( CNN ) We might never truly comprehend what drove co-pilot Andreas Lubitz to crash Germanwings Flight 9525 into the French Alps on March 24 , killing everyone on board . The latest report shows that he sped up the descent of the plane to its doom . It 's terrifying . As the investigation unfolds , we will learn more about to what extent Lubitz kept his mental illness secret , or how much help he sought . How much did his battle with depression affect his fitness to fly ? Should he have walked away from his job ? Should his doctors have sounded alarm bells ? His case raises larger and important issues about people who are burdened with mental illness and the pressure of its stigma . Too often and for too long , people with mental illness have been regarded by others around them as disasters waiting to happen . When we do n't distinguish between people with a mental illness who are dangerous to society and those who are a danger to no one , we reinforce a pernicious idea that 's both bad for society and bad for those with mental illness . Some people feel a need to keep their mental illness a secret while others decline to seek help . That 's why in our public and more private discourse , people with mental illness and the rest of society must talk about mental illness in a way that does n't drive some into the darkness . We need to understand this malady as an illness and not a personal failing . And we have to recognize that `` mental illness '' is a broad category encompassing many different challenges that affect people in a variety of ways . People with mental illness are no more violent than the rest of the population and with proper treatment , many can recover and live healthy , productive lives . We must encourage them to open up , and when they do , we must listen to them and take their cries for help seriously . It was n't that long ago that a diagnosis of cancer was a tightly-kept secret that many victims of the deadly malady kept from family members , friends and especially employers . But that changed dramatically over the years as people with cancer , their family members and caregivers came together to educate and change public opinion about the disease . Similarly , and with the courageous example of Michael J . Fox , we 've seen perceptions about Parkinson 's disease change for the better , as people learn more about what it is and is n't . Time to talk about depression . That 's the kind of transformation we need around perceptions of mental illness through a better-informed public discussion . We have to put policies in place that encourage more openness without the severe repercussions people with mental illness fear . That includes enforcing and even strengthening the kind of protections we already have in place ( through laws and regulations like the Americans for Disabilities Act ) for individuals who disclose their disability . We also need to address the dilemma health care providers often face when they feel that strict patient privacy requirements inhibit them from alerting others to behaviors that could pose a public risk . It 's a difficult balance . Sooner rather than later , policy leaders need to explore a way to provide greater flexibility in patient privacy regulations to enable health care providers to identify seriously ill persons who could potentially pose a harm to innocent people . At the same time , we must reassure those who forthrightly reveal their struggles with mental illness that they can still carry on their lives in ways that will be valuable to their communities , families and employers . That can start with urging employers not to dismiss anyone who discloses his or her mental illness and to retrain them for other appropriate positions . If companies ban them from the workforce or from other roles in society , we will just be shifting the problem elsewhere and perpetuating the stigma that dangerously drives them underground . We wo n't pretend that this is an easy problem to solve . But , awful as Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy was , the case may galvanize a discussion and reexamination that is long overdue . We need to build awareness and support for those who suffer from mental illness .
Andreas Lubitz , the co-pilot who crashed the CNN flight , battled with depression . Jay Ruderman and Jo Ann Simons : Society must talk about mental illness to help people cope with it better .