<p>This tweet was the one that got to me:
<a href=“https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/status/498996314395246593”>https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/status/498996314395246593</a>
What a powerful thing depression is. All the love, admiration and success that surrounded Robin Williams couldn’t protect him.</p>
<p>Another movie I forgot about, but one of my favorites of his… The World According to Garp.</p>
<p>Great, very, very quirky movie. Told D2 about it tonight (who likes quirky movies). May have to rent that one soon.</p>
<p>That is a great tweet and nice to think of RW as finally free of his demons and no longer in pain. So sorry he left this world so soon. I’m sure it is unbearably painful for his family and loved ones. He was a very good but tortured man.</p>
<p>A news reporter on CNN apologized on air last night for using the phrase about fighting his demons. She said she received a lot of feedback from the mental health community and apologized - clarifying that he had an illness - depression. Mental health issues need to stop having a negative stigma. I hope it is understood for the illness that it is, as Teriwtt said so eloquently above. </p>
<p>I loved this whole interview at the time, but this line made me tear up. I hope and pray he is at peace. Depression can be overwhelming and he had other issues too.
<a href=“James Lipton Asks Robin Williams "If Heaven exists..." - YouTube”>James Lipton Asks Robin Williams "If Heaven exists..." - YouTube;
<p>Addiction is a disease too. </p>
<p>RIP Robin Williams. You were one of the best of our generation.</p>
<p>Illness implies something that can be cured. I like to think of depression as a condition. Something that is always there, but under varying levels of control. I know that may not meet any technical definitions, but it makes more sense to me.</p>
<p>Perhaps his death will help a few more people get help before it is too late.</p>
<p>There are MANY illnesses that cannot be cured. I would include mental illness in this group.</p>
<p>I agree that Mork and Mindy was the start of one of the best comic legacies ever. But Robin Williams was also a gifted actor (Good Will Hunting). </p>
<p>He was young…my age. It makes me sad to hear about his death on many levels. Mostly my heart goes out to his family.</p>
<p>I’m like a lot of people I’ve seen comment on this and other forums, Robin Williams death seemed to hit closer than other celebrities. I’m trying to discern why. Perhaps it’s a perceived goodness mixed with a flawed humanity that was unique among those we deem his peers. I’m not sure, all I know is that this time I really care. I feel like I’ve lost a relative.</p>
<p>There ane many chronic, uncurable illnesses (diabetes, some seizure disorders, autoimmune disorders, etc)</p>
<p>This chills me to the bone. Like other parents on this site, I have a child who struggles with anxiety and depression. We’ve recently had to come to terms with the possibility that this is going to be a lifelong battle for her, even with meds and therapy. </p>
<p>Massmomm, I agree. This hits close to home here too. </p>
<p>Massmomm and thumper1, I agree that this is chilling. There’s a strain of depression running through my family, too.</p>
<p>Robin Williams was so brilliant and so human. I’ve watched some of the coverage/discussion on TV, and it really bothers me that everyone seems to assume that his brilliance/talent was bound to his depression. And there have been more general comments about creativity being dependent on depression, i.e., some creative people choose not to treat their depression because they believe this would destroy their talent. Is this true? I certainly hope not. </p>
<p>What they are talking about is vulnerability. I really dislike these discussions in the aftermath of something like this. The truth is we have no idea what was going on in his private world that led him to tale his own life to this. No idea. </p>
<p>Many clips of his work out there today for viewing. Had to smile at his appearance noted here with video from one of my favorite shows, “Whose Line Is It Anyway”.</p>
<p><a href=“Robin Williams Dead at 63: Best Whose Line Is It Anyway Clips | Time”>http://time.com/3103492/robin-williams-whose-line-is-it-anyway/</a></p>
<p>So sad–he was truly a gifted actor and comic. </p>
<p>NYMom–it is true. Partially because the medications often used in depression dull the senses and have other side effects as well. It is quite possible to be on a “creative high” (with corresponding terrible lows)–but many don’t want to lose the high side. There can be an absolute torrent of ideas that occur–a “racing” mind.
I personally don’t think creativity is linked to depression however–there are plenty of very creative people who are not depressed and I think that when and if an emotional roller coaster is stopped that the brain and body will just be able to focus more clearly–and still remain creative.</p>
<p>Robin Williams is also one of the only celebrities I’ve ever felt as a personal loss. I think it’s because not only was he such a truly unique talent but that his talent was making people laugh. </p>
<p>Flossy–actually RW was pretty open about his life–addiction, depression, failed marriages,rehab, He told jokes about it and talked about it. So it’s not hard to make speculations. Now whether any of the speculations are true is a whole 'nother matter.</p>
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<p>His own representative put out there that he has been struggling with depression. Take depression + announced likely suicide and of course people are going to connect the two and discuss. </p>
<p>Well, I don’ t doubt that he was depressed. After all, he hanged himself in his home at 63.years old. That seems obvious. But, discussing it without details about the final events in his life which had been filled with public turmoil for decades seems pointless and we will never know what led to his fatal decision. It’s a lot of commentators saying nothing. imho. Comedy coming out of tragedy is a tale as old as time and he may be the new classic case. Sadly.</p>