After celebrity chef and bestselling author Anthony Bourdain died of suicide, his friend Val Kilmer took to social media to express his opinion on the matter. In a lengthy Facebook post, Kilmer called Bourdain’s actions “selfish.” Further elaborating, he wrote, “A spiritual guide once told me suicide is the most selfish act a human can execute and I was confused but she explained there’s just no mental place further away from humanity and purpose than the hypnotized numbness that creates the false picture of despair, that forces the victim, unaware, to believe, life’s legacy is over.” Kilmer is wrong — suicide is not selfish. I know because I once tried to take my own life.

Mental health advocates have routinely cautioned against describing suicide as selfish because it may trigger a vulnerable individual to act. Hollywood actor Val Kilmer, however, seems to give more weight to what a spiritual guide once told him than the warnings of the CDC, the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Kilmer is now on the receiving end of fan disapproval after publishing a lengthy Facebook post in which he called Bourdain "selfish" for taking himself away from Kilmer and his fans.

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At six years old, Charlie Hernandez is learning his numbers and letters. He idolizes his father and is obsessed with trains and organizing his toys. Charlie is a typical little boy, who happens to have special needs, says his mother, Anna Hernandez. He’s also the inspiration for Charlie’s Project, a clothing company built around leggings founded by Hernandez in 2012 with a mission to raise awareness for the conditions that affect her son: Down syndrome and Autism.

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I'm the one with the emotional baggage. She's the one with the batwings.

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