Surviving Suicide: Chris Cornell
Each year, nearly 48,000 Americans die by suicide – that is 132 per day or 1 death ever 11 minutes.* It breaks my heart when we lose a soul to suicide. The dedication in my book – Beyond the Label: 10 Steps to Improve your Mental Health with Naturopathic Medicine reads: “This book is dedicated to all the souls who have been lost to suicide and mental illness. May we all extend our hands in grace to someone we know who is suffering.”
When a “famous” person takes their life, the world stops for a moment and takes pause. Perhaps asking the question – “What happened?”. When Chris Cornell passed away in 2017, his wife issued a statement which blamed anxiety medicine for his suicide: “Vicky Cornell, the wife of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, speculated whether his suicide was the result of taking too much of his anxiety medication. An attorney for the Cornell family, Kirk Pasich, reiterated Vicky’s belief that an extra dosage of Ativan, an anxiety medication often employed by recovering addicts, altered Chris Cornell’s mental faculties after the Detroit show. Pasich added that the Cornell family is “disturbed at inferences that Chris knowingly and intentionally took his life.”
It’s so unfortunate that these drugs are so commonly prescribed – often in a policy pharmacy format. The irony with this is that medications are studied in isolation – yet, most psychiatrists prescribe more than one medication to their patients. Indeed, I was taking 5 psychotropic medications with each suicde attempt I have had. “There by the grace of god go I” is a phrase that rings true in my life as a suicide survivor. What saddens me is that too many people don’t know about the risks of prescribing medications in a poly-pharmacy manner. Here is a good article on benzodiazepines and suicide. Benzodiazepines and alcohol can also be deadly and too many people don’t know about this danger either. My dream, before I leave this planet by natural means, is that more people know about Naturopathic Medicine – and how it is the solution to your mental health struggles.
When Chris Cornell died, I was working on a webinar presentation to over 275 Functional Medicine practitioners (MDs, DCs, NDs, DOs, acupuncturists, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians and nutritionists.) I was a guest panellist teaching: Bipolar Basics: 10 steps to treating bipolar disorder. At the end of the day, mental health issues (addiction, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, eating issues, etc) are not simply genetic. These are multifactorial conditions that are often co-morbid. While I think it is wonderful to have “Mental Health Awareness” months, weeks and days and campaigns like Bell’s “Let’s talk”, I feel that we have to move from awareness and talking about it, to taking action and doing something about it. When I was first diagnosed with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder type 1 in 1987 (after many years of being secretive and in denial about my eating disorder), there was no conversation going on about mental illness in the public domain. None. There was only silence and stigma. While I am delighted to see the emergence of awareness in recent decades, we have to move into the next phase. Mental illness and addiction issues are, in my opinion, a silent epidemic that is a public health crisis. With rising rates of drug (fentanyl) overdoses and suicide rates on the rise, what action can we all take to help?
Is there a phone call to a co-worker you can make? Is there a helping hand to a cousin that you can offer? Is there a donation you can make? Is there a member of parliament you can write who will be open to allowing naturopathic doctors to be a part of the mental health discussion? What I have chosen to do is dedicate my career – indeed my life- to helping those with mental health issues. I see many patients for free because they simply can’t afford to pay for my services and while I would like to see everyone for “free”, there is a cost involved in the business of health. I wish the Canadian government was more transparent about these costs. I can assure you, your medical doctor, that you think you are seeing for “free”, is getting paid by the government in Canada.
Here are some of the action steps I have taken to extend my reach beyond my clinical practice in order to help those suffering with mental dis-ease: Since losing a friends to suicide in 1998 and witnessing the crisis that suicide leaves in its wake, I am now public about my mental health struggles. Back in 1998, I couldn’t even reach my hand across the dinner table to offer support to my friend. At that time, I was stuck in the stigma and shame of my mental illness. What I didn’t get a chance to share with him is that I get it. I understand. I’ve been there. Really, truly been there as four years prior, I had tried to take my life by suicide. I wanted him to know that this too shall pass. It feels dark and deep because it is… in this moment. But you can heal. The sun will come out from behind the clouds. This friendship loss opened my eyes to the impact suicide has on one’s loved ones. While this memory became faint for me in subsequent suicide attempts, I now have a broader spiritual understanding as to why I am still here with you on the planet which I share in Beyond the Label: 10 Steps to Improve your Mental Health with Naturopathic Medicine and The Essential Diet; Eating for Mental Health.
I have developed a courses – for both patients and clinicians – and the Mind, Body, Soul retreat to effectively and safely guide you to mental freedom. My programs are a culmination of over 40 years of counselling work and training that I have done both personally and professionally. In addition to my ND training, I have training in six types of counselling: Compassion Focused Therapy, Gestalt psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Compassionate Inquiry, Integrative reprogramming technique and Mindfulness based therapy. Proceeds from the books and courses go towards a mental health scholarships at Natural Terrain Naturopathic Clinic for patients to access my care for reduced rates.
My goal is to save souls from suicide. It has been said that by the year 2030, one person will commit suicide every second, globally – which is a startingly statistic that I want to change. Most patients with mental illness are at war with themselves and our role as clinicians is to stop the battle within and guide patients to inner peace. I remind patients that you are with you the longest, so it is vital that you get the relationship right with yourself first before seeking love from another. It is often difficult to have a healthy loving relationship with someone else when we don’t love and accept ourselves first. We need to do more than simply support the physical level with pharmaceuticals or supplements/herbs – we need to address the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of lives. We need to start teaching this in schools- starting in preschool. By looking at all aspects of our lives, we will find the answers – the missing pieces of the puzzle – that will provide solutions to suicide. Deaths by suicide strengthen my resolve to make the naturopathic mental health message mainstream so people don’t feel they belong with us, here on the planet – versus exiting stage left by suicide. Choice original medicine – add a naturopathic doctor to your health care team today! When Robin Williams committed suicide, I wrote this poem:
Open. See. Feel. Believe. Change.
Open your mind
Open your eyes
Open your heart
To the belief that change can happen
See in your mind
See in your eyes
See in your heart
The change happening
Feel through your mind
Feel through your eyes
Feel through your heart
A change in belief
Open. See. Feel. Believe. Change.
If you know someone that is suffering, please share this article with them AND call them today. They may not answer, they may not call you back. Try again. And then try again. May you find this article helpful – whether you are a clinician or a patient.
