Not much is left here today to say about the apparent suicide death of comedian and actor Robin Williams at his home overlooking the bay just north of San Francisco. Sources close to Williams said he had struggled with depression lately.
Many of my friends took to Facebook last night to pay tribute to Williams. One of the more poignant was by my friend Grace, who works for the VA seeking ways to fight manic depression. She posted on Facebook a number for the national suicide hotline and the suicide hotline for veterans. Watching the CBS Evening News just now, a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline official said the hotline received the most calls last night than in the previous year.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Department held a press conference today and laid out the preliminary findings into Williams’ death. Nothing was very enlightening or surprising. The late comedian who first appeared in the series “Mork and Mindy” and movies such as “The Dead Poets Society,” “Good Will Hunting,” and “Good Morning Vietnam,” apparently died from asphyxia after using a belt to hang himself. A nearby pocket knife and some superficial cuts on his wrists were also found, said Lt. Keith Boyd of the Marin Co. Sheriff’s Departments Coroners Division, in a prepared statement he read to reporters.
I suppose all that I — who likewise suffers from depression — can add is that people need to get their heads out of the sand and realize that depression is not just “feeling blue like everyone else.” It is a mental disease that is potentially deadly. The good news is there are plenty of medications out there that can help the symptoms and when the disease gets particularly ominous, there are plenty of people to whom one may speak about their situation.
One light shined by this tragic death is that all the money, the beautiful houses by the bay, honors, fame and even love from those around one can alone make someone healthy when depression takes aim.
No demons are left to torment you Robin, Truly, may you rest in peace.
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