Caroline Lozano/ Staff Writer
The recent death of Linkin Park’s lead vocalist, Chester Bennington, has unearthed a number of topics, including the rarely-discussed issue of mental illness. Along with expressions of sadness and shock from the singer’s death, some fans and friends have reacted with anger, such as Korn guitarist Brian Head Welch, who called Bennington “a coward” for committing suicide.
It’s not uncommon to hear about such intense emotions after a loved one or deeply admired artist has ended their life. When Robin Williams’ death by suicide was announced in 2014, many fans reacted with “but he was so cheerful” or “but he was so funny.”
The truth is, appearances often lie.
You never know when someone is battling clinical depression or another mental illness, even if they look and act like they’re the happiest person on the planet. In fact, the happiest people are usually the ones who suffering the most pain, mentally. Unfortunately, when it comes to mental health and especially suicide, it is still too taboo for regular discussions in our society.
Not many people are comfortable with talking about it. When public deaths like Bennington’s or Williams’ happen, misconceptions about mental illness develop.
One common misconception, for example, is that celebrities should not feel sad or have any type of mental illness because of the fame and fortune they have built their names on.
I’ve especially heard these types of discussions with Bennington’s death. Ladies and gentlemen, money and fame doesn’t shield a person from mental illness. Despite what movies and television will try to tell you, no material goods guarantee happiness.
Misconceptions about mental illnesses are one of the things that drive people away from expressing their feelings and conditions to others. I cannot count the amount of times I’ve heard clinical depression compared to feeling sad or someone using a psychiatric disorder to describe their actions.
When I introduced a family member to the works of Sylvia Plath, a poet who was clinically depressed throughout her life and died by suicide, their first reaction was to ask me why someone with a perfect family and a flourishing career in poetry should ever be depressed.
Clinical depression is antonymous with the typical sadness some of us may feel in our lives.
It’s a real mental health disorder “that is marked by a depressed mood most of the day, a loss of interest in normal activities and relationships, and a constant sense in hopelessness,” according to WebMD.
It’s an illness, like any physical illness, it requires treatment and understanding. Even if you can’t see physical wounds, they’re still there. More effort should be made from the media and regular people to understand mental health, the role of suicide and how it can many individuals. Rather than ignoring someone’s depression off by telling them to cheer up, just listen to what they have to say and go from there.
It also helps to remember that pain is not only physical but mental too.
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