RIP Robin Williams

[Samandkatharine]

So sad. It could be any of us.

My daughter asks how anyone could let themselves get to that point of desperation. I just said when you are in that amount of pain you will do anything to relieve it.

Sam

[StuckinLA]

RIP Robin Williams

I am so fucking tired of hearing about people killing themselves. I almost posted about this a few hours ago, but couldn't think of where to post, and wasn't sure about starting a thread. Thank you for doing it, Sam. But seriously, how fucking many people before we, collectively, can figure some damned thing out? It could have been any one of us here, it could have been me any number of times over the last several years, it could have been the woman I love most deeply. I'm sick of it. And sad. And so fucking tired. And yet it just keeps on keeping on.

Oh Captain, my Captain, rest finally in peace.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

RIP Robin Williams

It has been people here. Let's not forget that.

It's hard to believe that money and power and fame and genius, even, can't buy us out of this hell. But the proof is there repeatedly. It can't be outsmarted and there's very little humor can do in the face of it.

Thanks, Sam, for starting the thread. I wouldn't have done it without being self-conscious about it but I'm glad it's here.

[bkyogagurl]

RIP Robin Williams

Sam-

Thanks for posting... I had just watched some you tube videos a couple days prior to this where he was speaking about his addictions.

I know I have came way to close myself.... I agree with Stuck... What is it going to take to figure that there is something way bigger than the addiction.. It's what it behind the addiction. The deep seated emotions that are not addressed and managed that I believe are at the core of every addiction.

The battering of the soul by unworthiness and shame that tears down the mental state of person leading them to the escape that contributes to the destruction of a beautiful human being.

I love you all.

[Samandkatharine]

RIP Robin Williams

I know who you are talking about Ne... The famous people get all of the attention though.

I read in the paper this morning(local to us-he came to the SF Bay Area via Chicago) that he spoke of his anxiety and fearfulness, and used alcohol and cocaine to self medicate...well, yeah. Didn't we/don't we all??

It just hit close to home, so I brought it up. Who was the British gal(journalist)who was a member here? She took her own life as well.

Sam

[StuckinLA]

RIP Robin Williams

Clearhead247.

There have been others, though.

[Lostinspace]

RIP Robin Williams

I have nothing to add to what others have already said. Suicide touches me personally, both as something I've often thought about and once attempted, and as something I lost my boyfriend to (when I was 19). It destroys lives. Seriously. My up until recently all-day, every-day drinking pattern started after my boyfriend decided to leave the world that way. It causes so much, indescribable pain.

Even after 17 years, the pain remains. Suicide destroys those who love the person in question. That said, I understand it from the point of view of someone who's been there. May Robin finally rest in peace.

[Samandkatharine]

RIP Robin Williams

Lostinspace;1692674 wrote: I have nothing to add to what others have already said. Suicide touches me personally, both as something I've often thought about and once attempted, and as something I lost my boyfriend to (when I was 19). It destroys lives. Seriously. My up until recently all-day, every-day drinking pattern started after my boyfriend decided to leave the world that way. It causes so much, indescribable pain.

Even after 17 years, the pain remains. Suicide destroys those who love the person in question. That said, I understand it from the point of view of someone who's been there. May Robin finally rest in peace.

I'm sorry Lost. Going thu that at 19 years old...

My paternal grandmother hung herself when my dad was young. His dad had already died of TB. This was in the early 1900's. My father was farmed out to an Aunt but was on his own basically. He was never the same, and parented from fear of loss. Only now do I realize how hard it was for him.

Sam

[Ne/Neva Eva]

RIP Robin Williams

There have been 5 suicides of people on MWO that I know of since I got here. And while Lo0p's death was not a suicide, I think it counts. (Any death that is a result of overdose seems to me to count as one of the tragic losses.) While these people aren't celebrities, I think we can remember them in our thoughts and prayers. (I really like the part in AA when we have a moment of silence for the sick and suffering. I know not everyone will feel this way, but it always helped me remember the gravity of our disease. And to keep fighting.)

Cowgal

Foamfollower--He wasn't on the meds threads. He mostly lived in the Laughing Out Loud section, where he posted very funny jokes almost every day.

There was a man from Arizona...I forget his username. About 6 months before his death he gave up on baclofen. He sent me his remaining supply so that I could pay it forward. (I still wonder if I should have taken this as an indication that he was hopeless.)

My friend Michelle. I forget her username, too. I met her here but it turned out that she only lived about 10 miles from me! We became friends in real life. Her living situation was dire. She shot herself in the head on the 6 month anniversary of her sobriety date.

And Anna. (Clearhead247)

The scariest and saddest thing is that there are others who have come through this website that posted regularly about being depressed, hopeless and potentially suicidal and then just...stopped. One in particular stands out, but I can't remember her username, either. She stopped taking all of her prescribed medications and just lost it. It was terrifying for her, and terrifying to read. I'm offering a silent prayer right now that she found good help in time.

It would be so easy to assume that these people didn't have the medical support that they needed and that we should blame the system. Robin Williams' death highlights the fact that even with unlimited resources, some of us lose the war.

It's a reminder to be tough. Arm ourselves. Stay strong. Rely on each other. Celebrate each victory. And finally, to be very wary. This disease kills us.

Peace and love and strength. :l

[Samandkatharine]

RIP Robin Williams

Ne-

Evans death cause was never revealed to us. I can guess.

Sam

[Samandkatharine]

RIP Robin Williams

Even off-set, Fisher said she was blown away by his charisma and the way in which he absorbed his surroundings. ?Robin had rampant empathy,? explained Fisher, who is currently on location reprising her role as Leia in J.J. Abrams? Star Wars: Episode VII. ?Everything would end up on his grid. He?d walk in a room, and all the energy there would impact him. He was the opposite of selfish. Anything would hurt him. Or ? impact him somehow.?

Sounds like some people I know here, that are still here or are not on this earth. This is what Carrie Fisher said about Robin Williams.

sam

[anne1232]

RIP Robin Williams

Yep. I just got an email from a clinical trial for depression...the drug they'e using comes with the warning "may rapidly and severely increase suicide ideation." Can't help but wonder what Hazeldon had R. Williams on. My friend works in a dual-diagnosis clinic and says they put all the patients on a bunch of stuff, then just start tinkering around randomly with dosage, etc. We are really the "guinea pigs" of this new world of brain meds

(dual diagnosis = a 'mental' problem with addiction issues, which means to me troubled people desperately self- medicating)

[Samandkatharine]

RIP Robin Williams

Anne, we are guinea pigs. Robin probably couldn't stand the SEs, or like most meds they pooped out after a while.

My husband has been on the same cocktail for depression/ mood disorder for years. Seems to work for him, thank God.

Sam

[Lostinspace]

RIP Robin Williams

I know what you mean, anne. ADs have worked wonders for many people, but for me, they always upped the insanity a hundredfold. Some just made my anxiety worse. Others, like Prozac and Celexa, made me downright suicidal. Granted, I was still drinking while taking these, but I can't help but wonder how many depressed people are drinking too much while taking these mind-altering meds. It's a recipe for disaster.

And even without drinking, some people do experience these same bad reactions. People really should be better warned by their prescribing doctors, just to be aware that if their thinking takes an abrupt turn for the worse, it's likely a result of the medication, and not really how they're thinking. When my thinking got worse, my doctors' reactions were always to INCREASE the dose of a med that was already messing up my mind.

I don't really want to get into too much of a debate. I once mentioned my bad reactions to a friend who's taking an AD and she nearly went apeshit on me because they turned her whole life around and she got very defensive. They're a true lifesaver for some people. But others should not be taking them. Just my two cents.

[Cassander]

RIP Robin Williams

In this radio interview following RW's death, Gabor Mate links alcoholism (addiction), depression, mental illness and suicide. I am an admirer of Mate's, and find his discussion in this tape quite compelling.

uprisingradio.org ? After Robin Williams: Understanding The Links Between Mental Illness, Addiction, and Suicide

Cass