I often used to state that Robin Williams was in my top 10 actors of all time and people would laugh at my comment dismissing him as a funny guy. I always found there was something magic about him, something so powerful, something so vulnerable. He wasnt funny for the sake of being funny. He told a story and would sometimes hide the pain of reality, the disappointment of humanity behind the humour. Behind the chide there was a depth. Robin Williams was funny when his job called for it but also gave so much heart and passion, Even thinking about his performance in Bicentennial Man still gives me goosebumps 10 years after last seeing it. Depression is an illness that cannot be seen but is there in so many. No matter how rich, famous, successful you are, the black dog can still hunt you down. No matter how happy and content you appear to those around you, those with depression are true actors and can make you believe everything is fine when the reality it is far from that. It is not a choice to just be glum or down. It is not an excuse to have a day off work or feel sorry for yourself. Depression is a mental illness and if visible, it is something you would never want to see and never want to experience. If your arm fell off, you would be upset, if your legs fell off you would be heartbroken. But you might get a bionic arm or transplant, you might get a wheelchair and benefits. And certainly you will get help and support and understanding from those around you. You certainly would not be fired for being 5 minutes late for work because you had to talk yourself down from jumping in front of a train!. Now this example is not to dishonor anyone with physical disabilities, but an example to show how mental disabilities and unseen illnesses are really not recognized in our society because they are not obvious to the untrained eye and how remarks such as just get out of bed sound ludicrous to someone paralyzed yet are an everyday occurrence for someone with depression. Imagine someone cutting your soul away where all you could feel was excruciating pain and suffering. Where death seemed the only option to escape and release that aching? Where death was the only way to make the world a better place by not having you in it? Would you say that someone feeling that just wants a day off work? Dismissing the concerns of a genuine depression sufferer on the grounds that you were once upset and got over it is like dismissing the issues faced by someone who’s had to have their arm amputated because you once had a paper cut and you got over it!!!! And to all you haters, the people leaving comments about how selfish Robin Williams is- please delete yourself as a friend as you clearly have no idea what depression is. I am sure Robin Williams (or anyone else suffering from depression) doesnt sit there with a list marking the pros and cons of living vs dying. Someone suffering from depression does not think in the same way as someone that does not suffer from depression. For someone suffering from depression, they believe that they are being unselfish by dying, that the lives of those around them is so much better without them in the world. They are actually trying to make the world of those left behind better, not worse! They do not see suicide as being selfish, it is an act of kindness! Of course my heart goes out to his family and those who loved him, but my heart also goes out to him. I am sorry he was hurting so much and noone could help him out of the fog. That the black dog just kept grabbing at his ankles and making it so difficult to walk. I am sorry that as a society we let you (and so many) down. If you feel suicidal or are suffering from signs of depression (diagnosed or undiagnosed), please reach out. Seek professional help suicidepreventionlifeline.org, crisischat.org and imalive.org are both fantastic online organizations or even send me a personal message. Just know that you are not alone
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 16:46:56 +0000