Man what a tragedy. They fight for our country, make it back safe, but in a way never left the war. :shake:

My ex Father in Law was in Viet Nam. He never talked about it much. One year he came home drunk off his ass and fell into the Christmas tree, just smashed the hell out of all the presents and broke the fake tree in half. He duct taped it and nobody said much. We were talking afterward. He said he found some old Marine stuff and was thinking about his buddies, so went to drink himself into oblivion- didn't even remember falling into the tree or driving home that night.

His squad got pinned down. He said he hid nose high in a swamp for three days while his buddies were slowly tortured. I can still hear them screaming sometimes, he said. Also added that was not the worst thing he went through. :shake:

We never hid in a swamp be we had more than our fair share of terrible. I get it man, I was so strung out on opiates for years after I'm surprised I didn't die from that.

I am pretty sure it was Dan Akroyd that talked about that when mentioning John Belushi. He said it was the same part of John's creative side that also made him destructive.

Have you read the Ray Charles biography? He was on it forever until getting busted and finally getting clean. The Keith Richards book Life goes into his addictions pretty deep- basically lost decades. And of the course the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx. Some say his book was all bullshit, but since he died, I think he was telling the truth.

I am becoming clinically depressed from reading Dane and Halfcan argue about depression.

Man, this one really got me. Layne, Chris, Scott, even Kurt. All gone (along with Prince, George Michael, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, etc.)

I can't even imagine what you guys go through during a war. Big props to you for conquering your addictions. It is heartbreaking hearing about our servicemen and women that come back to the States and end up taking their own life. The numbers are staggering. :(

Makes you wonder how a rock star like Cornell can't make it - when a hero like you, that has been through war, can fight their way back? Glad you beat the demons! :clap:

ROFL

Yesterday it was DJ and today it is Depression. I think there a real disconnect from what I am saying to what he Thinks I am saying. I will start choosing my words more wisely.

Um, Nikki Sixx is still alive, AFAIK.

Yep- they Kick Started his Heart.

That concert was actually on my 20th birthday, which is I remember when it was. I actually left shortly after Soundgarden stopped playing because I wasn't into the big hair/glam bands of the 80's. That would have been pretty cool to have met either of those bands back in the day.

To be an true artist is to live in a world of duality...where the same force that drives creativity mutually drives destruction...there rarely is middle ground and violently play off each other. Build and destroy...anyone worth their salt in the arts knows this. You're harnessing the power of (+)/(-) polarity in Hermetic terms...then emitting the results in bursts. It's what Occultists refer to as mental alchemy/ transmutation...they seek heroin and what not to soften the destructive side of the pendulum swing (ebb/flow) between the poles. Usually this in on an unconscious level...

It exists in all living things (this duality) but not usually in extremities....that's why people flock to stadiums to witness it.

Your high points are way more electrically charged than the normal person..and that comes with a price...the lows come with the temptation to off yourself and say "**** it". Like the saying goes "careful what you wish for"...you may be inadvertently tapping into forces you might not be prepared to handle. Once that force in harnessed...there in no putting it back. Hendrix, Morrison Cobain, Van Gogh, Hemmingway...the story repeats...and always will.

The energy they emitted vicariously through their medium..is why we talk about them long after their dead...I'm sure that's why the term "star" was coined..burn bright.

My uncle in-law killed himself on Christmas Day. My wife was asleep and missed the frantic phone calls from her Mom. I'm very thankful for this. He was a Iraqi Freedom vet and was masking his PTSD with alcohol. He was estranged from his wife and kids due to his drinking. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, he seemed to improve. He wasn't drinking and was spending a lot of time with his wife and kids (2 boys; 16 and 18) and deep cleaned their whole house. He never showed up to his sister's house on Christmas, she called, he answered and was really vague. She told us later that something just wasn't right so she called the police and had her husband, which was his best friend, to go check on him. When his friend got there the cops were there trying to talk him down outside the house. He was holding a pistol of some kind. His friend said that he just said, "Hey *****, we can talk about this." He replied, "There's nothing left to talk about," and then shot himself in the head. He was a great guy and I personally didn't realize how much of an impact he had on me in the short time I knew him, it left a huge scar on his family.

Lost my son 7 years ago. Was 11 days from his 17th birthday. And less that 2 weeks before his favorite team, the Colts we're going to play in the SB. Still never understand it. Kid had a bright future ahead of him. My wife thinks he wanted to be caught, but idk. I think he was too smart and was dealing with depression that he wasn't sharing with anyone. I'll never get over it. I made this video for him years ago. I still cry my eyes out when I watch it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zWoyr7jU6Gc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I barely made it out of that myself. I wanted to kill myself after he died. Luckily I have 2 daughters, and now 2 granddaughters that have helped me along my road to learning how to live again.

Just because you have dealt with it, doesn't mean you understand it fully as made clear by your posts.

People who hit rock bottom depression do not think about leaving behind family and friends. Their inner pain is too much to bear. This isn't about you, it's about them. Friends and family aren't giving them any feeling of worth either. It's why there is no thought about those they are leaving behind. That's clinical depression.

You are unable to rationalize your friends suicides. I get it. The depressed mind is unable to rationalize it as well. While you see it as a selfish act of leaving behind loved ones, for many their inner pain is too much and the thought of how loved one's will cope after their death is seldom crossed in the depressed mind.

Man... no words.

Did you write that song? It's a fantastic song. Terribly sad story...I can't imagine.

I don't know if I've ever come across a post on CP that has had this effect on me.