"People engaged in elaborate genital macrame are not trying to kill themselves, although they may use auto-erotic asphyxiation to take themselves on a most distracting trip, meaning sometimes (or so sex scientists think), the practice is linked with people who are depressed. Since depression tends to lead to a desire for respite or for distraction, there are many ways it can lead to potentially dangerous forms of self-medication. But a flurry of commentary speculating on Carradine's mental state can easily paint this accident as a symptom of something, and it's just as likely to be simply, if tragically, an effect of engagement in especially involved solo stimulation. Call it post-graduate-level, "kids, don't try this at home" masturbation. Or, to borrow an appropriate line from someone with no link to this situation: "a supposedly fun thing he'll never do again."

--Sex educator and amazing person Carol Queen, commenting on the death of David Carradine, and how it ties (pun intended) to breath play.asphixia (Note: this link may not be SFW for everyone)