[hawkharris]

This story about your brother's struggle was moving...I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Mental health-related causes are personal to me as well.

I think you touched on one of the biggest issues: the stereotype that people with mental health problems appear different and have a lower social status. As your story illustrates, the conditions affect all sorts of people, including those who are smart, successful and career-oriented.

Many people fail to recognize the severity of psychological problems because they're too busy looking at superficial measures of well being: a person's career, his or her physical appearance, etc. But depression has made some of us feel as if we're in a deep fog or a war zone, even if, on the surface, we live in nice neighborhoods and succeed in the workplace.

The key is to be more vocal about this struggle beneath the surface — and to speak up very soon. In my observation, the earlier in life a person can overcome depression, the greater his or her chances of becoming happy and stable.

Kudos on taking the initiative to speak up about this important issue and responding constructively to such as a great loss.

[EMRo]

"Many people fail to recognize the severity of psychological problems because they're too busy looking at superficial measures of well being: a person's career, his or her physical appearance, etc. But depression has made some of us feel as if we're in a deep fog or a war zone, even if, on the surface, we live in nice neighborhoods and succeed in the workplace."

THIS.

Being vocal about the struggle is so crucial. My family had no clue what to even look for when these issues started cropping up much less how to get him help. By the time we got him the level of help he needed he had already been in the throes of deep depression and anxiety. Thanks for your kind words.

[wiredfool]

I'm sorry for your loss.

We lost my sister to depression about 6 years ago. Superficially, life was fine -- good career, no money issues, good friends. But she was carrying baggage around from years earlier, when she was overworked and overloaded in grad school. (In a lab notorious for overwork, and unfortunately, suicide.) She was told she was depressed then, but no one really got the scope of it. I don't know why she wasn't getting treatment years later, other than things seemed to be going alright.

There were a couple of things, that later, seem to be really key. Had we known, or understood, I think things might have been different.