We can beat the demons ... with help

The recent suicides of two high-profile, successful — presumably happy — figures have jarred us again into the conversation of mental illness. Kate Spade, 55, founder of an eponymous fashion empire, hung herself. Anthony Bourdain, chef, author, journalist with the seemingly enviable job of traveling the world for a living, hung himself at age 61.

Each succumbed to demons that had taken lodging in their minds.

Their lives, we outsiders knew, were exciting, glamorous, fulfilling and financially rewarding.

They couldn’t possibly have been subject to the doubts, anxieties, problems that we working folk have to grapple with.

Depression, according to the World Health Organization, is the number one cause of disability in the world. And the rate of depression is rising, particularly among adolescents and seniors, according to experts cited in a Connecticut Health I-Team report.

The problem is not confined to any ethnic, racial, socio-economic or gender group, though it affects women at roughly twice the rate of men.

In Connecticut, for instance, according to data from the state Department of Public Health, 21.4 percent of women experience depression, compared with 13.4 percent of men.

“It’s very important for people to understand that this is not a failure, this is really a biological illness, and that if you’re having symptoms, it’s really important to get help,” said Carolyn Mazure, director of Women’s Health Research at the Yale School of Medicine, in the I-Team report.

It’s tough, though, to free people from the feeling of shame and the fear of stigma that can come from reaching out.

Mental illness has also been put in the spotlight for its role in another American tragedy: mass shootings.

The effort to improve our mental health treatment capacity has to continue. We need to put resources into identifying and helping people at risk of suicide.

The national rate of suicide rose more than 25 percent between 1999 and 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And for that same period, Connecticut’s rate was up 19.2 percent.

Spade’s company, Kate Spade New York, on Wednesday pledged to donate $1 million to suicide prevention and mental health awareness causes.

Many factors, of course, can contribute to suicide: a shattered relationship, economic problems, substance abuse, job loss, and so on. In the end, any one or combination of them seem insurmountable.

They are not. Whether man or woman, the bottom line is the same: When you feel something is wrong,

Each succumbed to demons that had taken lodging in their minds.

ask for help.

And if you detect something troubling in a friend or loved one, reach out.

Suicide, of course, leaves grief in its wake.

It also leaves anger, the anger of loved ones who, if they’d only been asked, would have done anything to help.

If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).