Over a year ago before Steemit's mute function actually worked, Laura and some others she knew were being harassed by some other steemit accounts. I put together this little script to try and help. I remember chatting with her, improving the script based on her feedback, and trying to help her in any way I could. I knew she was troubled but as with many of my friends dealing with serious levels of depression, I was thoroughly impressed with her strength and determination. I'm saddened by her passing and the loss to all those who knew her, but there's also a part of me that is comforted to know she's no longer in pain and torment.

I don't know if that's terrible, but that's how I feel right now.

It's easy for those who don't experience this level of pain to cast judgements on the decisions of others. It's easy, but not helpful. Not much is helpful, unfortunately.

Someone I know in the development community started the organization https://osmihelp.org/ Unfortunately he was not able to raise enough funds to do it full time, but he has still given many talks at conferences all over the world. He's helping so many people understand just how hard this struggle is.

I hope more people (myself included) can work to better understand. We don't judge people who have a broken leg or a broken arm, but for some reason that's still a stigma out there when it comes to mental health. That's ridiculous to me. The brain is just another physical part of the body. Why should we react differently if one part isn't working as we'd like it compared to another part?

I'm so sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing with us all. She was part of the community and she will be missed. I'm sorry my words don't mean more, but expressing them helps me also.