Owen Wilson was reported to be in good condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles yesterday after what has widely been reported as an alleged failed suicide attempt.
The actor meanwhile has been well enough to release the following brief statement: "I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time."
Wow. I had no idea. Suicide is such an odd thing for me to understand, much less when it is someone with money and a good career.
It's too bad. I think Owen Wilson is a funny guy. He seems so laid back.
PS. He's the Butterscotch Stallion for Christ's sake! He's in a prime spot to eat all the asses he could ever want! Blasphemy. I just don't understand.
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it. I'd only consider suicide if I was terminally ill, mentally incapacitated (at which point you probably wouldn't be able to willingly kill yourself anyway), or something along the lines of life imprisonment although as long as I had my imagination and mental faculties, I doubt I'd kill myself even then.
While I understand people losing sight of the "bigger picture" and being so engrossed in a single part of their life that they'd take their own life, I think that this condition is one of the more treatable.
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it.
Try it, you might like it!
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama
Well, if I was really going to do it, I would take a few people with me. Like, head down in a high crime area and wait for someone to come rob me. Shoot em in the face, then go to a different spot.
I never understood the people that kill their family, then themselves. Why kill the good/innocent people when there are plenty of bad guys to take with you?
I can understand suicide in a lot of cases... I just find it very hard to accept from someone rich and famous...
These people have the ability to completely alter their lives if they aren't happy with something... they can move anywhere in the world, buy almost anything imaginable, and have a free advantage over others in courting prospective relationships...
But, I suppose actors can be as weak-minded as anyone else and we can't let the roles they act out fool us into thinking we know anything about them on the inside.
What I don't really understand is the failed attempts... (and to respond to fairweather, i would never take anyone with me, ever.)
Never good to hear things like this, but hopefully he'll get the help he needs now instead of trying again. My cousin killed himself when he was 18, and what I learned from him was that when people have made up their mind that they are going to kill themselves (I think this is more often the case then people doing something sporadic) they start to plan how they are going to do it, and probably make a conscious effort to hide the fact that they are severely depressed.
So people around them might have noticed that they have been depressed, and are seeming to get better right before they commit/attempt suicide. I'm not saying that I'm right or that this is the way that it always is, but it's what I have seen and it makes sense to me.
What you need to understand is that these people obviously are not thinking rationally, and unless something preventative is done they are going to at least try to attempt to carry out their plan. I do also understand that some people "attempt" to kill themselves to attract attention, probably knowing that someone is going to find them right away, or whatnot - but that's a horse of a different color.
It's too bad that so many people don't get the help they need in time, my cousin killed himself 7 years ago and it still has a strong effect on our family today. Not a day goes by I don't think of him and wonder what it was that he couldn't cope with.
Fash wrote:I can understand suicide in a lot of cases... I just find it very hard to accept from someone rich and famous...
These people have the ability to completely alter their lives if they aren't happy with something... they can move anywhere in the world, buy almost anything imaginable, and have a free advantage over others in courting prospective relationships...
But, I suppose actors can be as weak-minded as anyone else and we can't let the roles they act out fool us into thinking we know anything about them on the inside.
What I don't really understand is the failed attempts... (and to respond to fairweather, i would never take anyone with me, ever.)
Well, my response was made tongue in cheek
I agree with you on the financial side of things. Money is such a source of woe for so many people that it's hard to imagine anything else that would be a problem once you become rich. Like you said, there's a lot going on inside a person, and certianly there are much bigger problems than money. However, having the means to be able to change or alter everything around you due to your wealth is a huge advantage that the majority of the world does not share.
I code a generous amount of suicide attempts in our small town ER. Age is probably around 20's-30's for the most part. Drug overdose is the most common form taken, usually mixed with alcohol, but there is a healthy amount of cutting that goes on as well.
Cutters are most often seeking attention more than a true suicide attempt. They usually cut just enough to bleed and go to the ER. The coders have a view on this...
Side to side = attention
Up and down = serious
I've never seen a self inflicted gun shot, jumper, or anything else like that. After finals week at the local collage, we get a marked rise in suicude attempts.
Suicidal Depression is independent of wealth, fame etc...nothing at all makes it easier to survive...In fact extremely "positive" changes are as likely to precipitate suicide as extremely "negative" changes in those with other predisposing factors.
Arborealus wrote:Suicidal Depression is independent of wealth, fame etc...nothing at all makes it easier to survive...In fact extremely "positive" changes are as likely to precipitate suicide as extremely "negative" changes in those with other predisposing factors.
You beat me to the response, and said it better than I could anyways.
For those of you saying you can't understand it. If you haven't witnessed depression in someone close, or experienced it first hand, it doesn't make a lot of sense. It's not rational, and as such it's hard to empathize.
Right. This has nothing to do with wealth, women, cars, houses, jobs, anything of the material world. This is something that is in his head, and nothing around him can affect that. Depression is a constant internal struggle, and no matter how good things around you appear to be to everyone else, the person suffering still feels like giving up.
Kaldaur wrote:Right. This has nothing to do with wealth, women, cars, houses, jobs, anything of the material world. This is something that is in his head, and nothing around him can affect that. Depression is a constant internal struggle, and no matter how good things around you appear to be to everyone else, the person suffering still feels like giving up.
Fairweather Pure wrote:Cutters are most often seeking attention more than a true suicide attempt. They usually cut just enough to bleed and go to the ER.
I'd have to disagree with that. The people I've known that are cutters did/do so for personal reasons/release and want nothing at all to do with having anyone ask them about it. The majority, in my experience, do it in harder to see places for that reason. Not saying there aren't exceptions, just think the majority is for internal reasons.
Fairweather Pure wrote:Cutters are most often seeking attention more than a true suicide attempt. They usually cut just enough to bleed and go to the ER.
I'd have to disagree with that. The people I've known that are cutters did/do so for personal reasons/release and want nothing at all to do with having anyone ask them about it. The majority, in my experience, do it in harder to see places for that reason. Not saying there aren't exceptions, just think the majority is for internal reasons.
I'm referring to people that "fake" a suicide, for lack of a better term. Self mutilation is an entirely different category.
Fairweather Pure wrote:Cutters are most often seeking attention more than a true suicide attempt. They usually cut just enough to bleed and go to the ER.
I'd have to disagree with that. The people I've known that are cutters did/do so for personal reasons/release and want nothing at all to do with having anyone ask them about it. The majority, in my experience, do it in harder to see places for that reason. Not saying there aren't exceptions, just think the majority is for internal reasons.
I'm referring to people that "fake" a suicide, for lack of a better term. Self mutilation is an entirely different category.
They don't exactly teach those people which direction to slice if they wish to complete the task though.
They don't exactly teach those people which direction to slice if they wish to complete the task though.
How to do it "right" is common knowledge.
Self mutilators are a whole 'nother subject.
Neither group makes any sense to me at all.
I think it really depends on the age group and other factors. What you and I consider common knowledge is not immediately available to everyone. I remember when I first learned the "right" way to slice, and I was not a child when it came up. That type of discussion is taboo in many circles.
I used to work with a self-mutilator, and we discussed it a few times. The key thing was that she would actually cut herself, but she found that inflicting "mental" pain on others was almost just as addicting. That led to some very odd observations once I knew that it was something she did intentionally.
After dealing with 19-20 year olds for 4 years when I was teaching in a very high stress environment, and my daughter and her friends as they grew up it seems like it's common knowledge from a fairly young age. I've seen a dozen or so "dramatic" attempts and just a couple real ones.
My daughter threatened suicide in front of her high school counselor in a fit of drama once because she wasn't getting her way. Her week in the looney bin afterward made things worse, she learned whole new realms of stupid from the female teen nutjobs that were in there.
As someone mentioned above depression doesn't have anything to do with a person's seemingly perfect circumstances. I could be wrong but I'll assume some hefty amounts of drugs and\or alcohol are involved in Owen's case.
"Life is what happens while you're making plans for later."
Aabidano wrote:
My daughter threatened suicide in front of her high school counselor in a fit of drama once because she wasn't getting her way. Her week in the looney bin afterward made things worse, she learned whole new realms of stupid from the female teen nutjobs that were in there.
As someone mentioned above depression doesn't have anything to do with a person's seemingly perfect circumstances. I could be wrong but I'll assume some hefty amounts of drugs and\or alcohol are involved in Owen's case.
My best friend in 9th grade was sent to one of those places (for rather average suburbanite rebellion I might add) and came back a totally different person. She was exposed to girls with serious issues and picked up a lot of fuked up behavior from them. We never really connected as friends after that.
And yeah, probably drugs and alcohol are involved, but more than likely they were merely a means to mask his depression as opposed to being a catalyst for it.
Lalanae Burundi High Chancellor for Tourism, Sodomy and Pie
Unofficial Canadian, Forbidden Lover of Pie, Jesus-Hatin'' Sodomite, President of KFC (Kyoukan Fan Club), hawt, perververted, intellectual submissive with E.S.P (Extra Sexual Persuasion)
I thought this article summed up what several of you in this thread have said pretty well.
As for the talk of warning signs, yes, Wilson co-wrote Tenenbaums, which contains a scene where ex-tennis pro Richie Tenenbaum (played by Owen's brother Luke) slashes his wrists over a woman, and yes, Wilson (and Anderson) could not have written it persuasively unless they had experienced despair. But what person hasn't experienced despair? All that scene tells me is that Wilson is a funny, honest writer who has had dark thoughts and isn't afraid to write them down. That scene is not his Rosebud, any more than the Elliott Smith song that serves as its soundtrack, "Needle in the Hay," invariably foretold Smith's death by his own hand. Smith wrote a lot of songs that sound in retrospect like obvious cries for help, but Neil Young and Lou Reed wrote dozens more, and they're both in their sixties and still prolific. Art is always informed by life, but one doesn't automatically predict the other. Depression is a implacably private thing, a fog comprised of biography, present-tense experience and body chemistry. It's as unpredictable as the elements and as unknowable as God. It's an abyss that you fall into, and you either die there or climb out.
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama
Lalanae wrote:And yeah, probably drugs and alcohol are involved, but more than likely they were merely a means to mask his depression as opposed to being a catalyst for it.
I've only seen drug use exacerbate depression, not mask it. Though I have seen people with BPD do drugs during their down cycle in some sort of hopeless quest to get the constant UP they have when they're in the manic phase.
"There is at least as much need to curb the cruel greed and arrogance of part of the world of capital, to curb the cruel greed and violence of part of the world of labor, as to check a cruel and unhealthy militarism in international relationships." -Theodore Roosevelt
Fash wrote:I can understand suicide in a lot of cases... I just find it very hard to accept from someone rich and famous...
I couldn't possibly imagine what it would take to deal with being rich and famous on a day to day basis. I think generally people assume it would be the "good life" when in reality I'm sure it can be very trying. How long would it take before you had enough of cameras in your face, people asking for autographs & pictures, etc.
And then on top of all that, you have this nose...
Fash wrote:I can understand suicide in a lot of cases... I just find it very hard to accept from someone rich and famous...
I couldn't possibly imagine what it would take to deal with being rich and famous on a day to day basis. I think generally people assume it would be the "good life" when in reality I'm sure it can be very trying. How long would it take before you had enough of cameras in your face, people asking for autographs & pictures, etc.
And then on top of all that, you have this nose...
But then you go home and sleep on a huge pile of money with many beutiful ladies.
"There is at least as much need to curb the cruel greed and arrogance of part of the world of capital, to curb the cruel greed and violence of part of the world of labor, as to check a cruel and unhealthy militarism in international relationships." -Theodore Roosevelt
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it.
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it.
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it.
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it.
I have a hard time understanding the whole suicide thing. I understand it exists but it's so foreign a concept for me personally that it takes a lot of thinking "outside the box" of my personal philosophy to accept it.
Try it, you might like it!
Sylvus WTF????
Try it, you might like it!
Try what? Suicide?
Really? I was thinking man-love.
May 2003 - "Mission Accomplished"
June 2005 - "The mission isn't easy, and it will not be accomplished overnight"
-- G W Bush, freelance writer for The Daily Show.
Fash wrote:I can understand suicide in a lot of cases... I just find it very hard to accept from someone rich and famous...
People dream of being famous, rich, desired, thinking it will finally validate them as humans.
Once they attain it, they realize it doesn't work that way. Their emotional situation hasn't improved and wasn't attended to at all.
So now they have reached their "ultimate goal" of fame and fortune, and they still feel like shit. Now what?
Maybe that's why a lot of them have drug/alcohol/eating disorder problems.
