(Viral Article)

 ‘Live fast, die young’
(Ed Westwick)

Count till forty. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten… Forty. Do you know what happened right now? Somebody has committed suicide. It happens every f**king forty seconds. And it is terrifying. Especially, it is terrifying when you know the person to do this when there were no signs of trouble and he or she seemed to be so happy and successful.

For some reason, a suicide is common among successful musicians. I believe everybody knows the worldwide famous Kurt Cobain, the frontman of “Nirvana”, Chris Cornell from “Audioslave”, Jim Morrison, the former lead singer of “The Doors”, Chester Bennington, the leader of “Linkin Park”, and many, many more, who took their own lives for a variety of strange reasons at different times. I suggest you analyze the most common factors to influence iconic rock musicians and to dive a little bit deeper into the story of the ones to bring to light and understand some reasons for suicide causes.

• Drug and alcohol addiction

The first stereotype I wanna name is the addiction of rock musicians to take drugs. It’s a fact. From the psychological point of view people who prefer hard music usually are too sensitive to the world around them, they don’t understand and don’t accept this world with its injustice and cruelty. Their reckless souls are full of hope and frustration, which need some medicines that drugs often replace.

What are external factors that push musicians to become drug addicted as well? They are:

– environment: rock musicians usually play at night, surrounded by the drunk and high, that actually doesn’t promote a culture of abstinence;

– wealth: you know, most well-known musicians are rich, and the wealthier they are, the more sustainable their bad habits become;

– permissiveness: there is such an opinion that talented people are let to do everything because they have unique skills others do not, they know people would love them anyway, they believe nothing bad will happen;

– youth: young, immature musicians make stupid decisions caused by their money and fame; moreover, drugs help them to acquire such characteristics as being fearless, bold, taking risks, etc.

Unfortunately, such a terrible habit as a drug addiction usually leads to a bad ending – a suicide or an overdose death. Actually, one in three people who commit suicide is under the influence of drugs.

For instance, Chris Cornell, a legendary rock star was founded dead on May 18, 2017. The man hung himself in a hotel room after his last concert show in Detroit, Michigan. A toxicology report revealed that several prescription drugs were in a musician’s body that night. You know, Chris Cornell had been struggling with drug abuse and addiction for a long time.

• Problems in family

The next point that affects life more we can imagine is the relationship in a family. Quarrels with parents, treasons, betrayals once can become the last straw on the way to self-violence.

Not everybody knows that Kurt Cobain, the rock icon of all times, had attempted suicide a month earlier before he did. He assumed it was a drug overdose, but his wife, Courtney Love, would later admit that the reason Cobain attempted suicide in March 1994 was different. He thought that she had an affair. “He must have been psychic or something, – she told. –  I almost did one time, and he knew it. … I have no idea how he knew it. The plan didn’t ever go anywhere. Nothing happened, but… the response to it was he took 67 Rohypnols and ended up in a coma because I thought about cheating on him. I mean, f**k”.

The rave icon Keith Flint, The Prodigy frontman, was found hanging in his house on March, 2019. He hoped for a reconciliation with Mayumi, singer’s ex-wife, after splitting last year. Keith called her, pleading to change her mind. But she didn’t. It broke the musician. The man fell into severe depression and started using drugs. It happened shortly before a suicide.

• The glory turned into the burden

Sometimes musicians become popular not because they pursue this goal, but because they are talented. In such a case, they can’t come to terms with the sudden fame they get. Imagine, that hundreds, thousands, millions of fans are following you, waiting to get something special from you. But your freedom-loving creative soul just feels the pressure caused by these stereotyped expectations.

Kurt Cobain, for example, was confused and even depressed with that meteoric fame that came with his music. The musician wasn’t able to embrace his newfound celebrity, comparing to his lonely youth. His world was caving in on him, and he couldn’t take the pressure. “He is considered to be the rock star who didn’t want fame, the weak pathetic guy who was taken over by this controlling female, and yadda yadda”, – Courtney Love admitted later. Kurt Cobain died when he was 27. He killed himself by a gunshot wound to the head at his Seattle home in April, 1994. On the eve of his death, the singer undertook several suicide attempts. Besides, impressive is the fact that at the age of 14 Kurt said his friends he would become a successful musician, and then commit suicide.

So, when you ask me why do rock stars kill themselves, I’ll honestly answer I dunno. You see, there is no one specific reason. It’s a set of factors layered on each other. Probably, we associate suicide with talented musicians because they’re just public.

However, this problem exists not only among public figures but also around us. Therefore, our responsible missions are to overcome all life challenges independently, to recognize and help other people who have any problems.

Be attentive to your family, friends, people who are around. Sometimes they need a piece of advice, sometimes exactly yours, that can help them to find the strength to move on.