Yes, we should.  Now it turns out that a man who made us all laugh was only laughing on the outside.  There was a depth of pain behind the laughs that many people don’t understand, and more people should come to understand.

I read one comment in an online site that said: he had all that money and fame, what did he have to be depressed about?  Anyone who could think that way never understood the depth of the problems of depression and other mental illnesses.   Depression is so pervasive of an illness that it can cause people to think their only solution to end their pain is suicide.  I’ve known many people who ended their lives in the course of working in mental health for over 20 years.  Even with good treatment, sometimes it still kills people.  We’ll never know how many who weren’t in treatment will die or have.

There are so many myths.  People have to appear sad to be depressed.  They always leave a note.  If they talk about it, they won’t do it.  They always show signs ahead of time.  It will never happen to anybody I know……..

So many people lose their lives to depression and the addiction issues that often accompany it.  There is help out there for people suffering from these illnesses.  We need to remove the stigma that keeps some people from seeking out that help.  And work for better treatments for those who do seek it out.

Yes, we need to talk about it, each one of us, and go out and do whatever we can.  Someone you know might be suffering on the inside.  Reach out, carpe diem, for yourself and that person. RIP, Captain.