Robin Williams-Dead at age 63

[Minnesota_husker]

Wife: Robin Williams had Parkinson's disease

 

Robin Williams was suffering from the early stages of Parkinson's disease at the time of his death, his wife said in a statement Thursday.

I wonder if that is what set him off to a deeper depression?

 

It is a sad situation. Happy to hear he was still sober, but he just wasnt able to fight those inner demons...

[Ulty]

Wow!..

 

I always suspected he had a problem with Depression, But I never knew....I was just trying to show my Son some of his videos a few weeks ago after hearing one of his standup routines on the radio...and told him how I met one of my aunts for the first time at my Dad's funeral shortly before I started college...She kept calling me "Mork" because of my humor and looks...I've been fighting Depression all my life and always figured I'd end up leaving this way...Sometimes it's good to be a procrastinator.

 

I didn't want this statement to be lost in this thread without any other comment.

 

37, I hope that you have access and resources to get help and treatment when the Depression creeps in, and I certainly hope you don't end up leaving that way. One silver lining to come from Robin Williams' death is an increased awareness to how crippling Depression can be, and how it can affect anyone. Mental health continues to be a misunderstood issue in this country.

[Minnesota_husker]

 

Wow!..

 

I always suspected he had a problem with Depression, But I never knew....I was just trying to show my Son some of his videos a few weeks ago after hearing one of his standup routines on the radio...and told him how I met one of my aunts for the first time at my Dad's funeral shortly before I started college...She kept calling me "Mork" because of my humor and looks...I've been fighting Depression all my life and always figured I'd end up leaving this way...Sometimes it's good to be a procrastinator.

 

I didn't want this statement to be lost in this thread without any other comment.

 

37, I hope that you have access and resources to get help and treatment when the Depression creeps in, and I certainly hope you don't end up leaving that way. One silver lining to come from Robin Williams' death is an increased awareness to how crippling Depression can be, and how it can affect anyone. Mental health continues to be a misunderstood issue in this country.

 

Good quote, i missed this.

 

37- I highly suggest seeing a counselor. Obviously, if you are willing to share what you did on here, it is something that has been brewing. I have fought some depression as well, but having a strong support system has helped me greatly.

 

 

There is nothing wrong with asking for help. You are loved. but feeling those feelings of depression arent your fault, just make sure you have a place to work those out and get help.

[CornHOLIO]

https://madmimi.com/p/292b25

 

Another interesting post.

 

 

 

In the moments after the announcement of his death began to fill our newsfeeds, I found myself in a conversation with an old friend who pondered, "He has enough money to do whatever he wants. Why would he kill himself?" I tried explaining that Robin Williams was sick, as it was well known that he suffered from Bi-Polar Disorder and Depression, as well as suffering from alcoholism and drug abuse. The old friend went on to suggest that Williams should have just taken his millions to "go anywhere, do anything, party it up with women and drugs," etc., as if all of this fleeting materialism would somehow take away his pain.

I tried to get the old friend to understand by using my go-to comparison in this conversation. I asked, "Well, what if it was cancer?" His answer came back like a clichèd line from an after-school special. He proclaimed, "Well, that you can't help!"

And therein, my friends, lies the problem in our dialogue on mental illness.

The term "mental illness" almost seems new to us, as if it's only been thrown around for the last decade or so. And to many, the diagnoses of such an ailment seems like pseudoscience. Yet, we can find descriptions of the symptoms associated with mental illness as far back as in the writings of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, and modern medical science has been aware of the chemical imbalances in the brain at the root of these disorders for over sixty years. So why all the misunderstanding?

Williams in "What Dreams May Come."

Most people simply do not undertand...

The answers, in my humble opinon, are stigma and ignorance. "Normal" people don't want to be considered or associated with "crazy people," and people who have experienced bouts of sadness or have overcome personal trauma tend to have a "get over it" attitude. Most people simply do not understand that their experience of extreme sadness during a few months of unemployment or after a death in the family is really akin to catching a bad cold; whereas having a Major Depressive Disorder is akin to being told that the tumor in your chest may not be benign.

In my conversation with my old friend, I decided it best to let it go and continue celebrating what it was we had gotten together for. This was perhaps a discussion left for another time. Or perhaps it was simply an opportunity for me write about it and post it here in Pixel Land so I can get the message across to as many people as possible.

What I believe people need to understand is that Robin Williams took his own life because he lost his battle with a serious medical condition. Take again my cancer analogy. Think about it: The last possible stage of any type of cancer that can effect a person is death. When one loses their battle with cancer, they die. The cancer cells take over and shut down the body for good. The same can be said for Bi-Polar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder (aka simply "Depression"). The last possible stage of these diseases is death. The difference is that instead of cancer cells destroying the body, the body is destroyed instead by thoughts and feelings, causing the afflicted person to be convinced that the only way to end the suffering is through death at their own hands.

 

 

"Essentially, he had 'Thought Cancer'"

People are surprised when this happens to rich celebrities. Someone else I was speaking with about Williams' death reacted, "I guess money can't buy happiness." Again, I feel this is missing the point entirely. Robin Williams died because he had reached the last possible stage of his debilitating disease, one he fought with his whole life. He was unable to see his success, or the fact that he had family, friends, and loved ones, or that he had a body of work containing several masterpieces, or that he was admired by millions of fans. When his disease relapsed, it rendered him incapable of processing these things. All he was able to process was sadness, misery, hopelessness, worthlessness, despair. Essentially, he had "Thought Cancer," and it took his life. The fact that this could happen to someone like Robin Williams, with all his fame and wealth, shows just how little we know and understand (or dare I say, "care?") about mental illness. Perhaps the sudden loss of this beloved actor and comedian will help open the dialogue a little further so that we as a society can begin to understand how to prevent these kinds of deaths.

With Stephen Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman promoting "Hook" in Premiere magazine

Undoubtedly in the coming weeks we'll see tributes to Williams on TV and the internet. His face will grace the covers of magazines and tabloids. Surely the upcoming third installment of Night at the Museum will attract more fans as they gather in theaters to see one of his last film performances. We'll all be hunting around YouTube for Mork's first appearance on Happy Days. We'll be bringing back fond memories of sparked creativity and inspiration by re-watching Dead Poet Society, Good Morning Vietnam, The Fisher King, or the Oscar winning performance Williams gave in Good Will Hunting. Some of us will admit our secret guilty pleasure of loving The Bird Cage, or how we believe that Mrs. Doubtfire is likely the only time that Aerosmith's "Dude Looks Like a Lady" was a well played move. Some of us will laugh uncontrollably re-watching Williams' then unprecedentedly brilliant performance as the voice of the Genie in Disney's Aladdin for the first time in ages. Families will gather around televisions enjoying Jumanji or Hook. True Robin Williams geeks will hunt on Netflix for his stand-up comedy specials, or his charity shows he co-hosted with Billy Crystal and Whoopie Goldberg, or rare gems like Popeye and The World According to Garp.

I ask one thing of anyone reading this who plans on visiting Robin Williams' filmography in the coming days and weeks: Please remember that Robin Williams took his own life not out of selfishness, or stupidity, or cowardice, or simply because he "did drugs." No. Remember that Robin Williams died because he lost his battle with Depression. He had a disease, and the disease killed him. All I ask is that you remember that when you remember him.

Rest in Peace, Robin Williams.

 

 

 

 

[HUSKER 37]

A good article from Cracked.com (IMO) on why the funny ones aren't laughing inside

 

Robin Williams, Chris Farley, John Belushi...*sigh*

 

 

 

 

Wow!..

 

I always suspected he had a problem with Depression, But I never knew....I was just trying to show my Son some of his videos a few weeks ago after hearing one of his standup routines on the radio...and told him how I met one of my aunts for the first time at my Dad's funeral shortly before I started college...She kept calling me "Mork" because of my humor and looks...I've been fighting Depression all my life and always figured I'd end up leaving this way...Sometimes it's good to be a procrastinator.

 

I didn't want this statement to be lost in this thread without any other comment.

 

37, I hope that you have access and resources to get help and treatment when the Depression creeps in, and I certainly hope you don't end up leaving that way. One silver lining to come from Robin Williams' death is an increased awareness to how crippling Depression can be, and how it can affect anyone. Mental health continues to be a misunderstood issue in this country.

 

Good quote, i missed this.

 

37- I highly suggest seeing a counselor. Obviously, if you are willing to share what you did on here, it is something that has been brewing. I have fought some depression as well, but having a strong support system has helped me greatly.

 

 

There is nothing wrong with asking for help. You are loved. but feeling those feelings of depression arent your fault, just make sure you have a place to work those out and get help.

 

 

 

Husker37, please stop trying so hard to fit in and be cool and accepted. You are overdoing it, and you are annoying a lot of people. Just relax and have fun, you don't need to be in the middle of everything.

 

 

 

Thanks for the thoughts, but this is way more than about me (as I go on stating how this effects me).

 

I remember how confused and excited? I felt as a 6 year old when the neighbor kid told me while we were looking at another neighbor's patch of rhubarb that if I ate the leaves it would kill me...I thought to myself that I should remember this in case I ever want to leave.

 

The last "close call" I had was during the Callahan years.

I knew how stupid it was to base my life or death decision on the outcome of another disappointing football season, but I'd also just found out I was getting divorced in an email "accidently" left on my computer..And the third or fourth consecutive employer had decided to close or move to SE Asia causing more disappointment in myself for curling up in the fetal position instead of looking for another job right away...Then I got the above quote in a PM from the one place I went to to escape everyday life.

 

The mean voices in my head were almost relentless with their perfect recall of every negative thing anyone ever said to me...I'd try to fight back with a vague memory of some nice things Mom (or others) said...I got tired of the arguments and the semi constant videos playing in me 'ead of different ways I'd thought of dying over the years..It got to the point of giving me "the shakes".

 

I was always too shy to make friends easily but the handful I do have are very close...Maybe not distance wise but I know we'd do anything possible to keep each other.

 

Maybe I always suspected this, but the cracked link posted above by Mathew gave me some sort of renewed faith..That I wasn't the only one having this fight..That maybe there is a little safety in numbers...I also cant help but wish I could have been there for Robin, Chris, Bluto, or any real person that I've touched along the way that was fighting their own battle.

 

I wish I could take back the times I was mean to others...Even on here, I regret my posts making fun of the former poster with "man hands"...I wish I could re-connect with her and tell her I really do care..

 

I'm not near as worried about myself and care enough about myself to plan on contacting a friend or relative if I ever get "the shakes" again...

 

I still plan to make fun of some of you because of your horrid tastes in music, but I'd hope you'd all reciprocate..recipre..retallya... give me a hard time for still liking Dr Buzzards Original Savanna Band.