Mental Health Association Oklahoma to host suicide-prevention class in aftermath of Anthony Bourdain's death

The news of Bourdain’s death spread quickly over social media Friday morning as fans mourned the loss of the beloved chef and TV personality and expressed bewilderment and disbelief at his suicide.

“This is just a reminder that it’s not about what’s in your bank account. It’s not necessarily about your social status or standing,” said Mike Brose, executive director of Mental Health Association Oklahoma. “It’s about depression. It’s about how devastating serious depression can be, and one of the key symptoms of severe depression is having thoughts of killing yourself.”

Brose fears Bourdain’s death, in addition to the suicide of influential fashion designer Kate Spade earlier this week, will terrify those with depression and cause them to wonder, if their favorite celebrities can kill themselves, why can’t they?

That’s why the Mental Health Association will host a training session at noon Monday to educate people how to help someone struggling with suicidal thoughts. The free-to-attend class will be at the organization’s Tulsa office, located at 5310 E. 31st St.

The training session will emphasize QPR — question, persuade and refer — a national curriculum designed to teach the identification of early warning signs of suicide.

Brose said it’s critical for discussion of suicide to take a more prominent role in society, which continues to shy away from the sensitive topic.

“It’s interesting that we’ll go at the drop of a hat to the doctor to have something checked out of a physical nature. There’s no stigma attached to that,” he said. “But when it comes to anything mental-health related, then there’s all this stigma and reluctance to seek help. Depression is very treatable, but people don’t.”

The Centers for Disease Control released a report Thursday stating Oklahoma’s suicide rate is one of the worst in the country.