Albert Camus, the French humanist, wrote: 鈥淭here is only one true philosophical problem and that is suicide. Judging whether life is worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.鈥� Pliny the Elder had said earlier: 鈥淎dmit the miseries of our life on Earth, suicide is God鈥檚 best gift to man.鈥�
But what prompted Anthony Bourdain of TV鈥檚 Parts Unknown to hang himself? And could medical care have prevented it?
Suicide rates are rising in North America. For instance, among females 10 to 19, the suicide rate has increased by 70 per cent.
It鈥檚 easy to understand how elderly people, dying of metastatic cancer, who are in severe pain, decide to call it a day. Or, those who have lost a loving partner, who are depressed, believe the world is in a mess, and pull the trigger. Even someone with a boring job, a nagging partner, living from paycheque to paycheque who decides life is just not worthwhile.
But Bourdain was apparently not physically ill, not financially destitute, not concerned about getting his next meal and not lacking in fame. In fact, he remarked that he had 鈥渢he greatest job in the world.鈥�
So fame and fortune do not protect some people from suicide. What about depression? According to Dr. Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 鈥渄epression is not a condition that鈥檚 related to success or failure.鈥� This means no one is immune to suicide.
But success-related suicides are harder to evaluate than lifetime failures. No doubt depression plays a role. However, according to the CDC, over half of those who commit suicide do not have a mental problem. So is the increase in suicide the result of societal problems?
Consider this: According to the U.S. National Institute of Health, 11 per cent of Americans over 12 are on antidepressant drugs. One in four women in their 40 and 50s are on antidepressant medication. If you believe this doesn鈥檛 indicate deep societal problems, you鈥檇 better start smoking marijuana.
It鈥檚 also ironic that antidepressant side-effects have been linked to sleep disturbance, brain damage and suicide. The irony is that there is little evidence they benefit patients suffering from mild to moderate depression. And that in 80 per cent of cases, they work no better than a placebo sugar pill.
Could medical treatment have saved Bourdain鈥檚 life? Maybe, but I doubt it. If this were possible, writer Ernest Hemingway and Philip Graham, former owner of the Washington Post newspaper, both treated at a famous clinic, might not have killed themselves. Great wealth and expensive care cannot heal a brain that鈥檚 dedicated to eventual self-destruction. Moreover, some victims never reveal their inner thoughts to anyone.
Some suicide victims believe they will be reunited with a loved one. This is proven by the fact that the anniversary of a devoted partnership is a high risk period for suicide.
Possible suicide should be suspected if a person claims to be a burden, talks about suicide, has increased anxiety, increased alcohol or drug use, sleeps too much, expresses hopelessness or withdraws from activities.
I wish I knew why spring is the favourite time for suicide. But Torontonians usually kill themselves in the fall. And why do Toronto males tend to commit suicide on Sunday and women on Monday? There are many unanswered questions.
I also wish I knew why Bourdain hanged himself in a hotel room in France while working on an episode of Parts Unknown. His brain must have been in the throes of unbearable turmoil to give up so much of a productive life.
Fortunately, most people, even those tired of life, struggle on.
