Ah, Prince, we hardly knew ye. We recently discovered that the singer and songwriter Prince recently died from an accidental overdose of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

For someone so guarded in his personal life, his death is strangely public. Prince wasn’t the type of celebrity who jumped on couches on talk shows in order to proclaim his love for his girlfriend. He didn’t spill intimate details of his personal life in interviews with the media.

I think that’s why a lot of us liked Prince. We didn’t know much about him. He was a mystery. Even when he used that goofy symbol instead of his name, we couldn’t really fully explain the symbol or the reasons why he used it. Prince had his reasons, and that was just Prince being Prince.

A lot of us certainly associate his music with secrecy. Those of us with strict parents (Ahem, Mom and Dad!) had to visit friends with more permissive parents to listen to some of his more explicit albums. This sneaking around somehow made Prince and his music cooler, if that was even possible.

But did Prince pay the ultimate price for this secrecy? Did Prince have a problem with painkiller abuse? Keeping such a problem secret can be deadly. Dealing with substance use disorder issues can be difficult even with the help of others. Keeping such a problem secret and not seeking treatment can make a difficult problem even worse.

Although substance use disorder is a tough problem, help definitely exists. Rehab centers in Texas treat addictions to fentanyl, other painkillers, and other drugs. But people who struggle with such addictions need to begin their treatment by doing one thing: admitting their problems. If they acknowledge this, they can begin to address and treat their problems.

Maybe that’s one reason why Prince’s death is so upsetting: it was so preventable. Speaking up might have been painful for him, but it could have saved his life. Maybe Prince’s death will be a wake-up call for others struggling from prescription drug abuse. Ultimately, it seems that someone so private in life could potentially help many people with his death.