September 27, 2006
owens didn't do it
Considering that my normal day job is one in which I have regular contact with those who suffer from mental illness, I would like to think that I am somewhat qualified to have some experience in the area of attempted suicide and the typical depression that would precede it. In the case of Terrell Owens, there are several indications that he did not in fact have any real intention of killing himself last night.
In general men are much more statistically proficient at killing themselves than women. Usually when a man attempts suicide, he will use an extremely violent method of doing so - a gun, jumping from a great height, hanging, etc.. This is much more effective than the popular methods that women choose which tend to be more passive or quiet, such as medication overdose or self-inflicted wounds. Many more men die each year from suicide than women, and it is the methods they utilize that provides the simplest reason why. The use of prescription pills as a form of suicide is typically quite ineffective, especially when one does not mix the medication with other substances (i.e. alcohol). If Owens was truly attempting to kill himself, he wasn't taking the most efficient course of action in doing so.
Secondly, if Owens was making a concerted effort to commit the suicide, why would he allow for his publicist to be at his house that same night, especially while he was still conscious? It simply doesn't make sense for someone who is suicidal to be inviting friends over to his home on the night he plans to commit the act. Those who are depressed and at risk of suicide tend to have exact plans as to how they will kill themselves, and it certainly wouldn't make sense to have others present while doing so.
Third, why would any decent hospital allow for someone who is considered suicidal to be released so soon after an attempt on their own life? Most psychiatric procedure would call for a full evaluation of the patient's mental health and permission from one of the hospital's psychiatrists for the patient to be discharged. A suicidal patient does not have the same rights at a hospital as other patients when it comes to discharge - if you are considered to be a threat to yourself or others it is the responsibility of the hospital to ensure that you remain in the care of its medical staff until you can be cleared as a safety risk. If a psychiatrist were to determine that Owens was actually suicidal, my guess is that it would have taken much longer for him to be released from the medical center. No doctor in their right mind would allow himself to fall under the type of scrutiny that would ensue should a celebrity like Terrell Owens commit suicide after he was declared stable - the psychiatrist would be absolutely sure to evaluate him completely before discharge. As far as I'm concerned, Owens' mental health has been determined to be strong enough for him to return home.
Personally, I believe that when this story has run its course it will be determined that Terrell Owens simply had a bad reaction to whatever pain medication he happened to be on at the time. The only source of information stating that he attempted suicide is a single police report, during which time he could have been led to make an untrue statement while not in his normal state of mind. For all we know, the "supplements" that Owens had previously been taking were antihistamines, anti-anxiety medications, or even certain stimulants that could have unstable effects on his body when combined with a powerful pain medication, such as hydrocodone. People get sent to the hospital all the time after improperly mixing medications - Owens very easily could have made a mistake when taking his prescription painkiller. This is just another example of an overblown media story on an normally slow news day.
