Image Source: edition.cnn.com
Fashion designer Kate Spade hanged herself last week. Anthony Bourdain, the globe-trotting celebrity chef did the same thing a few days later. It's like some kind of mental health purge is going on and all non-essential personnel have to go. Spade and Bourdain were very successful people in the prime of their lives. They both were rich, had wonderful careers, and were adored by millions of people around the world. And yet they ended their lives by committing suicide.
I hear so many people wonder how these privileged celebrities could be so "selfish" to leave everything behind when they seemed so very lucky. The thing is, they weren't really that lucky to begin with. You see, Spade and Bourdain suffered from depression. People with this mental illness, they struggle EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
They deal with emotions quite differently than most people do. There are lucky people with two functioning legs, and unfortunately, some are unlucky to have at least one leg or none at all. It's the same thing with mental health. Some people have emotionally healthy minds, and some are emotionally limp cursed to have a negative perception of the world around them set at default daily. Depressed people ease into their day, hour by hour and try their best to avoid any negative thoughts. Then they do it all over again the next day.
All depressed people cope with their emotions in various ways. These coping mechanisms can be healthy and positive like how you can distract yourself by working out and travelling around the world like what Anthony Bourdain did. However, there are also bad coping habits that are so destructive, but justifiably so, as they could be the only way to avoid the looming threats of suicide for that person. Some depressed people take lots of drugs just to numb their pain or engage in a lot of sex just to feel less lonely. It’s their only way they can find to distract themselves from committing suicide.
Depression is a serious mental illness which often leads to death. These unlucky people, who can be rich and famous, would happily trade their brains to anyone poorer just to feel normal like most people do.
So if you're lucky that you don't have to experience suicidal thoughts in a daily basis, then good for you. But if you do know someone, a friend or a family member, who you notice is struggling with their emotions, don't leave them. Talk to them and make them feel comfortable in a world that's already been twisted in their mindset. You don't even have to do things for them, just be there when they need help, and when they do need help, you will know. Depression is a disease, and people die because of it. I know it sounds very corny, but in all honesty, i think the cure for depression is love. <3 Show everyone your love because we do not know the intensity of their struggles. Your warmth, love, concerns, whatever, it makes a huge difference.
Trust me.