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You Never Know What Is Going On Inside Someone Else’s Head
Before judging, think and reflect.
I learned this morning that Naomi Judd, 75, of The Judds, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Apparently neither of her daughters, Ashley and Wynonna, saw tragedy coming. All they knew — or were willing to report — was that their mother had been battling mental illness.
They were left in shock. Especially as their mother’s death happened on the eve of the group’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
All this got me thinking: if this can happen in a celebrity musical group of presumably close family members, it can only mean one thing.
No one really knows what’s going on inside another person’s head. Beyond what they are willing (and able) to reveal. And some things may be too personal, too private, too painful, to reveal even to other family members.
Suicide* is a leading cause of premature death in America today. Everybody knows this.
At-risk groups include aging baby-boomers who once had good jobs and careers but lost them for various reasons ranging from outsourcing to automation, and never found anything comparable, paywise. These people, especially if they lack college degrees, have seen their living standards drop steadily for three decades now.
Suicides are also alarmingly high among students, including adolescents, for whom explanations like the ones just mentioned won’t work. We’re entitled to wonder, What is going on?
Let’s dig deeper. I penned a piece on my personal site about “Who Are We, Really?” Maybe I’ll put a version of that on Medium.
What is the bottom line with human nature that might explain the rates of suicide, severe depression, and other forms of mental illness, in an advanced civilization — perhaps by its absence (or near-absence) from that civilization?
We’re problems solvers, first and foremost — but also emotional creatures. Our very being exists in a sea of swirling emotions. But this is just a start.
We also see ourselves at the “center of things.” To ourselves, we and our priorities are the most important things in all of creation!
