Paula Froelich, an ex-girlfriend of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, has written a moving and important post about depression in light of the chef’s suicide.
Froelich, a journalist and author, is reported to have dated Bourdain back in 2005.
She took to Twitter to express her sadness and solidarity with other depression sufferers when news of his death broke just a couple of days ago, on June 8.
Bourdain was found dead in a hotel room in Strasbourg, France, where he’d been working on on an upcoming episode of his programme Parts Unknown.
In an emotional post on Instagram, Froelich shared a photo of the pair together and wrote:
To a good man, a great friend, a loyal love. That’s all I’m going to say.
Well-wishers left comments on her photo, expressing their sadness for the loss of Bourdain:
However, it was her words on Twitter which seemed to have a poignant message.
She wrote a series of tweets – six – in which she spoke about depression and how it can make you feel.
In the first she stated:
Here’s the thing about depression: it’s a sneaky little, sticky Bitch. You can be rich as hell, totally successful but still lonely AF and the “you’re nothing but a fraud” voice only goes away when the ambien takes effect.
Which was followed by:
The problem with that is ambien makes the harsh voice louder in the morning. And there’s only a few you can talk to about it – but even then sparingly because it just gets OLD, doesn’t it? And you become the sad sack … even though you’re normally so FUN
She continued with her message, writing:
And it can take a village of pills, shrinks, empathetic friends, neighbors, to pull you out of a slump – and guess what?! You’re not manic, or some other couch shrink diagnosis you just have. Regular old depression. [sic]
You know because you’ve wondered and went to go get checked out hoping that there was some magic pill somewhere that would make it all better. But no. There’s not.
It’s lonely, it magnifies everything into something awful, and you don’t know when or if this cycle will end… so it’s also terrifying. And embarrassing. And humiliating – because there’s something wrong with you.
Her tweets finished with the fighting words:
But take heart in knowing: only the best, funniest, loveliest, most empathetic, wonderful, talented people have depression. You’re in a good crowd. Now. Let’s go fight that black dog. Together.
Froelich wasn’t the only person who paid their respects to the much loved celebrity chef.
As well as fans of the TV personality and author, other renowned chefs took to social media to express their loss.
Gordon Ramsay took to Facebook to say:
Stunned and saddened by the loss of Anthony Bourdain. He brought the world into our homes and inspired so many people to explore cultures and cities through their food.
Remember that help is always a phone call away US: 1-800-273-TALK UK: 116 123
Our thoughts are with Anthony Bourdain’s family and friends at this difficult time.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
