In the last week, both designer Kate Spade and chef Anthony Bourdain were found dead in apparent suicides. The deaths of the two have been calamitous for their loved ones and the general public. The tragic incidents placed a renewed attention on the matter of suicide and mental health, causing people to urge their friends to seek counsel if need be. It has also encouraged others to come forth with confessions about their own battles, including Jada Pinkett Smith.
On Monday morning (June 11), the 46-year-old mother and “Red Table Talk” show host took to Instagram for a reflection on the deaths and a message about the practice of mental health. “…Mental health is something we should practice daily, not just when issues arise,” she wrote. “With the suicides of Kate and Anthony it brought up feelings of when I was in such despair and had considered the same demise… often.” The post was accompanied by side-by-side photos of Bourdain and Spade.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj5llclnEtF/?utm_source=ig_embed
Spade, 55, and Bourdain, 61, were found dead three days apart. While Spade left a note, it did little to soothe her loved ones. She left a husband and a daughter behind, and Bourdain was in a lengthy partnership with Asia Argento. He also has a daughter.
Pinkett Smith offered words of advice regarding nursing one’s spirit from her own experience. “… I realized the mind and heart can be extremely delicate without the foundation of a formidable spirit. What I eat, what I watch on TV, what music I listen to, how I care for my body, my spiritual practice, what people I surround myself with, the amount of stress I allow and so on… either contribute to or deteriorate my mental health,” she wrote.
Pinkett Smith added a feeling of deep empathy with the two, writing “Many may not understand… but I do, and this morning I have the deepest gratitude that I pulled through.” She dedicated her post to the two with a line reading, “May Kate and Anthony Rest In Peace.”