# Celebrity suicides are too depressing...
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 27, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446 "2003-03-27T03:38:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/1 "2003-03-27T03:38:15Z")
I was just thinking about Kurt Cobain. If tremendous wealth and world-wide adoration and acclaim can’t even solve your problems, what will?
---
### Author:  [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/2 "2003-03-27T03:45:44Z")
Finding joy in what you have rather than yearning for that which you don’t. But that’s just my opinion.
---
### Author:  [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/3 "2003-03-27T03:52:30Z")
. . . And never, _ever_, marry Courtney Love.
---
### Author:  [@Earl\_of\_Sandwhich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_Sandwhich)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/4 "2003-03-27T04:07:49Z")
pizzabrat writes: “If tremendous wealth and world-wide adoration and acclaim can’t even solve your problems, what will?”
I don’t know. Maybe those orange Andes Candies.
---
### Author:  [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/5 "2003-03-27T04:29:54Z")
To be honest, pizzabrat, it’s the idea that world wide adoration and tremendous wealth are supposed to be the answer to your problems that I find depressing.
Apparently it depressed Kurt, too.
But what I find really depressing is when someone with talent and passion actually manages to articulate that talent and passion to the world and then lets silly things like too much adoration and wealth cause him to kill himself.
I mean, I bet John Lennon felt the same way in 1964. But he didn’t kill himself.
And I really miss hearing what Kurt would be doing now.
So what I’m saying is, nothing will solve your problems but making great music should ( I wish) be enough to sustain you even if your cursed with world-wide acclaim and tremendous wealth.
---
### Author:  [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/6 "2003-03-27T04:39:24Z")
Ever see Andy Rooney’s piece on Kurt Cobain’s death? Fucking old bastard. “We lived through the depression, world wars, this young man writes little ditties and kills himself 'cause it all hurts so.”
it’s been what 9 years and it still pisses me off.
---
### Author:  [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/7 "2003-03-27T05:12:17Z")
Well,
I have clinical depression and have seriously thought about suicide in the past. (Note, I am on meds now and everything is back up to happy and good) Depression hits people no matter what their social status is. In fact my worst episode of depression came shortly after I got a promotion, a huge raise and moved to a different city. [#1]
Depression is a nasty thing. In fact the only reason I got on the right track is because my Mom went through it and my parents knew when I was going downhill. Note, Clinical depression appears to be hereditary.
I’d bet that Kurt was suffering from severe depression. Money and fame will not cure depression. Drugs and therapy will.
Slee
#1. I got a great job, a raise and went nuts. Somehow I made it to work for a while (9 months) but I’d come home and lock the door, turn off the lights, unplug the phone and hide in my closet. I was a basket case. I did this for a while then things went from bad to worse. I quit going to my job, wouldn’t answer the door and sent out for smokes and food. I spent most of my time sleeping or thinking about painless ways to off myself. My parents showed up (a 2000 mile trip) and got me the help I needed. To this day, even with the meds, I still battle depression. It is a nasty thing.
---
### Author:  [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/8 "2003-03-27T06:22:14Z")
Correct me if I’m wrong, cause I’m no Cobain expert, but I think he was suffering from some kind of severe stomach pain that doctors couldn’t help. He self-medicated with heroin for awhile, and eventually the heroin addiction coupled with the stomach pain (and I’d imagine there was some clinical depression in there somewhere) caused him to believe his only option was to commit suicide.
He certainly wasn’t thrilled with being a “teen icon” and hated how many of his fans were the same people that had tormented him when he was growing up. But I don’t think that caused him to kill himself.
---
### Author:  [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/9 "2003-03-27T06:27:36Z")
I still haven’t gotten over River Phoenix and Pete Duel. (Pete Duel goes back a while, but he did this great western, “Alias Smith and Jones”, that still occasionally is seen on TVLand.)
---
### Author:  [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/10 "2003-03-27T06:50:15Z")
I was kind of interested in Kurt Cobain’s case because of my own bouts with depression and because he might even have had the same stomach problem that I did (although his was never diagnosed so we’ll never know for sure–and I’m not going to make any assumptions because surgery helped me).
One of the biggest obstacles in treating depression is the patient’s own attitude toward it, which the OP kind of hints at. A common problem is that people think “how can I be depressed? It’s not like I’m broke and living in the gutter.” Doctors often say that people are afraid to seek treatment for depression because they feel guilty about it–like they are just being whiny or selfish and need to forget that they have this problem, rather than seeking help for it. I don’t know the facts, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Kurt thought, “Wow, I’m a rich and famous and popular musician, what on earth could I possibly have to be depressed about?” and thus avoided seeking treatment.
Heck, even I’ve been there and I’m not remotely famous or important.
I’d argue that they aren’t depressing so much as they are sobering. I remember reading in a sociology textbook that many people were surprised at the almost complete lack of copycat suicides after Cobain’s death, and that to the contrary, it seemed to raise awareness for clinical depression.
---
### Author:  [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/11 "2003-03-27T06:57:13Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Eve \*
> \*\*. . . And never, _ever_, marry Courtney Love. \*\*
Not a problem.
---
### Author:  [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/12 "2003-03-27T11:56:08Z")
Well, I’m going to take the other tact.
There are millions of people, apparently, that are living with depression. It’s hard, I know, because both my mother and my girlfriend suffer from it.
However, most of them don’t kill themselves.
I don’t care how bad you have it, suicide is the most shallow, cowardly thing to do (note: euthenasia is different… but that’s another thread…).
My girls first fiance killed himself. She still deals with the mental stress of trying to figure out why her happy and healthy fiance ate a bullet.
Kurt Cobain had just had a child. He apparently felt he had writers block. Mayhaps the solution for him should have been to retire, or to take a nice long sabbatical. Instead, he got into heroin and then shot himself.
Overall, no big loss. It’s shame we don’t have more music from him… he was a gifted artist. But overall, I consider suicide to be Clorox for the gene pool.
\
**dons flamesuit**
---
### Author:  [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/13 "2003-03-27T12:43:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Eve \*
> \*\*. . . And never, _ever_, marry Courtney Love. \*\*
Alright, alright… I’ll call her and tell her the wedding is off!
---
### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/14 "2003-03-27T13:29:07Z")
(applause!) Tristan…you have been voted Mr. Compassion 2003! (applause!) Take a fuckin’ bow!
---
### Author:  [@jellen92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellen92)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/15 "2003-03-27T18:12:14Z")
I hate it when people say how shallow it is to kill yourself. That is what depression _is_ - a prison in your head filled with narcissicsm, self-absorption, and a relentless feeling of dread and sadness. Most depressives rightly admit this. Many people are terribly ignorant about depression and think people should not have it if your life is seemingly going well. It’s like saying someone with cancer should “just get over it”… geez people!! It is a horrible mental disease that is overbearing, it’s not like he kiled himself because he was having a “bad day”…
---
### Author:  [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/16 "2003-03-27T19:58:01Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Tristan \*
> \*\*
> Kurt Cobain had just had a child…But overall, I consider suicide to be Clorox for the gene pool.
>
> \*\*
Ummm…Nevermind.
---
### Author:  [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/17 "2003-03-27T20:31:15Z")
Cobain was mentally ill. Also, he never wanted to be rich and famous, so it never “made” him happy. I believe he had never been happy. So many artists live and die this way, it’s sad, but it’s never really a surprise.
---
### Author:  [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/18 "2003-03-27T20:40:52Z")
People say: “Gee - you got what you wanted (promotion, getting published, award, world record), why are you depressed?”
Because depression warps judgement.
It can work like this: You say to yourself “if I lost weight (let’s say), I’d be happy.” And you work, and work, and work, and don’t lose any weight. “Ah - that’s the reason I’m not happy. I’ll just keep trying.” Then you get what you wanted - and still feel depressed. Or if you had used 10 medical treatments out of 11 possible treatments, you could still hope that the last one could work. But once you try it, if it doesn’t work, then that’s it.
Depression whispers in your ear: “You’ll never feel better. You’ll never find medications that will work. Things are bad, have always been bad, will always be bad.”
---
### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/19 "2003-03-28T00:36:31Z")
Cobain’s problem was drugs, not fame or money.
* * *
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
---
### Author:  [@djxiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djxiii)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2003, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446/20 "2003-03-28T00:44:13Z")
I wasn’t depressed by Kurt’s death. I was disappointed and I was angry. I got over the anger, but not the disappointment. he had friends and peers who tried to help who were willing to help. Micheal Stipe from REM was one of them. a pity he was so screwed up by drugs and depression that he was unable to live through it like so many of his friends did. What a waste of talent and promise. What a terrible waste.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-suicides-are-too-depressing/164446.md?page=2)