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"You can be the richest and most beautiful person in the world and, if you're mentally ill, nothing can change that."

This was one of the comments on NY Daily News after former Bachelor contestant Gia Allemand was taken off life support yesterday after her boyfriend found her hanging in her New Orleans home.

On the outside, she lived a charmed life — a former Maxim model and reality TV star who was dating an NBA player. Her Instagram account was filled with photos of her smiling, partying with friends, her dog Benny and quotes such as, "Legend says, when you can't sleep at night, it's because you're awake in someone else's dream."
Allemand, who had more than 60,000 followers on Twitter, seemed like any other 20-something-year-old woman who loved shoes and make-up and getting her hair done.

But now, in hindsight, we can see that this was all just a facade. There was so much more going on beneath the surface than the beautiful happy-go-lucky girl she let the world see.

Her friends said they knew Allemand had demons she fought to overcome, reports NY Daily News.

"I could tell there was some insecurity going (on)," her friend Reid Rosenthal, a contestant on season five of "The Bachelorette,” told FOX 411.

“Beauty and the Geek” host Brian McFayden also said she had a lot of insecurities and was looking for attention from guys.

For those suffering from depression, insecurity is like a constant whisper in their ears — and no matter how many times others may say, "You're beautiful," it doesn't matter if they don't believe it.

I know I can definitely relate to this. And I think a lot of other people can relate to it too.

And it doesn't help when people say, "You have no reason to feel bad about yourself," or "How can you be sad when your life is so good!"

It doesn't matter what your life may seem like on the outside or even if you're a model. Depression is a disease that attacks the mind. And I think the first step in accepting this is to learn that you can't always control how you feel. And you shouldn't feel guilty for the way you feel.

It only makes things worse when others make you feel like, "Look at your life — you don't deserve to be sad."

There is no face or prototype to mental disorders. The disease can, and has, hit all kinds of people. First, you need to realize that it isn't your fault before you can truly accept yourself as you are.