redatlanta

Back in Rehab in July of this year. Took his life today.

I loved him he was an actor that I didn't even have to know a thing about the film I was going. Met him once in a brief encounter near the Fox theater where he was performing.

Very vocal about his struggles with addiction and depression/bi-polar.

I hate this disease and what it takes.

amy55

Robin Williams, one of my favorites. Whether he did comedy or a serious role, I just loved him. Yes, he was very open about his bi-polar. May he rest in peace. He was the best.

Rosiepetal

That is so sad.
I love his movies.
R.I.P

SeriousKarma

I Use to see him all the time in San Francisco. He would show up for events, Comedy in the Park, stuff like that. He was a real fixture in the Bay Area.

So sad.

MissFixit

I grew up on Mork and Mindy.

Many years ago when I found out he was an alcoholic and bi polar, I thought what a great role model for people with those afflictions. My hope is that people (and research) begin to increase awareness, acceptance and treatment options for addicts and people with mental illnesses. So many aliments in society are derived from those very complex and under-discussed issues.

Here's hoping this tragedy encourages dialogue.

Live

Robin Williams, Bipolar Sufferer, Dead at 63 Due to Suicide | World of Psychology

50% of people with untreated bipolar disorder will attempt suicide. 20% of those will succeed

bipolar is the deadliest of the mental illnesses.

dandylion

I have always been in awe of his brilliant mind and extrodinary talent.
I think that we were all privleged that he shared his God-given gifts with us.

His is truly a legacy of having brought so much joy, and he touched the hearts of so many.

He left a mark on this world.

Thank you, Robin!

dandylion

HealingWillCome

I'm not normally affected by celebrities' deaths, but to hear about Robin Williams today made me cry. And then I learned it was suicide. Even sadder. He was incredibly gifted, such a bright light. Just heartbreaking. Rest in peace, Robin. Prayers for your family and loved ones.

NYCDoglvr

It breaks my heart that he was in so much pain this was the only way out.

TalenCrowhaven

This is such sad news.

RIP Robin. You will be missed!

trifecta

I remember running into him at the Marina Dock a.k.a. the "Dry Dock" in SF when I was in my first year of sobriety. It's so sad to lose a fellow traveler this way.

Worried0810

O Captain! My Captain!
R.I.P To the man who could everybody laugh. He'll forever be the Genie to me.

redatlanta

I found this incredible interview with him in 2010 in which he talks about his addictions. Worth the read some insightful personal observation from him regarding a relapse after long term sobriety.

Robin Williams: 'I was shameful, did stuff that caused disgust

Linkmeister

Thanks for posting this interview. Like many, I was stunned hearing about Robin Williams death. I cried, I laughed, I reminisced last night, and I thought of the struggles he faced with addiction and mental illness.

This interview puts a lot of things into perspective and all I can hope is that losing someone so talented, so loved will take the stigma of mental illness and addiction away for people who are struggling, and their families and friends who struggle just as much.

Godspeed, Robin.

regicide

hard to believe ..sadd

readerbaby71

It sucks. I was talking with my psychiatrist the other day and he said that 60-80% of people who suffer from bipolar disorder abuse drugs and alcohol. I know I did. When I found out Robin Williams committed suicide I cried. The emotional pain is so unbearable sometimes. I used to see him in SF too. What a kind, funny, incredibly talented man.

I hope he is at peace and in a better place.

petmagnet

I was really saddened by this as well. I think all of us touched by addiction or a loved one's addiction can relate. I know that alcohol really makes any kind of depression so much worse. I really do not think that many in our society even realize this connection, that alcohol and depression go hand in hand. That it makes the existing condition worse or that it can even create/mimic the condition in people with continued abuse. Why does the media not connect this? They just seem to glaze over it. RIP Robin Williams. You were one of the greats!

lillamy

I've chatted with friends in another support group (for depression and other mental illness) last night and this morning. The one thing everyone there keeps saying -- and I'm feeling, and fighting -- is "if he couldn't make it -- what the hell hope is there for the rest of us???"

I was chastised on FB for making a comment much like redatlanta's. I was told I should focus on all the laughs he gave us. The great actor he was. How much he gave the world. It's really damn difficult to do that when you know the pain of depression way too damn well, when you've seen the fallout of alcoholism way too damn close. I think for those of us who have lived with either (or, as readerbaby points out, both), the way he died is cause for a grief that's in some way separate, and worse, from the fact that he is dead.

I went out on my deck last night and watched the sunset and cried. Like I actually knew the man. Like I had lost someone I loved.

I hate addiction. I hate depression.

MissFixit

Sometimes when people grieve they cannot deal with the added grief of others, so they try to "manage" others' pain by dismissing it or telling them to look at the good, not the bad.

I think you have a valid point about what hope do others have if someone as bright a star as RW gave into his depression and demons. I don't know the answer and I wonder the same. I wondered the same thing when Christie Brinkley was cheated on. If one of the most beautiful and successful women ever gets cheated on what hope do the rest of us have. Don't know.

However, RW did make it to 63, not 23 or 43. He battled for 63 years successfully until he could not any longer. He is an icon and that worldwide fame and expectation from others would have been a tremendous pressure for anyone, much less someone with mental challenges.

I cried too, like I actually knew the guy. I wonder if he knew how special so many people thought he was.

redatlanta

Lillamy I have found the response of many to be the same....I guess because we are on a forum understanding addiction and many of us exposed to a loved one with dual diagnosis that its odd to me how many people are making statements along the lines of "I wish he had told someone", "why did they let him check out of rehab clearly he needed to stay" and so forth.

A reminder of how many people just don't understand it. If anything to me that he succumbed to depression or addiction or both or whatever it was is not proof that "if he can't make it we can't". Rather, a reminder that addiction and depression holds no prejudice. Money, fame, fortune does not negate the power of it. There is not a pill for every problem. Some just do not make it but many do.

I imagine that over the next couple of days and weeks more will be revealed.