Ari Behn's untimely death

It has been a while since I put my thoughts on paper but a recent very sad, or rather tragic, incident has made me think a tad deeper than usual and I could not help not writing about it.

On Christmas Day 2019, Ari Behn, a Norwegian author and former husband of Princess Martha Louise of Norway, was found dead in his home. The cause of death was suicide.

I am going to have to be sincere here but given I am not a follower of the Norwegian monarchy, I had never really heard about him except that he was once married into the Norwegian royal family and had three young daughters.

I ran a Google search and I discovered he wasn’t simply the ex-husband of a Norwegian Princess but was indeed an author, playwright and a visual artist. I also discovered that he suffered from chronic depression and mental health issues, battled with alcoholism and openly admitted he felt lonely.

He was 47 years old. Still so young yet he took away his life. On Christmas Day. One could say he almost had it all. Not to mention three beautiful young daughters, great talent, good looks and so much more.

What stuck with me was the fact he openly declared he felt lonely and recently said he feared he would die alone. Behn suffered from chronic depression. The ‘invisible illness’ that eventually took his life.

A little bit about chronic depression. A chronic depressive gets their good days and their bad days. On bad days one experiences an inexplicable sadness, as though a black cloud stood still above their head, a lack of enthusiasm, fatigue, feeling depleted, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness for most of the day. One also battles with focus, suffers from insomnia, or the other extreme, excessive sleep. On a very bad day there are recurring thoughts of suicide, even possibly planning it.

Yes, one can seem as though they have it all but in true fact they may be struggling with mental issues, feeling extremely lonely and sad as was the case of Mr. Behn.

He had openly declared it, going as far as saying that he was constantly feeling 'terrified' with 'devouring anxiety'. It struck me because I can only just imagine the sadness and loneliness he must have been feeling over the years. He may have been surrounded with family, friends yet still felt incredibly alone, going so far as to end his life, leaving so many loved ones heartbroken during a time of the year which brings families together to celebrate the birth of the Lord.



I was angry to read some comments on an Instagram post. One said he was irresponsible for leaving his three daughters fatherless and how selfishness took over. Nobody was walking in his shoes during those years when he was feeling lonely, when he battled alcoholism and chronic depression or at the time he committed suicide. The overwhelming sadness that he must have been feeling and not simply there and then, but over the years, the feeling of helplessness and the longing of not wanting to be a part of this world, a world that perhaps to him was only causing pain and misery. Living must have become a living hell to him. Not everyone can face the struggles in today’s day in the same way. No person is same and it is harder for those who suffer from chronic depression or other mental issues. No one can understand or judge that person. No one will ever know if he had it planned a long time before or if it was simply on the spur of the moment. At this stage the details of his cause of death are irrelevant.

Ari Behn is one of many who chose to end their life by suicide. His legacy will live on through his daughters. May God rest his soul.

Source: Wikipedia
aribehn.com
dailymail.co.uk