Dave Navarro Describes ‘Isolation’ Of Chris Cornell And ‘PTSD’

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Former Red Hot Chili Peppers and current Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro discussed the deaths of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington in a new lofficielusa.com interview. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

“The recent suicides, and then, of course, we lost Chester and Chris the year before like within a month of each other, which was my first experience with a friend’s death, suicide, so I’ve been around it a lot. I identify with it, I write to it, and I have empathy. But I also know that it changes, and that’s just the part that I wish these people could really grasp is that…”

“Nothing is permanent. And I think that one of the things that happens with artists and professionals, certainly in our industry, is that—I’m not going to generalize—but in many cases it takes an inherently insecure person to want to receive this much visibility and be willing to go to so many lengths to achieve recognition and work, work, work. It’s so hard, and you go through so much to get to what you think is a goal that by the time you get it, you realize that the hole you originally had still isn’t filled. And then you’re stuck with oh my god, here I am with all my dreams answered and I still feel terrible.”

He later said, “Right now I am involved in an organization called MusiCares, which has been around for a long time. They primarily worked in the field of recovery, treating artists struggling with drug addiction and have also had a hand in mental health awareness and suicide prevention. After we lost Chris and Chester, who were both friends and I’d played with both of them, I was just really profoundly struck by their deaths. I understand that place of isolation and loneliness and depression that I can only imagine Chris was in. So when he actually left us, I was really kind of shell-shocked and I went through a little bit of PTSD. It was like I almost got a chance to look in a mirror and say to myself, Man, this is where you were and this is what could’ve happened, and it’s what could’ve happened to all the people who loved you.”