There are those who ask how someone as talented, successful and wealthy as Robin Williams could take his own life. They’re the ones who never had severe depression or were around anyone who did.

Everyone feels down or blue now and then. That’s not depression, which someone once described as being in a stainless steel bowl and trying to claw your way out; it seems impossible and hopeless.

My father had depression and several relatives have taken their own lives. There may be a genetic component. This much I know for sure: People who have not experienced depression or who never knew someone who has are largely ignorant of the fact it is a disease — one that has not been studied enough, one that we are ashamed to talk about.

Some see it through the prism of religion. Toward that end, Todd Christie, Gov. Chris Christie’s brother, wrote on his Facebook page one of the best retorts I have seen:

“The level of ignorance on mental disorders is staggering. A lack of serotonin can take people on a roller coaster ride that, if untreated, will make the person do anything to get off the ride. Awful stuff … awful ignorance. For all the people who I have seen posting about how suicide is a sin against God — I hear ya but also hear that you haven’t a clue what bipolar disorder or any other mental illness can do to the brain.”

I don’t know which God they’re talking about, but my God doesn’t punish people who get sick, whether it is a broken leg, breast cancer or a chemical imbalance that causes people to think there is no way out but to end their own lives.

Self-righteous, ignorant people who scorn others to make themselves feel better will always be with us. That’s bad enough. Worse, sometimes the people spreading that claptrap are the ones who should be lifting us above it.

Yes, there are chemicals galore physicians can prescribe, but sometimes people don’t like the way the medication makes them feel. That’s especially true of high-energy, creative folks. Sometimes the pills don’t work or people won’t take them. If you listen to the disclaimers at the end of TV ads for prescription drugs, you sometimes hear they can cause thoughts of suicide.

In this country, more people die from suicide than auto accidents; suicide is now the leading cause of death by injury. Especially alarming is the number of young people who take their lives. When there is a high-profile suicide in the media, the number of suicides and suicide attempts increases.

Also on the rise is the number of people seeking help. The average number of daily calls to NJ Hopeline (1-855-654-6735) is between 60 and 66, but activity generated Wednesday morning alone had the number of calls on track to top 100 for the day, my colleague Bob Jordan reported.

There is so much we don’t know. Research has to be increased and the stigma attached to mental illness eliminated. That last part we can do without government grants. It takes only our will and recognition that we can — and should — be part of the solution.

When I lived in California, Robin Williams and I had mutual friends and our paths crossed. People ask what he was like in person. He was intelligent, compassionate, quiet and reserved. During those times, I think, he observed the rest of us and developed ideas for his hilarious skits.

People want me to tell private stories, but I won’t, except for this one that illustrates what he was like when he wasn’t performing. We were on the same flight. He sat in the seat one row before the one he was assigned to. The cabin attendant said, “Excuse me, Mr. Williams, but you’re in the next row.”

He said, “I’m sorry,” and quickly got up and moved back. How many times have you read about far lesser talents with gargantuan egos and entitlement mentalities going berserk because a reasonable request was made of them? He may have been known and loved worldwide and was wealthy and influential, but he was a regular, kind, gentle guy.

If there is any good to come from his tragic end, let it be that we double our efforts to end the stigma of mental illness and find ways to defeat the pain that caused even a comedic genius like Robin Williams to lose optimism and hope.

Bob Ingle is senior political columnist for New Jersey Press Media. He can be reached at bingle@njpressmedia.com.

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