Earlier this week, a promising young Palestinian student and writer ended his own life, sending shockwaves through his community in Gaza, Palestine.
According to Gaza's police chief, Ayman Al Batneeji, 22-year-old Mohanad Younes died after inhaling poisonous gas.
Soon after news of Younes' suicide began to circulate online, thousands shared moving tributes to the young man.
But his death also sparked debate over mental illness in Gaza and the Arab world, leading thousands to discuss a dangerous, collective sense of hopelessness that currently affects millions of young people across the region.
Who was Mohanad Younes?
Younes was a university student, studying pharmacy at Al-Azhar university.
He was also a promising young writer who rose to fame after he won first place in a literary competition in 2015 for "A Search for Warmth" - a short story he had written.
In recent months, Mohanad won several other important literary awards including one awarded by Gaza's Ministry of Education.
What led to his suicide?
After his untimely death, several of the young writer's relatives took to social media, sharing different versions of stories that hinted at what might have led Mohanad to take his own life.
His uncle, Asaad Ghurab, said that the young man decided to commit suicide due to familial issues related to his father, who had abandoned Mohanad many years back.
Others explained that the young man's decision was caused by an accumulation of factors which include severe depression.
While people mourned the death of an intelligent, successful young man, others wrote offensive comments under tributes, saying that because he ended his own life, he has gone against religion.
To many, these reactions shed light on the lack of awareness among people in the region when it comes to mental illness.
Mohanad's death sparked debate over mental illness and depression on Twitter
"Mohannad Younes took his own life due to severe depression... this is a major illness, one that you possibly know nothing about. You just talk and say silly things that make no sense when you don't even understand this illness."
"There are a million reasons why he could've made this decision... and depression leads them all"
Many responded to those sharing offensive statements over the young man's suicide
"We know that suicide is unacceptable in Islam, we really know that. But can you just please leave this young man and his family alone. People are sharing incredibly offensive stories about him and they're are all made up. Discuss suicide as a social issue instead of only focusing on this specific case."
"Maybe that's the problem... we didn't know him"
Many shared quotes from Mohanad's short stories
"I ask myself, what's the point behind all of this and then I fall asleep."
"There are incredibly interesting stories that often die with those who wrote them. They're stories that could've possibly changed the world, maybe this is why we always feel there's something missing."
Not an isolated case...
As devastating as it is, Mohanad's suicide is not an isolated case, and he possibly reflects the plight of thousands of people in the Arab world who often suffer in silence.
In many countries all over the Arab world, the mere discussion of any mental health issue is still considered a taboo.
Even though it's common across the region, there's still a lot of stigma attached to mental illness, in addition to numerous social restrictions, misconceptions, and myths.
These factors often discourage those affected from seeking necessary treatment that is crucial, especially in a region where youth are becoming less optimistic.
The Middle East has seen a 100 percent increase in suicide rates in recent years
Amid skyrocketing rates of unemployment, poverty, and violence that are all widespread across the region, it comes as no surprise that the Middle East has also seen a "sharp increase" in mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
According to a huge body of work from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, the region stretching from Morocco to Pakistan has seen a higher increase in suicide, murder, sexual assault, and mental health problems rates than any other region in the world.
What's most troubling is that the region does not have adequate specialists to tackle mental health problems.
The study found that the ratio of psychiatrists per 100,000 people is around seven in the region, compared to a range of nine to over 40 in European nations.
In some countries such as Libya, Sudan, and Yemen the ratio is as low as 0.5 practitioners per 100,000 people.