Brad Renfro, a childhood actor with promise who only had marginal roles (due to his lifestyle reportedly), is gone.

Heath Ledger was an amazing actor in his prime… also gone. It looks like suicide.

I often have friends who tell me they are down or depressed. I’ve been through depression. I know how dark, lonely and hopeless it feels. Depression, for me, really boiled down to fear, laziness and boredom. And at the end of the day, I believe many are choosing to be depressed to avoid the change or progress they know they must make in their lives. Change is scary. We live in a society that raises us and trains us to be complacent. It’s no wonder so many are terminally bored and content. Depression and darkness are also romanticized. Self destruction is often considered cool. In some dark and twisted way, rock star tragedy cliches, have fueled the fire and given people excuses to be screwed up. It’s almost a rite of passage. Self destruction and depression, if genuine, and not just an act to get attention and to be cool, is very serious, and there’s nothing cool or sexy about it.

It’s easy to become overwhelmed and feel like you are buried deep with no way out. The key in such a situation, is to break down whatever task or problem seems so insurmountable, and take it step by step.

It truly is all about your perception and your focus. This is how simple problems can become huge ordeals. If perception did not determine our experience, how would small things be blown out of proportion so frequently? Look at Heath Ledger, a gifted young actor in his prime, the world was at his feet… It’s easy to look at his life and wonder what he had to feel bad about. He was obviously deeply troubled, and when your internal world is such, it doesn’t matter what the conditions are in the world around you.

The battle begins with awareness. Are you aware of your inner world and how you frame the world around you?

Be well.