The grim impact of high-profile suicides

Celebrity suicide:Responsible reporting is key to preventing suicide copycats say experts as the high-profile sudden deaths of Spade and Bourdain hogged the headlines last week.- AP

WHEN death becomes a spectacle, everyone suffers.

With the tragic passing of Kate Spade earlier this week and the death of Anthony Bourdain Friday morning, the topic of suicide has become a fixture in news headlines and social media posts. While mental illness is not a transmittable disease, there are many studies suggesting suicide can, in a way, be contagious.