that means everything to me, and my children are all the things I thought of when I hit that low point.

Stay strong! You've got this!! Your head seems to be in a good place now, keep focusing on the positive!
Focus on your boyfriend, your kids, whatever it takes. Just remember, it has to start with yourself. You have to want to live for YOU!
YOU ARE ENOUGH TO BE WORTH LIVING FOR.

Keep your head up, I admire your strength

[Fraido]

When he sang One More Light for Chris Cornell, my heart broke into a million pieces.


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[wolfy-hound]

One thing to keep in mind...

When people say "But he was successful, he was rich, he had no reason to suicide" I always want to remind them that depression isn't about being sad about something.

When something goes wrong in life, you can feel depressed. This isn't depression. This is a emotional state of mind, you're sad, defeated, upset, angry, or other emotions in response to a situation, person, thing.

Depression is a medical condition related to brain chemicals being off. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor, blessed or cursed. It's a condition in your brain, where the chemicals that make you feel content and/or happy are not there while the chemicals that make you anxious and/or sad are there too much. (this is obviously very simplified).

We wouldn't ever say "But he's successful! Why would he ever have heart disease?" or "He's so rich, there's no reason for him to develop cancer!". We always need to remember that depression is also a medical condition and it's sometimes extremely hard to treat. Even when someone finds a medication to help them, it might not work later on in life. It might not work the same later on in life.

So when someone does commit suicide from depression, please remember that they suffered from a medical condition. When you have a friend or family member who has depression, be there for them! Sometimes all a depression sufferer needs is a phone call to get them over that hump and through a crisis. It doesn't mean you "cheered them up", but that you gave them the support they needed to make it through a hailstorm of brain chemicals that was telling them that life was horrible.

[JodanOrNoDan]

It is sad that the condition of the mind that killed these people is also the very thing that fueled their creativity.