Chris Cornell, Chester Bennington and Survivors of Suicide Loss

Chris Cornell was an American musician, singer, and songwriter, ex frontman of the Audioslave and Soundgarden; Wikipedia says that he is considered one of the chief architects of the 1990s grunge movement. He was found dead in his Detroit hotel room on May 18, 2017 after performing at a concert the night before; the cause of death was determined to be suicide by hanging and “drugs did not contribute” to the cause of death: only prescription medications were found in Cornell’s system.
Cornell publicly talked about his struggle with depression, isolation and suicidal thoughts several times throughout his life

Members of his family and numerous fans of the artist were impressed by her premature death;

Associated Press writes that the representative of the artist Brian Bumbery said that his death was “sudden and unexpected”. Cornell’s wife said, “When we spoke after the show, I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. When he told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two, I contacted security and asked that they check on him.”
Touching is the letter written by his wife: “I’m sorry, my sweet love, that I did not see what happened to you that night,” she wrote. “I’m sorry you were alone, and I know that was not you, my sweet Christopher. Your children know that too, so you can rest in peace.”
Several tributes and phrases have been dedicated to Cornell around the world as a sign of contempt for a friend, colleague and teacher.

The relationships between Cornell’s suicide and those of other rock singers is spontaneous and also with the dead of his close friend and colleague Chester Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park, that two months after Cornell’s death, on July 20, the day that would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday, hanged himself. Bennington was a close friend of Cornell’s: the two had performed together, Bennington was godfather to Cornell’s son Christopher, and at Cornell’s funeral he sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. Bennington’s family and bandmates said he had taken Cornell’s death very hard: “I can’t imagine a world without you in it,” he had written on Instagram upon hearing the news.

There are many reasons why someone commit suicide, but today we know that death by suicide devastates those left behind. “More than half of Americans personally know someone who has died by suicide, and we are all affected when a celebrity to whom we feel connected ends their life,” said Julie Cerel the President of American Association of Suicidology.
We call them “Survivors of Suicide Loss”, who are those who have lost a friend, a family member or someone they love to suicide. They are effectively at elevated risk for depression and suicide, and this is particularly true in important dates of those lost to suicide. Death by suicide stuns with soul-crushing surprise, leaving family and friends not only grieving the unexpected death, but confused and lost by this haunting loss. The underlying structure of grief for survivors of suicide loss appears complicated. It is further complicated by the societal perception that the act of suicide is a failure by the victim and the family to deal with some emotional issue and ultimately society affixes blame for the loss on the survivors. We can say that survivors should not expect that their lives will return to their prior state, they should adjust their life without their loved one.
Sometimes the individual or societal stigma introduces a unique stress on the bereavement process that in some cases requires clinical intervention.

To know more, contact EPA- SSSP e-mail address:

epasectionsuicidology@gmail.com

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