Addiction and Suicide?

I am used to writing about different aspects of drug/alcohol addiction, treatment and pretty much anything related to the subject of substance abuse. Today though, I decided to write on a topic I am less experienced with, suicide. This morning while in the gym, I saw the news clip that announced that Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. This was only a few days after the sudden death of Kate Spade who also chose to end her life.

While the autopsy from both of them have not come back yet Anthony Bourdain had struggled with addiction at different points in his life. While Kate Spade’s sister stated that she had been self medicating for the last several years and was afraid to seek treatment in fear it would damage her brand.

Being an ex-addict and working in treatment, suicides and suicide attempts are not uncommon among those struggling with drug/alcohol abuse. However, drug/alcohol abuse is not always the only factor for an individual to make that decision. I mean, who can really say what is and isn’t a factor for an individual to make the decision to take their own life?

Warning factors for suicide are

• low self-esteem,
• loss of relationships or financial security
• insomnia
• drug or alcohol use
• depression
• anxiety

Based on those factors, it would seem suicide could occur to anyone at any time. So how do you really handle the topic of suicide?

There are a few opinions on this subject. But the most noteworthy is that suicide can be “grouped” in a category of “taboo” or “controversial” topics such as drug/alcohol addiction, sexual orientation, religion, and tons of other subjects. Which means a lot of people just don’t want to talk about.

While addiction and suicide cannot be directly compared they do have things in common. One thing is that these topics do not fit into a “black or white” way of thinking. And because of that, are difficult to process.

There are so many arguments as to what is “right” and “wrong” about it. When speaking about certain drugs, certain treatments, certain philosophies or certain reasons why addiction exists, you can find yourself in the middle of heated arguments with each person interested in claiming to know what works and doesn’t work.

This is because individuals instinctively want a reason, they want to know “why?”

But what if there is no universal “why” that exists? I think that is the problem with the topic of suicide. Individuals will say it was because of drugs or familial problems or difficulties too great. And some might say “I just don’t understand, I would never do that.” But I would imagine some of the individuals who chose to kill themselves stated at some point in their life that suicide was something they would never do.

We can’t fathom why someone could do such a thing and to that degree, we actually have a hard time connecting to people who may be dealing with it. We can try to be non-judgmental but the fact of the matter is we’ve already made a judgment. This is much the way that some people view addiction.

I think the best conclusion is to change the way we view suicide much the way we have begun to view addiction. We need to get away from that “won’t ever happen to me/him/her/them” and start looking at it as something that can happen to anyone for any real or imagined reason.

I remember stating as a young kid that I would grow up and never use drugs. Well, I grew up and used drugs for a long time. Anything can happen to anyone at any time and the sooner we start to look at it that way, the sooner we can begin to understand each other better. With understanding, we can stop being judgmental and begin to work on helping those who need help.

I firmly believe everyone could use help. Everyone has their own problems. And although someone may need help in a different way than what we would, or maybe someone needs help for something different than what we do, it's okay. It’s time to stop being so “right” about our opinions and focus on the other person and actually helping them.

It’s time to start acknowledging that others have problems and need help and it’s time to actually start helping one another. Reach out to someone around you today, even maybe a complete stranger and be kind. You never know what they could be going through and what a small act of kindness could really do for them.

If you or someone you know needs help with alcohol or substance abuse, please contact Narconon.

If you know someone who is contemplating suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.