Too true. Too many of us ignore the red flags, or the advice of people closest to us and marry despite warning signs. (I did it, too.)

Nobody warns us that a bad marriage can be absolutely soul-crushing. Here's to hoping your brother can find a way to get back to the amazing self he once was. So sad.

Yes, even more so than having kids, because a parents love should be unconditional.

When someone we love has seemingly made a grave error, it is hard to stand idly by. Just be there when he need you.

I have friends and family that I have watched couple disastrously with the wrong person. Hell, I did it. Now I see myself as so much younger, full of life and opportunity. I let the commitment to the marriage exceed my commitment to love myself. My partner was actively eroding my self-esteem, my value, my life. How could I make such a huge mistake? How could your brother? It happens, best intentions and all that.

I hope he realizes his worth the way you do. Perhaps you can remind him by inviting him to do the things he used to love?
It could spark that sensitive soul that is clearly trying to dull the pain away...

So grateful. Thank you. Let's all send him a bucket load of universal love so that he, too, finds himself again.

Incredibly gifted people have a higher rate of depression. Also for some reason so do gifted artists like comedians (seems ironic). I had a one year bout of depression many years ago. I was the last person I would have ever thought was depressed. I considered the illness absolutely bizarre in fact. I couldn't imagine anyone not feeling they could get out of bed in the morning or lose enjoyment of life. Then it happened to me. It crept up so slowly I had no idea I was caught. After a severe bought of anxiety I googled depression and took online assessments. I failed. I was at a point I needed to escape my crippled life so I sought help immediately from my medical doctor. I ended up taking antidepressants, stopped self medicating by dropping alcohol. My recovery was swift and I haven't descended back to those dark depths of depression symptoms ever since. I am again struggling with alcoholism, I'm just not thinking about dying or crying all the time and I don't feel like I'm self medicating...my emotions are way different from the depression fuelled self medicating alcoholism. Anyway, all I'm saying is he's a smart man, I hope he self-diagnoses himself as a last resort like I did way back when and finds the determination to eliminate depression if he's affected by it. He may have other battles to overcome, but you don't want to have untreated depression symptoms while you're trying to kick an alcohol addiction and save your marriage. I'm really on the bandwagon and hope the internets universal love we're sending him can give him the strength to swim to the surface again and take a breath of life.