What sets suicide by celebrities apart is not so much that the stars appear to have everything to live for, or the means to pay for specialist help if troubled, for example, by depression, but the publicity it generates. The death at 32 of singer Ellen Joyce Loo is no exception. The constraints of respect for privacy are loosened in the such cases to permit discussion of the underlying causes, possible warning signs of the tragedy and what may have been done to avoid it.

There are opposing views as to whether this is good or bad. One view discourages the media from reporting details of suicides because of the concerns of mental health experts regarding “contagion”, or copycat self-harm. The other encourages more open discussion – and greater understanding – of depression and similar forms of mental illness that can affect anyone in any family at any time. Hopefully, subject to respect for grief and privacy, the suicide of Loo will result in the latter. The recent suicides within a week of fashion icon Kate Spade and celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain after battles with depression are cases in point when it comes to a greater understanding of the condition.

Loo was found dead after falling from her home in Happy Valley. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2013 and came out in a lesbian relationship last year, something she confessed to having found difficult. There is no question such circumstances would have tested the emotional resilience of anyone.