A proficient icon and an absolute professional on a efficiency stage or in a talk-show setting, Naomi Judd was nonetheless struggling via all of it and was very open about her crippling struggles with despair.
THE SHOCKING DEATH OF NAOMI JUDD
Her loss of life nonetheless got here as fairly a shock as a result of the nation music legend was a bodily wholesome and lively entertainer, having simply carried out “Love Can Construct a Bridge” with daughter Wynonna on the CMT Music Awards lower than a month in the past.
The candor in Wy and Ashley’s assertion concerning their mom’s passing kind of introduced it again into focus for all of us.
MY OWN PAIN RE-TRIGGERED
And it re-ignited some ache for me that had begun to subside considerably ever since I misplaced considered one of my closest associates a month in the past. I would solely identified my pricey good friend Eric for a couple of years–he waited on me and one other good friend at Bar Louie and was simply this outgoing, affable fellow who was straightforward to befriend.
And so I did. And we grew to become shut in a short time. In three brief years–not even that, really–he grew to become like a brother to me, and I to him.
In late March, after I acquired the information that he’d taken his personal life, my instant response is not one I believe I can describe…however I will attempt.
WHERE TO LOOK FOR ANSWERS WHEN SOMEONE TAKES THEIR OWN LIFE
I shortly started attempting to recollect each dialog we would ever had, and I suppose it was an effort to retroactively SPOT any indication that one thing was flawed. After all, one can keep in mind EVERY dialog, however I can truthfully let you know I can not recall something that ever despatched up a purple flag. So I actually dug in deep, as a result of one thing needed to be there.
Every thing I keep in mind about Eric was about pleasure. He was enjoyable and humorous. He was a rare father and wonderful life companion to his girlfriend. He cherished FAMILY. And, on so many events, his demeanor jogged my memory of my dad’s–never met a stranger; a serving to hand was there for anybody who wanted it (he helped me transfer, for instance); and he appeared to know EVERYONE.
Once more, similar to my dad.
NAOMI JUDD’S DEATH IS A WAKE-UP CALL
However one thing WAS flawed, and we have all been attempting to determine it out. And it might by no means occur. I’ve no coaching in any respect, however I’ve an opinion. At this level, it is the very best ANYONE has. Both one thing was inside him that overtook him and triggered him to only clean each good factor in his life out of his thoughts, or he by no means stated something due to the exasperating stigma surrounding psychological well being. (Actually, THAT is one thing that has to go away.) Nobody I do know who is aware of him noticed this coming.
Within the final couple of weeks, it has been getting higher. However the Naomi Judd information kind of opened up the wound once more and I have been having a troublesome day. However I’ll rebound once more, and I will proceed to get higher.
DON’T HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS AND INVESTIGATE
And I’ll say what everybody else is saying. In case you see one thing that does not really feel proper, ASK QUESTIONS. Examine. And in case you’re fortunate, you WILL see one thing that may result in these questions.
Naomi says she was identified with “treatment-resistant extreme despair.” I can not think about what that felt like, and I can not think about my pricey good friend going via that.
What’s worse, none of us ever SAW that sort of ache.
Lastly, it could by no means have occurred to me that I’d write this story for this or another web site. However right this moment, I discovered myself unable to put in writing or THINK about anything, and I knew I could not do one other story till I did this one.
Might is Nationwide Psychological Well being Consciousness month; the web site for the National Alliance on Mental Illness has some terrific data for anybody who wants it.
The Nationwide Suicide Prevention hotline quantity is 800-273-8255
