Of all the people in all the world, I would not have guessed that Robin Williams could ever take his own life. I think it’s safe to assume most of us considered him a brilliant comedian with many faces, none of which betrayed the apparent pain of the man beneath the masks. Exuberent, a real zest for life, hilarious!, spontaneous, genius, brutally honest, a family man as well as one of the most talented and creative actors of our time. These are words I would use to describe him. He sold us on what appeared to be one very funny man hooked on life.
So we’re left with the obvious question…. How could a man in possession of so much that is good.. choose to end it all in such a tragic way? He leaves behind a family who loved him… he had to know this choice would scar his family and leave them with painful unanswered questions forever.
I thank my stars frequently that I do not suffer from depression in the ways that torment so many. It must be a tremendous cross to bear. We all experience bouts of depression at some point in our lives for various reasons, but that type of depression is a different animal all together. From what I can gather, there isn’t a rhyme or reason for clinical depression, only the crushing sadness and despair. Ironic that some of the funniest men have fallen victim to the disease …Chris Farley, John Belushi, Freddie Prinz, Richard Prior… often turning to substance abuse and sometimes suicide to deal with or end the emotional pain. Did their comic genius have something to do with their depression? Perhaps a way to survive was to nurture the extreme opposite. Sad irony – that he was so good at getting us all to laugh and forget our own troubles for a while…but it wasn’t enough to save himself.
Well written piece HERE if you’re interested.