Robin Williams passed away yesterday from an apparent suicide attempt. Yes, I said it the s word. A word we often shy away from when someone dies of a suicide words like selfish, coward, or weak are used to described the deceased. If someone dies from cancer they are of often described as brave, long-suffering and courageous. In both cases family and friends are left to pick up the pieces and learn a new normal without their loved one.
Robin Williams was a gifted actor whose movies made me laugh even during rough times. He had a unique gift for making others laugh. It makes me sad that someone so gifted at making others laugh was so deeply troubled by his own demons. It makes me sad that unlike cancer suicide is preventable but in our “modern” society we are afraid, embarrassed, unwilling or whatever other reasons to attack finding a cure for suicide with the same fervor that we attack finding a cure for cancer, diabetes, AIDS or other diseases/disorders. We need to remove the stigma of mental illnesses like depression; seek to provide support not rejection.
The Dee Zone 