Kurt Cobain Case

kurt cobaineeling rejected, intensifying his attachment issues. Freudian theory would suggest that because his childhood was wrought with rejection and pain, his personality development was affected substantially. Because Freud theorized that our conscious thoughts are only a small amount of our total mental activity. Was Cobain somehow in touch with what Freud believed to be the unconscious? Was his personality defined by battles between the id, ego, and superego? It seems to explain his behavior, such as wanting a loving mature relationship, and swinging back to having dark thoughts about suicide, and extremely low self-esteem. (Friedman, 2013)

When he met his future wife, Courtney Love, they fell in love and were using heroin together. She became pregnant and they were married. He first went to rehab upon learning of his future child, but he relapsed, continually after each attempt. On April 8, 1994, Cobain's body was found in his Lake Washington home by an electrician. His death was caused by the self-inflicted gunshot wound, although there were high levels of heroin and diazepam found in his system. (Cross, 2001)

Cobain was reportedly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attention deficit disorder. Kay Redfield Jamison, Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and leading US expert on bipolar, selected Kurt as the poster boy for a 2004 study of bipolar disorder (manic depression) and creativity. (Freeman, 2013)

In a study conducted by Harris and Barraclough (Penney, Mazmanian, Jamieson, & Black, 2012), suicide risk associated with drug addiction is as high as it is with mood disorders. Because Cobain had mood disorders and drug addiction, his chance of committing suicide was quite high. Biology might explain the suicide, because there is a history of suicide, mental illness and alcoholism in the Cobain family (two uncles committed suicide with guns), there is a definite genetic link to his addiction