I have depression.  I refuse to suffer from it, though at times it has tested me.  I asked my shrink what I could do differently to "fix" it and he said "nothing".  It's a brain chemical thing and the best I could do was supplement the wayward chemicals.  For the most part it's worked.  But there are times when the clouds roll in, and a poorly timed "perfect storm" could really knock me out.  I have to remind myself that this is just a thing.  They say if you know the name of your demon it loses power over you.  But sometimes that dark side feels really compelling.  It seems that artists of all flavors tend to stare into the void.  I wonder if this is the price we pay for creativity?

 

I'm glad you were able to find a way to live with it and lose the meds.
What was likely going on was a serious drop in testosterone levels, opiates will do that over time. If you get to the point where you have to go back to them remember this and don't despair. Try to get testosterone replacement therapy if your road takes you there again. The Low T will do exactly that, make you lose interest in any and every thing. Take your energy and even cause your muscles to weaken... but there is a answer if you have to go there again and I sincerely hope not. I hope you take this in the spirit I intend, not as discouragement for I admire your resolve but as comfort if things become unbearable and you remember the listlessness and despair. I wish you well.
 
Peace.
 
Julien




 
Your input/thoughts are greatly appreciated and noted!  

It is impossible to fully appreciate how chronic pain changes one's life until you've experienced it first hand.
 
I have. And even though I never considered suicide myself, I understand why someone might. It's frickin' depressing to suffer unrelenting pain and face the possibility that this is now your life, forever. Opiates are a terrible solution, but I gobbled them like M&Ms out of desperation because there was nothing else.
 
I have to imagine that's true for psychological pain, too.

Hi,
 
It's certainly sad that someone with the kind of talent he had, would lose it like that and just simply not be honest with his fans, and others. It's not like there weren't blind composers that had folks put things down for them (Delius a good example) and still be productive for a period of time.
 
All in all, he is not the first or the last to pull the trigger or the plug ... and while sad, I think that we should concentrate on their good side ... the music they gave us ... some of these people could not live thinking that they were no longer "productive" .... which is sad in many ways.

Proof that life isn't fair:  Keith Emerson and Bradley Delp commit suicide, but Justing Beiber and Kanye West are still alive...