In the light of Thursday's very sad news of Linkin Park's Chester Bennington's passing, I have seen a sea of messages pouring in from every angle of the Internet.
Unfortunately, there are always those that leave a bad taste in your mouth. Words like "no sympathy", "selfish" and "inconsiderate".
My question is, why have we not progressed further in our overall attitude towards mental health?
Like many others, the music this man brought to our ears helped me a lot through the tough teenage years, but sadly, it seems to be those that have so much to offer others, just cannot help themselves in the same way.
I look at my small daughter and worry that when she hits her teens, will society still be in the same place of judgement? How will she see society and, crucially, how will she be viewed?
In tough times, is someone going to turn to her and tell her to "suck it up" or "we all go through bad times..."
Of course, there is an element of truth to this, we do all go through bad times, but some of us react to situations differently. A bad day to one person may be something of a rare occasion, but to someone else, it could mean something a whole lot more.
Depression is not sadness, it is detached numbness that seeps into every pore. It weighs you down and spreads through you like cancer. Feeling like you cannot tell people for fear of judgement is not just sad, it destroys lives.
We all want our children to grow up feeling like showing your feelings is totally normal, and not taboo. Everytime someone is overcome by their mental struggle, they are somebody's son, a daughter, a mother, a friend.
As devastating as it is for all involved, I do not believe for a second that Chester Bennington wanted to leave his family. I believe that his mental issues were too strong for him to cope with. He had fought it for so many years - unfortunately, it took over and won. How lonely he must have felt, going through that alone.
We can't claim to know what goes through an individual's mind - and we will never know how he felt in his last hours. The only mind you really ever know is your own.
It really bothered me that some people on social media questioned why someone with 'lots of money and a mansion' would take their own life. Do people still believe that money actually buys happiness?
The truth is that we all know you cannot buy emotions. We need to look at the new generation we are raising and realise that we are the example of the views of society.
What you say about someone else's state of mind or actions can and will have a detrimental effect on young ears and eyes as they grow up and blossom.
Mental health is an issue that is argued and spoken about probably every day of the week, but yet leads to the same conclusion.
Even after all the wonderful campaigns and groups formed to spread awareness, it's those caught up in their negative ways towards others that continue to fan the flames of stigma.
Why do they seem to shout the loudest? All it serves is drowning out the real issues that are happening behind closed doors.
