RIP Trey Pennington

There’s been a general sense of shock in the community that gathers around Like Minds, with the news that [Trey Pennington](http://treypennington.com/) took his own life yesterday.

I only met him once, briefly, at a [Like Minds event](http://treypennington.com/2010/03/12/snapshots-from-likeminds-2010-in-exeter-england/) early last year, where I took the [photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/adders/4397569681/) above. [Scott Gold](http://wearelikeminds.com/trey-pennington-like-minds-looses-a-piece-of-its-heart) and [Christian Payn](http://documental.ly/trey-pennington)e, who knew him better, have both posted movingly about Trey. 

But I’d particularly like to highlight Bridget Pilloud’s post, which addresses [the issue of mental illness – depression in this case – head on](http://www.intuitivebridge.com/blog/2011/09/the-difference-between-me-and-trey-pennington/). I’ve seen friends and family battle with mental illness of various stripes, and it made me realised how ill-informed I was on the subject. We don’t talk, share and discuss these issues nearly as much as we should, and end up stigmatising those who suffer as much by omission as anything else.

Rest in peace, Trey. We all lost when you lost your own battle.