In recent months, the music industry has been shaken by the suicide of Chris Cornell, founder and vocalist of Soundgarden and Audioslave, but also of Chester Bennington, vocalist of Linkin Park.
On the day of the news that Chester committed suicide, coinciding with Chris’s birthday, Vicky, Cornell’s wife, published a message on Twitter :
And just when I thought my heart couldn’t break more than that
Vicky’s pain was bigger than a regular fan because Chris and Chester were good friends. Their friendship relationship began more than ten years ago, and Chester even became the godfather of one of Chris’s children.
They both struggled with depression throughout their lives. Chris ‘s story is about how he could no longer go to school when he was a kid. He isolated himself in the house. The music saved him from the hardest moments of his life. Ultimate Guitar summed this up.
And an old friend of Chester tells on Reddit how they both had a tough childhood. Bennington had long periods of methamphetamine addiction, but he was always a helper in his life.
Both Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington spoke openly about their mental problems and the risk of refusing to seek help. All this happened because of their feelings of inutility but also because of society. Stigmatisation of mental illness is still a problem.
Emotional impact on friends
A study made in 2016 by Alexandra Pitman, David Osborn, and Michael King, teachers from UCL Psychiatry, noted that the friends of the person who committed suicide, have an increased risk of suicide. The rate is 1 out of 10, more exactly. They are overwhelmed by the loss they suffered.
Of the more than 3.400 adults who took part in the case study, aged 18 to 40, 45% of them reported having suicidal thoughts after a friend or relative committed suicide. Six percent of them confirmed that they were trying suicide in a short time after an emotional pain caused by the death of a friend.
Globally, more than 264 million people suffer from depression – 5% of the world’s population. In Romania, 10% of the population suffers or receives the diagnostic of depressive disorder, and more than 2.700 Romanians committed suicide in 2013, most of them being men.
A poll that included more than 50.000 people from 21 countries around the world (including Romania) brought into discussion that only 1 in 5 people suffering from depression sought a way to diagnose themselves and treat for depression.
Stigma
Although these numbers worry us, depression and suicide are a taboo and stigmatized continuously subject in our society.
One of the founders of ATLAS, Mihai Bran, psychiatrist and assistant professor at the Faculty of Medicine “Carol Davila,” spoke of suicide in an interview for Psychologies magazine. Mihai discussed WHO – the World Health Organisation recognises suicide as one of the most important health problems. Also, about how it represents the third cause of mortality in young people and adolescents.
Available Help 24/7
Therapy deserves a try – regardless of age or time, it is never too late or too early for therapy. But the fact that you’re going to therapy doesn’t mean you’re going to go for the rest of your life.
A study from 2001 found that most people feel better even after seven visits. In another study, published in 2006, 88% of the participants in therapy reported improvements after just one session, although serious mental illness may require more intensive interventions.
Most people benefit from short-term therapy, having certain goals to:
- address a specific problem or interpersonal conflict,
- exit a routine,
- make an important decision.
The opportunity to speak with a specialist without the fear that you are judged can change your life.
ATLAS offers the largest online therapy platform in Romania – why not try to find the right therapist for you if it only takes a few minutes?
