Suicide Death of Actor Lee Thompson: Don't Just Be Sad, Take Action

I thought his death might have been related to mental illness, but I didn't know precisely.

As far as I know, it has not been reported that he suffered from mental illness. Although, many people who suffer from mental illness are at higher risk for suicide then the general population, not everyone who commits suicide is mentally ill. Single African-American males between ages 15-24 years are also at a higher risk. However, Lee was 29 (I believe). My point is that both mental illness and suicide are still very much stigmatized in many communities. And because of this, many people are afraid to reach out for support or may even believe that there is no hope or help.

Yes so true; both are frowned upon. It's very likely he was depressed. Why else would someone like him that has made it out and still ended up a statistic. He had his whole life ahead of him. Sad.

I agree. But, unfortunately there are people who suddenly take their lives because of some life event that they did not expect and are unable to cope with. Such as loss of a job, sudden death of a loved one or teens who have been "outed" in a very public way by their peers. Suicide knows no race, age or perceived success by others.

People have gotten so selfish these days and do callous things at someone else's expense. It used to when embarrassing or hurtful things happened to us, we'd hide out by missing school until we got over it, or call a trusted friend and talk on the phone while eating a pint of ice cream. If a girl dumped a guy for someone else, he'd date her friend to get over. Now with twitter and camera phones, one can't escape! Whatever the reason that someone takes his/her own life, it's definitely a tragic event for those left behind.