Today I heard the sad news of Andrew Koenig's death. I was fortunate to have known Andrew - though not that well. He was one of the improvisers at the now defunct Empty Stage Theater in West Los Angeles, which I performed at for almost 10 years. While I knew Andrew was "Chekov's son," I did not know while he was at the theater that he had played "Boner" on Growing Pains - he was that humble and non-pretentious about his celebrity.

Andrew was not someone I was friends with, but an acquaintance who I saw on a regular basis for many years. He never struck me as the kind of person capable of taking his own life. In retrospect, I can see some evidence of the depression in his sharp humor. I don't remember him as a happy or joyful person, but a bright guy who expressed a more cynical view of life in his creative expression. Still, I would have never in a million years thought he was capable of ending his own life.

He was exceptionally polite, and the last time I saw him was at an event in Hollywood about two years ago. He came up to me, said hello, and we had a nice chat about nothing in particular.

Friends who also knew him from the theater are likewise stunned. "Surreal" is a word I've heard many times on the sad story.

In following the story of his disappearance, I read somewhere that a friend of his was concerned that Andrew had gone off his anti-depressant medication in the weeks before his death. While I'm sure this will lead to some suggesting that anti-depressants would have saved him, still others will suggest that it was the dangerous withdrawal from the drugs that set him off.

What's sad to me is that someone with so much opportunity and resources could not find a better solution for himself.

As someone who has also suffered from depression but had the fortune of overcoming it, I am always frustrated that we as a culture don't have better ways to deal with the illness, and that the alternative treatments that have worked so well for me aren't better known.

I became severely depressed in college. While I never got to the point of active suicidal thoughts, I had passive ones, like wishing I'd be hit by a car.

I remember one night I was curled up in a ball in my dorm room, crying my eyes out. One of my roommates came in and stepped over me to get her clothes to go out for the evening. She did not stop to check and see if I was OK. I can't tell you how alone and alienated I felt at that moment.

The doctors I was seeing through University Health Services gave me anti-depressants (Zoloft, to be exact). I had an allergic reaction and was forced to stop taking the drugs.

Since I could not cure my depression with pills, I was forced to decide whether my illness was something that controlled me or whether I controlled it. Was I just a bag of chemicals, at the mercy of my brain, or was I something more, a soul perhaps, who could take control over my mind?

I chose the latter. For the next 10 years I explored various ways to heal, including the more mainstream cognitive therapy (a huge help), guided meditation, and energy healing.

Today, as much as my life can be stressful and even disappointing at times, I no longer struggle with depression. I have not been depressed in many, many years. I am not happy 100% of the time (no-one who is honest with themselves is), but I generally feel at peace with the world and just see my life's problems as challenges to overcome - not overwhelming stoppers that keep me from enjoying life.

I've learned to adjust my expectations and stop expecting something "out there" to make me happy - whether it's a certain dollar amount, recognition, the favor of a particular man, etc. Life has been pretty good at teaching me how to appreciate what's truly important - I had a chronic illness in the form of chronic fatigue syndrome to teach me that achievement is overrated - so I have unplugged from my life needing to be "something" in order to be worthwhile.

For me, alternative treatments such as acupuncture, Reiki and EFT have made a huge difference in my mental health and outlook. I've also had to learn a lot of things (the hard way) such as weeding out toxic people from my life.

Yoga makes a huge difference for me, as does breathwork, meditation, and prayer, whether it's in the form of traditional prayer or eastern mantra.

Had I known Andrew was suffering from depression, and had he been open to it, I would have loved an opportunity to share with him everything I learned about how to beat the disease. There is no instant fix, but I can assure you that depression can be overcome. But I also firmly believe that if you just look to the traditional, mainstream sources - i.e., psychiatry that just says you have a brain disorder and tries to give you pills to cover your deep underlying pain - you won't find the answer.

Now, while I realize what worked for me won't work for everyone, I do urge anyone reading this - if you are suffering from depression, don't give up. You can overcome it and live a happier life. It may take time and effort and it may come in the form of things you might normally poo-poo - such as energy healing - but give those things a try.

The alternative - giving up - is much, much worse. And so not necessary.

RIP Andrew. I truly hope that in your next life you will find more peace and happiness. Perhaps our souls will cross paths again in some other time and dimension.