Momofuku chef David Chang opens up about depression | ABS-CBN

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Momofuku chef David Chang opens up about depression

Momofuku chef David Chang opens up about depression

ABS-CBN News

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David Chang. Screengrab from Youtube/Netflix

David Chang of the Momofuku restaurant group opened up about his struggle with depression following the death of his friend and fellow celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain.

In his latest podcast on “The Dave Chang Show,” Chang said he is still “in denial” and is “refusing to accept” that Bourdain is gone.

“What you see on TV or read in his books, that’s actually Tony. He’s been Uncle Tony to many of us in the business,” said Chang, who was featured in an episode of “The Mind of a Chef,” which was narrated and executive produced by Bourdain.

“I miss him so much. And I regret not getting to see him more the past couple of years… It’s going to be tough, but the intrepid traveler, the fearless leader, we will move on and do it in his honor and make it better.”

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Chang went on to share his own struggle with depression, saying he has been seeing the same psychiatrist on a near-daily basis for the past 15 years.

He said opening his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar, in 2004 was his self-imposed “challenge” to help him overcome depression.

“Opening a restaurant is one of the most stressful, most difficult, and high-failure things you can do. It was going to help lift me out of depression by the simple fact of doing work. And even when I had days that were hard to get out of bed, it was like training for a marathon. It was just something you had to do,” he said.

“And when everything else didn’t make sense, and my rational mind was not really working for me, I knew there was some goal that, while I might not be able to understand or articulate, I know that there was a purpose, and I had to get to work,” added the chef, who stars in the Netflix food and travel show “Ugly Delicious.”

Toward the end of his podcast, Chang encouraged those who have depression to get help and not lose hope.

“If you haven’t had any help yet, or if you’re trying to find help, or if you need help, don’t lose hope. You have to have hope for a better day. And you have to hold on to that harder than you ever held on to anything,” he said.

Editor’s note:

A group in the Philippines is dedicated to addressing those who have suicidal tendencies.

The crisis hotlines of the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation aim to make these individuals feel that someone is ready to listen to them.

These are their hotline numbers:

Information and Crisis Intervention Center

(02) 804-HOPE (4673)
0917-558-HOPE (4673) or (632) 211-4550
0917-852-HOPE (4673) or (632) 964-6876
0917-842-HOPE (4673) or (632) 964-4084

In Touch Crisis Lines:

(02) 893-7603 (24/7)
Globe (63917) 800.1123 (24/7)
Sun (63922) 893.8944 (24/7)

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