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Post by William Miller on Aug 11, 2014 17:19:09 GMT -6
This should prove to anyone.. sometimes it is just as important, if not even more important, to make yourself laugh as much as you make everyone else laugh around you. There will never be a replacement for this man.. ever. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_WilliamsFarewell to one of the greatest comedian talents ever known. |
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Post by oldpop2000 on Aug 11, 2014 18:05:23 GMT -6
This should prove to anyone.. sometimes it is just as important, if not even more important, to make yourself laugh as much as you make everyone else laugh around you. There will never be a replacement for this man.. ever. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_WilliamsFarewell to one of the greatest comedian talents ever known. What this should prove is that drug use, has long term effects; that even if you stop drugs, the demons are still there and need to be addressed. Sometimes, disappointment in our careers hurts our ego, and that can be fatal.... as I believe it was in this case. |
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Post by williammiller on Aug 11, 2014 21:06:26 GMT -6
Robin was one of my all-time favorite standups...we gonna' miss you RW.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Aug 12, 2014 9:10:30 GMT -6
Opinion
All of us fail to look past the external side of the people we meet. We see what we want to see. We get busy in our daily lives, work with people but never really see below the surface. I hope that the loss of Robin Wiliams will again, generate some interest beyond the medical field, in the area of depression. Medicines are not the total answer, and drugs are certainly not the answer either. Depression is a chemical imbalance in our brain. In most cases, the brain of depressed people is just wired differently and we need to continue investigations into that wiring, to help depressed people.
My wife has depression but probably no where near as severe as Robin Williams. She announced it to me soon after being married, told me the signs and how she deals with it. She has learned to start new projects that helps, we go on frequent trips, she babysits for our granddaughter which certainly keeps us busy, and I tell her to go shopping. Don't laugh, it helps. The point being, I cooperate, do things to let her deal with the problem. I am no saint, and frequently get very frustrated.
I don't know if Robin Williams's family did this, but with his death, alone, it would appear, that something was missed.
We can't abandon people who have this condition, just because it causes us some grief. We have to cooperate and help them. Is this a terrible tragedy? Only if we don't learn from it and help others in this terrible position.
I hope the team will not delete this post, but it's ok, I understand.
www.nbcnews.com/storyline/robin-williams-death/robin-williams-battled-demons-decades-his-death-n178271 - Better description of Robin Williams demons
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Post by sirchaos on Aug 13, 2014 2:21:30 GMT -6
I tell her to go shopping. Don't laugh, it helps. Well, I have heard it called "retail therapy", so maybe there´s something to that. I´m not suffering from depression, but I still see how treating yourself to a little something after a rough day can work wonders on your mood. Unfortunately, now all the (expletive deleted) come out of the woodwork and pile on Robin Williams. (expletive deleted) vultures... a "coward"? Seriously? A person suffering from depression goes out into the public like he did and cheers so many others up... the terms that comes to mind is "hero", not "coward". And I *really* don´t understand how some people can tell those suffering from depression to basically just suck it up and be normal. Do they tell paraplegics to just suck it up and get walking again, too? (expletive deleted) (expletive deleted)s. |
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Post by William Miller on Aug 13, 2014 2:42:17 GMT -6
There are many forms of "depression" and how it effects different people. For some its mild, temporary, and goes away like a mood swing, for others it can be like a mental cancer that destroys their personality and happiness over time. Many in society treat those with depression like a pariah as if its contagious or look at them as weak and frail - like a wounded stray animal in the street. I could go on for paragraphs about the extreme double standards society portrays on a daily basis regarding depression and the "social artificial priorities" - especially in the media, but I prefer not to **** myself off today. As to "hero" vs "coward".. unless that person making the description knows what it was to be in that persons shoes on a daily basis they have no right to pass judgement. Anyone, for any reason, at anytime, can get hit with depression. People with high levels of social pressures, responsibilities, and/or expectations can be especially vulnerable. Also, many people out there are much better at taking care of others then themselves and that part is the real tragedy as they often fall apart in silence if those around them don't know, or refuse, to intervene before its too late.
As a side note to all forum posters, lets make sure to keep this topic professional, respectful, courteous, and within the context.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Aug 13, 2014 9:08:42 GMT -6
I've learned a few things over the years in my research on depression. Many times, people who have mild cases of depression make it much worse with drugs and alcoholism, as you might suspect. However, medicines can also cause depression to worsen. They can also make you suicidal. We may never know how all these agents affected Robin Williams or whether he even realized what it was doing to him.
His alcoholism, drug use, workaholic attitude and then his open heart surgery all worked to make him more depressed than he normally would have been, in my opinion. Could his family have changed that? Possibly, but just going on TV and announcing it to the world isn't the answer, its a façade. We think that this had a cathartic effect on him, which it plainly did not. Remember he was a comedian, what you saw on the surface, was a fake something to use to make people laugh. My guess is that his wife had to raise their children alone and cope with a husband with dark demons. Money doesn't cure all ills, I am afraid to say. Nothing will replace a father or a mother. The exception might be a father with his problems and work attitude. His family, as usual now have to live with the shame of his addictions and final solution. I would like to say he took the cowardly way out, but my wife believes that is harsh. I will only say that there were alternatives. Forget the idea that he did this to spare his family, it was far too late for that sacrifice, the damage was done.
If I sound harsh, I am not, but I do look at problems with a clear eye with no emotions if possible. That is how I was raised and how I was trained by the military and the government. My sympathy's go out to Robin's family and especially his children, who may now have the stigma of possibly having the same issues as their father. That is not the legacy you want for your children, in my opinion.
Robin William's is dead, let's enjoy his body of work and forget his demons.
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Post by oldpop2000 on Aug 13, 2014 20:49:02 GMT -6
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Post by William Miller on Aug 14, 2014 0:33:41 GMT -6
I think there is the possibility he just wanted the pain to stop. Some people also prefer to pick their own check out date and method rather then have someone else, or some out of their control fate, do it out for them. Depression to some can be like a persistent mental torture chamber with what seems to be no exits or escapes. That is why I refrain from the term "coward". Some people may be mentally stronger then others but we all have our breaking points and society has very few real in depth human levels measures of success - but there sure are an awful lot of false and shallow measures (one of those social double standards I was refering too above). True happiness is a very personal matter and cannot be judged easily by outsiders with their own self interests and motives and no psychologist or psychiatrist in the world has all the answers (and many have little to none) and not all of them are in the profession for the true well being of humanity.
If figuring out how to fix people was an easy simple measure of "depression" or other variable human faults we would all get along just fine and suicide would never happen. It is painfully obvious from any measure of human history that humans are very complex and almost never fully understood - especially those that keep their weaknesses or frailties hidden from view to avoid feeling like a burden, a failure, treated like an outcast, or from being persecuted by the relentless and extremely anti-privacy media.
That is my few cents and closing thoughts.
Thanks
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Post by oldpop2000 on Aug 14, 2014 13:02:27 GMT -6
Apparently, Robin Williams was battling the early stages of Parkinson's disease. My uncle has had this for about eight years, and I spent an evening with him on his birthday last Friday. He can eat and understand you, sometimes making comments but needs a nurse all the time to get around. It's a real shame, he was a Doctor of Music and an excellent concert cellist. Seems like when it rains, it pours; open heart surgery, Parkinson's and severe depression.
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Post by William Miller on Aug 14, 2014 15:49:57 GMT -6
That crap took out my grandfather - who I was very close to. Very hard watching someone full of life, a rated genius who worked on secret projects, an honest and fair man, and veteran of WW2 taken down by such a slow death.
Fortunately my wife got to know him for a few years before he died and called him "a Teddy Ruxpin".
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Post by spook053 on Aug 16, 2014 8:04:20 GMT -6
Beginning with a related tangent, I remembered and seen many of the routines of Andy Kaufman, especially what he'd do to push the audience's buttons in such an irreverent way (like the wrestling bits).
When Hollywood did "Man on the Moon" with Jim Carrey playing Andy, it seemed passable. Then I chanced later on the documentary "I'm from Hollywood," and I felt, good try, Jim, but really, no one could truly get close to "getting" Andy.
The point: I imagine that some shark in Hollywood is spinning wheels on a Robin Williams drama in a similar format. I hope they don't bother. Even more the case than Andy, I don't think anyone could come close to "getting" Robin.
A documentary could work if done right, and could be of value to the generations to come. But please, no Hollywood theatrical release with someone trying to play Robin.
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