Robin Williams has died

[samclem]

Depression is a horrible illness. You generally think you are thinking straight and that things really are as bad as you feel they are.

+1. And the individual, at the time of the episode, just doesn't see out of the pit, that things will get better (as they have in the past). But, a couple days or weeks later, if they get through the episode, all is well again.

My undergrad dabblings in Psych courses left me with the strong opinion that physical neurochemistry holds the key to understanding many psychological issues that we have traditionally ascribed to poor upbringing, character weakness, etc. Lots of questions ahead for society: Where does individual responsibility for our actions start/end, the cause/effect link between neurochemistry and thoughts/mood/behavior (it goes both ways), and does an individual have the right to live their life on the roller-coaster of mental illness/mood disorders/chemical dependency if that's what they say they want? (Are they competent to choose? Says who?). Lots of well intentioned compassionate answers have second-order effects that are not good.
I'll miss Robin Williams. We know his personal story is no more tragic than millions of others every year, but he did touch so many lives.

 

[calmloki]

Very unfortunate - he seemed an heir to Jonathon Winters drop of water in a hot skillet comedy style, albeit sweeter in personality. Was astounded that Winters only died in 2013 at the ripe age of 87, way older than I'd have expected. Robin Williams died too soon - sorry for the pain he must have felt. Genius.

 

[HFWR]

+1. And the individual, at the time of the episode, just doesn't see out of the pit, that things will get better (as they have in the past). But, a couple days or weeks later, if they get through the episode, all is well again.

My undergrad dabblings in Psych courses left me with the strong opinion that physical neurochemistry holds the key to understanding many psychological issues that we have traditionally ascribed to poor upbringing, character weakness, etc. Lots of questions ahead for society: Where does individual responsibility for our actions start/end, the cause/effect link between neurochemistry and thoughts/mood/behavior (it goes both ways), and does an individual have the right to live their life on the roller-coaster of mental illness/mood disorders/chemical dependency if that's what they say they want? (Are they competent to choose? Says who?). Lots of well intentioned compassionate answers have second-order effects that are not good.
I'll miss Robin Williams. We know his personal story is no more tragic than millions of others every year, but he did touch so many lives.

+1000

 

[imoldernu]

This article said it all for me:

The Other Side of ‘Poor Robin Williams’

Summed up in the final paragraph...

Maybe people like Robin Williams aren’t mentally ill. Maybe they’re so good, so bright, so creative, so sensitive – all of this in a world that can’t give them what they really need, a sense of being SEEN, of being VISIBLE (and no, being on screen is not, or may not, be that), of being known and loved for being their brilliant true selves, and by people whose opinions they value – that they eventually run out of steam and just … die

 

[Janet H]

Very bummed! He was a ferocious artist. Charlie Rose commented today that he had the quickest "brain to tongue time, ever".. interesting.

Long time signature... now a cautionary tale.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Janet, I thought of your sig line when I heard the news.

 

[Amethyst]

Someone remarked that Lou Gehrig had died of a disease called Lou Gehrig's disease, and Williams instantly quipped, "What a coincidence!" That was the hair-trigger wit that always cracked me up. Mrs. Doubtfire was not to my taste, but I didn't hold that against him. You have to please the public if you wanna get paid.

I will always remember him for taking on extra work to help support Christopher Reeve's family when their dad's medical bills had them nearly in the poorhouse.

Amethyst

 

[youbet]

Trying, in vain I'm sure, to add a bit of humor to a sad thread.........

When I saw the headlines about Robin Williams death, I went and told DW that Robin Williams of the Robin and Linda Williams singing duo (we're big fans) had died. Ooooops. The truth came to light shortly thereafter.

 

[ERD50]

Someone remarked that Lou Gehrig had died of a disease called Lou Gehrig's disease, and Williams instantly quipped, "What a coincidence!" That was the hair-trigger wit that always cracked me up. Mrs. Doubtfire was not to my taste, but I didn't hold that against him. You have to please the public if you wanna get paid.

I will always remember him for taking on extra work to help support Christopher Reeve's family when their dad's medical bills had them nearly in the poorhouse.

Amethyst

+1 I never heard that Lou Gehrig line - that's great!

I'm not a big TV/Movie person, so I'm really not familiar with much of his work. But of course I'd catch him from time to time on a talk show, or variety show, or as an emcee of some event and I was always just stunned - that guy was playing on a different level than just about everyone else in the business! And I've said that before he passed.

He did the voice-over for Aladdin in the Disney animated movie that my kids watched a zillion times, and I loved him in that! Mrs. Doubtfire - yeah, not so much, but he still had his moments.

I recall hearing a while back that he had alcohol/substance abuse issues. That made me very sad. Maybe his genius was one side of the possible bipolar issues, and depression/drugs the other? I think it works like that sometimes. I get concerned that some people might think that alcohol/substance abuse is just part of being genius, and skip the cause-effect part of that.

I had an up close and personal experience with a depressed person. No way to get into it w/o an overly long post, so I'll just say that these people find themselves sucked into a pit and see no escape and there just does not seem to be anything you can say to them - they are just not open to anything positive at all (which leads to depression for the people trying to help). Fortunately, there are ways out, and this story is going well now. A combination of meds, intense counselling, and just needing to work through some problems? I don't know, I don't know that anyone knows - but it is a scary, hairy, fine-line between moving on and not.

BTW, the freakonomics guys did an absolutely fascinating podcast on the subject of suicide, along with an equally fascinating debate about whether they should do a podcast on the subject of suicide. I learned a lot from it, though it is disturbing, I think some good comes from it.

Freakonomics » New Freakonomics Radio Podcast: “The Suicide Paradox”

-ERD50

 

[Calico]

Very unfortunate - he seemed an heir to Jonathon Winters drop of water in a hot skillet comedy style, albeit sweeter in personality. Was astounded that Winters only died in 2013 at the ripe age of 87, way older than I'd have expected. Robin Williams died too soon - sorry for the pain he must have felt. Genius.

I read earlier today that Robin Williams considered Winters a comedic role model to emulate. It sounds like he succeeded in doing that. He will be much missed.

 

[6miths]

A great and untimely loss. RIP.

 

[jerome len]

Like everyone else I was deeply saddened to hear of Robin William's passing. I LOVED everything he did and will miss him greatly.

I wonder how much booze and drugs played a role in his depression and suicide. I allways tell my kids......".don't do drugs.....if you like your 1st drink a lot, make it your last one"......I've known many smart, bright people that try drugs and get hooked......suffer for years because of their addiction......It's so sad.....Robin Williams was in and out of treatment centers for years......and, now he, who was so competent and funny, has been lossed to all of us. What a terrible shame.

 

[Derslickmeister]

He was truely a special talent. I remember when he was unleashed on us via Happy Days. I was just a kid then but I could tell he was something completely different in those episodes. But for some reason I was not surprised to hear of his passing and the way it happened. We've seen this time and again - for whatever reason the greatness is hard to live with...

 

[Walt34]

I can kind of "get it". A very close friend has suffered from manic depression for decades. He's an airplane pilot (qualified in several multimillion $ private jets) and an A&P mechanic. He taught me to fly 30+ years ago. People who own expensive jets don't let just anyone fly them, ratings or no. If he wants an airplane with more capability than his Pitts Special - that he built - he can call any number of people who will loan him theirs. "Just fill the tanks when you're done". Some don't even want that.

He has a gift for teaching, and is an astonishing mechanical genius at work fixing broken airplanes. People fly from several states away to have him work on their airplanes.

And yet I've seen him in the depths of depression, and it's hard. He's my best friend, I want to help, and there's nothing I can do other than be there. He has and does get professional help, but at this point there are limits to what can be done.

It is not enough.

 

[Chuckanut]

James Garner, Lauren Bacall and Robin Williams. Not a good few weeks for legendary show people. But, Williams was way to young. :-(

 

[Sue J]

Hearing about Robin Williams is just so sad.

My mother had terrible depression all of her life, she just wasn't very good at her suicide attempts and finally found proper medication in her 50's and lived until age 83.

As a kid it was so hard to understand her episodes. She had a husband and family who loved her, a nice house, financial security, what could she be depressed about? There was no "about". It had nothing to do with her external world, it was internal. We didn't know what to call what was going on, I remember asking my Dad if it was a nervous breakdown, whatever that was. He said it wasn't, but he didn't have a better name for it. We just accepted it for what it was, another bad time for Mom and we tried to remain supportive.

When she finally found proper medication and was in a good period she was able to explain to me some of what she lived with. She lived under a black cloud and could not feel joy and saw everyone else happy and bright and sunny and joyful. It wasn't until she got the proper medication that her black cloud lifted and she could feel what the rest of us feel. I was so happy for her!

Eventually, she needed higher and higher doses and had terrible side effects and had to change meds. Nothing else worked as well and she ended up having ECT (electro convulsive therapy) treatments. These worked well for the depression but were tough in her elderly years.

I've been a fan of Robin Williams in many of his films and especially his comedy performances. All the talk on tv about his depression is hard to get through but it's important for people to talk openly about the tough stuff.





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[easysurfer]

From the talk on tv about depression, I was surprised to learn that annually there are even more deaths from suicide than car accidents. That's pretty difficult to get my mind around.

I remember this one guy back in college who lived in the dorm next to me. He lost both his mother and sister from suicide. I remember talking to him and trying to point out the good things in the world and he have a way of flipping things around and seeing the glass as half empty. It was sad to the point of being around him would get me down.

I'm sure in weeks to come more details will come out about Robin Williams like what happened the days between when he checked himself in to rehab to when he took his life. A part of me asks, as I read that he was suffering from a very deep depression, that why wasn't he committed for care. Or perhaps he was as he wasn't seen in public for 3 weeks after he went to rehab. I'm sure in time the info will come out.

But in the meantime, it's best to focus on the joy and laughter that he brought. His body of work.

 

[Finder]

Very sad, way too soon. Sorry to hear the pain he must have gone through while giving others so much joy. He was so quick and funny, genius. RIP

 

[HFWR]

I believe RW was diagnosed with manic depression, or bipolar disorder, as it's now known. I have one very good friend who struggles with this. It can be "controlled" to an extent, through drugs and therapy and lifestyle adaptations, though drug side-effects can be tough, and many times, during the manic state, sufferers feel so good that they stop taking their meds.

As for depression, I lost a very close friend to suicide resulting from depression...

There is a lot of info on the interweb, for anyone dealing with mental illness, either as the "patient" or as a family member, caregiver, or friend. As a layperson, there's not much you can do to "fix" mental illness, but knowledge allows you to adapt. (Note, I didn't say "understand", because, unless you're actually trying to live with BP, depression, anxiety, etc., you really can't fully understand...)

I read somewhere that if you take your worst day, and multiply it by 1000, you'll understand depression.

 

[Huston55]

From the talk on tv about depression, I was surprised to learn that annually there are even more deaths from suicide than car accidents. That's pretty difficult to get my mind around.

I remember this one guy back in college who lived in the dorm next to me. He lost both his mother and sister from suicide. I remember talking to him and trying to point out the good things in the world and he have a way of flipping things around and seeing the glass as half empty. It was sad to the point of being around him would get me down.

I'm sure in weeks to come more details will come out about Robin Williams like what happened the days between when he checked himself in to rehab to when he took his life. A part of me asks, as I read that he was suffering from a very deep depression, that why wasn't he committed for care. Or perhaps he was as he wasn't seen in public for 3 weeks after he went to rehab. I'm sure in time the info will come out.

But in the meantime, it's best to focus on the joy and laughter that he brought. His body of work.

I think the ubiquity of mental illness in the US (1 in 4 adults), and elsewhere, is simply not known by most folks. Truth be told, almost all of us likely have a close friend or family member that suffers from mental illness. I know that's the case for me.

Given that mental illness is one of (or the) most common chronic disease of today, it's a shame that we still have so much progress to make toward treating it properly and effectively.

http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf

Having said that, I too will miss Robin Williams' comic genious. He brought many a smile to my face....Nan-nu, Nan-nu!

 

[MRG]

Perhaps my favorite entertainer. This world lost a great human. Perhaps something is bringing him the joy he brought to millions.

Huston55, you are correct. I somehow hope this loss encourages more action toward better treatments. There's much more to acomplish. One change I have seen is more willingness to talk about these diseases. We've lost too many special family members to mental illness. I know many others have too.

I think the ubiquity of mental illness in the US (1 in 4 adults), and elsewhere, is simply not known by most folks. Truth be told, almost all of us likely have a close friend or family member that suffers from mental illness. I know that's the case for me.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[Hamlet]

In my limited exposure to some friends and family that have needed treatment for mental illness, its become clear to me that our understanding of mental illness is currently comparable to our understanding of physical illness before the discovery of bacteria.

The treatments for mental illness are inconsistently given and followed, and often ineffective when they are followed. Treatments will work for some people but not others, and there is no real understanding of why. To me it appears that we are really not much past the "poking at it with a stick" stage of problem-solving in this area.

He sought and got treatment. It just didn't work, and no one can really say why.

RIP Robin

From the talk on tv about depression, I was surprised to learn that annually there are even more deaths from suicide than car accidents. That's pretty difficult to get my mind around.

I remember this one guy back in college who lived in the dorm next to me. He lost both his mother and sister from suicide. I remember talking to him and trying to point out the good things in the world and he have a way of flipping things around and seeing the glass as half empty. It was sad to the point of being around him would get me down.

I'm sure in weeks to come more details will come out about Robin Williams like what happened the days between when he checked himself in to rehab to when he took his life. A part of me asks, as I read that he was suffering from a very deep depression, that why wasn't he committed for care. Or perhaps he was as he wasn't seen in public for 3 weeks after he went to rehab. I'm sure in time the info will come out.

But in the meantime, it's best to focus on the joy and laughter that he brought. His body of work.

 

[easysurfer]

In my limited exposure to some friends and family that have needed treatment for mental illness, its become clear to me that our understanding of mental illness is currently comparable to our understanding of physical illness before the discovery of bacteria.

The treatments for mental illness are inconsistently given and followed, and often ineffective when they are followed. Treatments will work for some people but not others, and there is no real understanding of why. To me it appears that we are really not much past the "poking at it with a stick" stage of problem-solving in this area.

He sought and got treatment. It just didn't work, and no one can really say why.

RIP Robin

I think a big part on the difficulty of treating mental illness is that it can't be easily measured. Things are easier to treat for example, taking a physical and seeing ones BP, glucose readings, cholesterol numbers. But that isn't the case with mental illness. Because we can't readily see mental illness as more than just feeling bad, we (society) tend to dismiss the seriousness of it.

 

[Texas Proud]

I do not know if this was an issue with Robin Williams or not...

I saw someone talking about the medication that is available today... and they made a comment that they knew very gifted people like Robin that had taken medication before.... and they lost their ability to do their 'genius' stuff... IOW, it is when they are manic when their mind is working and able to come up with their stuff...

Sure, the pills takes away their depression, but also their genius... So, they just decided not to take the medication...

 

[redduck]

...
The treatments for mental illness are inconsistently given and followed, and often ineffective when they are followed. Treatments will work for some people but not others, and there is no real understanding of why...

He sought and got treatment. It just didn't work, and no one can really say why.

RIP Robin

Maybe the treatment Robin Williams received did work for 20-30 years.