Osmond Tragedy: Marie's Son Commits Suicide
COOPER: Marie Osmond is speaking out about her son's suicide. His name is Michael. He jumped from his Los Angeles apartment Friday night. We have this picture from Michael and his mom from "The Insider." He reportedly left a suicide note. Michael was a student at the Fashion Institute of Design in Merchandising. He was just 18 years old. In a statement Marie Osmond said, and I quote, "My family and I are devastated and in deep shock by the tragic loss of our dear Michael and ask that everyone respect our privacy during this difficult time." This is a tragedy, obviously, that many American families have suffered through. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young Americans. We wanted to dig deeper with Dr. Drew. He's -- Dr. Drew Pinsky. He's an addiction specialist and best-selling author. Dr. Drew, thanks for being with us. I lost a brother to suicide. This is something which I think a lot of people don't focus on, because it makes them very uncomfortable. There's obviously, you know -- whether it's for religious reasons or social reasons, people just find a hard time talking about this. And yet, it's, you know, third leading cause of death, I think, for kids 15 to 24.</s>DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST/AUTHOR: Right. Particularly young males, Anderson. And the fact is I think it is some sort of residual of the notion that mental health disorders of some sort of a weakness. The fact is these are -- when depression gets so severe that somebody is contemplating suicide. It is a medical issue. And people need to recognize, if anyone out there is suffering depression or someone they love is, 20 percent of people with major depressive disorders will kill themselves.</s>COOPER: And yet, if you add something like drugs or alcohol into the mix, which is probably something that people who are depressed will sometimes use to maybe mask their symptoms or to deal with their depression, right?</s>PINSKY: That is absolutely true. Drugs and alcohol are a common concomitant with depression, and they make depression so much worse or they cause or bring on depression. So yes. And if somebody does have addiction and depression, the addiction has to be treated first and thoroughly before the depression can really adequately be addressed.</s>COOPER: What are warning signs that parents out there or friends should look for?</s>PINSKY: Well, if you believe that somebody may be suicidal, if they have been giving away their things, if they begin contemplating or talking about suicide, if they're making a plan, if they have difficulty functioning, getting out of bed. Even more mild disturbances like change in their sleep cycling, appetite disturbances, irritability, agitations, feeling of worthlessness or guilt, and this goes on more than a couple of weeks, that's all symptoms of somebody that needs medical attention.</s>COOPER: I'm told the rate of adolescent suicides has actually increased in recent years. And it's a tough story to report on because, in talking about it and reporting on television, that actually can sometimes, if it's not done properly, kind of bring it into people's lives who hadn't previously thought about it.</s>PINSKY: Unfortunately, there is some copycatting that goes on in adolescents. But young adolescent males have a particular capacity for completing suicide. In other words, they...</s>COOPER: Women attempt it -- girls attempt it more often, but men tend to, when they do attempt it are actually more successful at it in terms of -- because they use more violent means.</s>PINSKY: Correct. And then also to -- if you or someone you know has experienced this, it's not your fault. The family tends to feel guilty and tends to second-guess themselves. This is a medical disorder that kills one out of five patients. You've got to deal with it that way. And if the outcome is bad, it's not because you could have done anything different. It is a serious and life-threatening medical disorder.</s>COOPER: And also, it seems in this country people don't take depression seriously enough. I mean, it's not something that people view -- go ahead.</s>PINSKY: You know that's -- Anderson, I think that's true of all mental health conditions. We have a very strange and sort of primitive way of looking at it, as though these are personal issues that have to be dealt with through being strong or gritting it out or moving through it. It's simply anathema to the fact. The fact is, these things have treatment. There are diagnostic conditions. People need to reach out for help, and the outcomes can be significantly improved.</s>COOPER: Dr. Drew. Appreciate it. Thanks, Drew. Coming up at the top of the hour, the latest from Chile. The search for survivors and how it looked and sounded as the tremors hit.