Friends, family rue Katrina's toll on actor found dead by river

[KamaAina]

Here we go again: "suicide by hurricane". :cry: Right after people started to come back in, a well-known local filmmaker killed himself, and now a well-known local actor has done the same.

http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-17/1158646062162220.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

Or it may have been his portrayal, sans makeup, of the tragically disfigured John Merrick in "The Elephant Man," described by one reviewer as "a personal, achingly human" performance. But friends and family members say the multitalented Mr. Krasnoff, 43, fought his own internal demons during the past few months, as he watched friends and acquaintances either struggle with Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, or give up and leave New Orleans.

On Sunday, Mr. Krasnoff's body was discovered on a rocky area at the edge of the Mississippi River at the Fly, the riverfront park behind the Audubon Zoo, the victim of an apparent suicide, according to the Orleans Parish coroner's office.

"Mark was looking around at the things that were going on after Katrina, and he was so moved by losing so many friends who were gone, and it just got to him," said his uncle, Nat Krasnoff.

"He very much deteriorated as a direct impact of this hurricane," said longtime friend Paul Olinde.

How much you wanna bet he doesn't count in the (already lowballed) official death toll?

Boy, oh boy, this hits me right where I (used to) live: he was but a year older than myself, and also named Mark... :(

No post of this type would be complete without noting that New Orleans' mental health care system has deteriorated even further than the rest of its medical services. Something like 80% of psychiatrists have left -- just when people are starting to turn up with something like PTSD, only it isn't 'P', because (pay attention, Bush**) this is still going on.

[soothsayer]

1. I hear everyone down there is on anti-depressants

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Which can be a problem in itself.

Anti depressants, I've found from my own experience, can be invaluable for getting through a short-term crisis, a few weeks maybe, but taking them long-term can make things even worse. I don't know if any studies have been done about long-term effects, taking them for a year or more, but since the pharma companies make so much money off them I tend to doubt it.

[melody]

5. I'd have been dead years ago without SSRIs

They saved my life. My mother drank herself to death by "self-medicating" with alcohol. Trust me, long-term
use is crucial for people with clinical depression. Situational depression is another matter entirely.

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. That's what I'm saying, however clumsily.

The depression from a disaster like Katrina should be situational, it is not brought on by imbalances in the brain - but people are still suffering from that situation, and are still taking medications for it. It is clearly different from clinical depression. These are powerful drugs; a fact that tends to be overlooked because the results are generally beneficial. The problems come, I believe, when a person who is not clinically depressed is kept on them far longer than they were intended for.

Believe me, I'm not doing a Tom Cruise here. But I think the same drugs that kept me from suicide for six months, three years later had me obsessing on it. They need careful supervision, and I tend to doubt that many of those now medicating on the Gulf Coast are getting that close attention.

[melody]

10. true, however

Not all anti-depressants are created equal. Depressed people often have suicidal thoughts (something like one in five),
that doesn't make them the result of the medication. Also, clinical depression may occur from situational depression. I realize we're probably agreeing on most levels here, but I am very wary of condemnation of anti-depressants in any situation and just wanted
to make the point. It's not always the medication at fault. Depression is a horrible, pernicious disorder with many faces.

[malaise]

2. Remind all voters

to thank Bush in the voting booth.

[ninkasi]

4. The abandonment of the Gulf Coast

and the deliberate neglect of New Orleans, are beyond crimes. They are sins, and are a sign to the rest of the world of how the United States under Republican leadership will abandon the poor, without a second thought. All they can think of now is scooping up what they can at rock bottom prices, and when they are done, they will only tolerate enough blacks in their New Orleans to cook the food, play the music, and serve the rich and powerfully.

I have had fantasies of the spirit of Marie Laveau haunting the ones who plunder her beautiful, bewitching city. It's only a fantasy, but oh, if it could be real...

[HeeBGBz]

7. Ghosts of New Orleans

There were plenty before and way more now.

[shireen]

6. i know someone who committed suicide in Nola too

it was the day before the start of the 2006 hurricane season, may 31. she was very active in animal rescue work and admired by a lot of people. but in the end, her pain was too overwhelming.

the bush administration drove them to this, simply by their cold inaction.

RIP, Mr. Krasnoff....

:cry:

[acmejack]

8. I read about her.

Another great tragedy. She was a terrible loss to the animal rescue community.

[mnhtnbb]

11. This is so sad and so unnecessary. I hope Bush and his buddies

rot in hell for what they've done to this country and their utter lack of empathy for others.