Eric Shapiro is heartbroken to learn that the lovable genius lost the fight.
I feel a certain kinship with the mad.
For good reason, a line exists between the neurotic and the psychotic. The neurotic are the ones who worry, obsess, get depressed, and get addicted. The psychotic are the ones who see things that aren’t there, hear voices barking at them, and often have a low to nonexistent degree of empathy. Most of us who know madness fall on the neurotic side. For me, it was O.C.D. I won’t go into what it was like, so just know I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. And though my brain as of now is hardly a model of calmness, overcoming my O.C.D. with alternative medicine was nothing short of the thing that saved my life.
Most of us, I imagine, would rather be neurotic than psychotic — that is, if we have to suffer mentally at all. After all, the difference between the two makes for a marked difference in functionality and credibility. For example, I’d be surprised if my history of neurosis prevented me from gaining new clients, or allowing others to feel safe when they’re alone with me.
That said, because neurotic ailments — depression, anxiety, O.C.D., addiction — are more commonplace than psychotic ones, more “with the people”, if you will, their harshness tends to be underestimated. Even now, in 2014, with nonstop informational tidal waves rolling across our collective consciousness at every moment, there’s a tendency to downplay the potential severity of neurosis. Call it basic human optimism: Perhaps people would just rather not admit that things so bad can be so common. Or call it basic human ignorance: Perhaps people lack the patience, interest, or curiosity to educate themselves on matters that don’t exist quite in plain sight.
‘Cause it’s one thing to hear that someone’s depressed, but another thing entirely to understand what depression feels like…
I for one am thankful to have had limited run-ins with depression. That said, I’ve danced with its ugliness on many an occasion. So in case there’s still anyone who hasn’t found out:
Depression isn’t just the blues. Depression isn’t a gloomy attitude. Depression isn’t pessimism. Depression isn’t a tendency to view life darkly. Depression isn’t gentle. Depression isn’t shallow. Depression isn’t subtle. Depression isn’t off to the side. Depression doesn’t speak in hushed tones. Depression isn’t Debbie Downer. Depression isn’t sleeping late. Depression isn’t keeping the shades drawn. Depression isn’t something we’ve all gone through. And depression doesn’t always respond to medication.
Unfortunately, in reality, depression sucks. Depression’s a monster. Depression’s relentless. Depression’s cruel. Depression has no sense of humor. Depression’s a maze minus an exit door. Depression’s a holocaust in subzero temperatures. Depression’s your mind’s biology asserting its massive imperfections in ear-shattering screams. And depression can shriek. Depression doesn’t take a moment’s rest. Depression floods your blood with poison. Depression exposes the thorns in each instant. Depression’s a fingernail-climb up an ice-carved wall. Depression wants only the worst for you. Depression fights back when you dare fight against it.
And depression doesn’t care if you’re famous. Depression doesn’t care how much money you make. Depression couldn’t give two shits about your gifts or your talents.
For depression, as witness the death of Robin Williams, is a murderer.
Sucks, right? And the last thing we need to do is punish the afflicted. Instead, upon learning that someone’s depressed:
Acknowledge that depression’s a serious thing. Acknowledge that depression’s a soul-cracking trial. Acknowledge that depression’s a reason to skip work, or meetings, or family luncheons. Acknowledge that depression’s a community emergency. And acknowledge that any form of help for depression is worthwhile, while acknowledging that although depression cannot yet be cured — it can be, regularly is, and often has been overcome.
The facts of his case will assert that Robin Williams killed himself. But those who know depression know where best to point the finger. I’m so heartbroken to learn that lovable genius lost the fight. Now it’s up to all the rest of us to go and win it.
AP photo
While his mental illness was a big issue, I wonder why very few if any MSM or GMP articles look at an aspect of this mans life .
His UTILITY:
By all indications he had to fork over MILLIONS and was probably still doing it to people who weren’t giving him anything in return, he was forced by court order to take jobs he didn’t want to take, he wanted to do small ‘good’ indpendent films but he couldn’t because they only paid scale.
I just hope that the Medical Examiner concludes that it is suicide and not “sexual asphyxiation” like that Kung Foo actor who died of in Bangkok over one year ago. Williams was one of my heros and I would hate to have that kind of death associated with his memory. However, either way he was apparently clinically depressed. Such a loss of a great talent. We all mourn.
http://lnkd.in/bUgUCX7 Here is an 11-minute podcast: Suicide, Ways to Help Our Loved Ones. It introduces a suicide reduction technique I invented called: Rungs In a Ladder. Designed for survivors, people dealing with depression and those who are worried about someone at risk. Please share with love…Let’s save a life! RIP Robin Williams
all illnesses lie on a spectrum, and to say neurotic is not as bad as psychotic, or go further to say psychotic “have no empathy” “you can’t feel safe alone with them.” I mean, it’s comical to say things like that. Throwing around those labels gets you nowhere, and prescribing what a human being is like based on a “condition?” This is insane. This is madness. I’ve know it’s tough to try and understand a person with a severe illness such as schizophrenia, but you’re putting them in a box where you can dismiss them. Proliferating this type of attitude,… Read more »
Hi I love your article .. Here is my blog about the man…http://doe4.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/rip-robin-williams-lessons-learnt/
Depression is really killing great people..so sad
Like all of us, I grief the loss of Robin Williams, take comfort from remembering all he gave to the world, and reflect on what we can learn for ourselves and others. My mid-life father tried to commit suicide when I was five years old and I grew up with some of the same bipolar tendencies. Depression can be a killer for anyone, but men are particularly vulnerable, and even more so as we get older. The suicide rate for males over 60 is 6 times the rate of females over 60 and increases as we age. Men 85 plus… Read more »
Good insight.
Jed, the numbers speak volumes. I’ve lost 3 friends to suicide and two of the three, you wouldn’t have had a clue it was coming. There was a recent article here at GMP which spoke about the affects of a lack of testosterone as we age. I hope many read it because with age there is a natural loss of testosterone which often times result in depression. The truth is, we’re not educating men. It’s only when a famous person kills himself that it becomes a topic for discussion. Quick google search “studies on male depression” On page one, ya… Read more »
Thanks for writing this piece.. People who don’t understand depression brush it off as weakness, when in reality, it their ignorance speaking… I agree with everything here, except.. “Depression’s a maze minus an exit door.”.. This is partially true, and that a lot of people do NOT see or find an exit, but I think that “exit” has to be created by the individual suffering from depression.. I believe having knowledge of the “big picture” in the world we live in helps us, the one’s fortunate enough to live in a first world country, to keep things in context and… Read more »
(and women) Hear hear!
And women. I wanted to go on and explain that 3 x more men get psychiatric diagnoses.. but nah.
‘The psychotic are the ones who see things that aren’t there and have a low to nonexistent empathy’? Dear mr. Shapiro, please understand: people may become psychotic at some point in their life (some are very vulnerable, but everyone can get psychotic if the circumstances are bad enough). Or several times. But it is (except in rare cases) not a continous state. And it gets triggered. So if you know how to control the triggers, you may very well never become psychotic again. There are tons of people who are proof of that – just read up on Damiel Fisher,… Read more »
you’re absolutely right. to draw lines and categorize illnesses, is unhelpful to say the least. i suffer from relapsing and remitting psychosis. where do i belong in your puzzle mr. shapiro?
Damn you – just one more article I said, just 1 more tribute i thought. Your eloquence beggars description. Your insight had me sobbing. Thank you for a rich piece.
As someone who first considered suicide at the age of 14 and attempted twice, I completely understand the depths of despair and the relentlessness of depression. There is no escape from the mind. It’s there always – making you feel worthless, hopeless. But then, there is SOOOO much to be depressed about. 1 million people yearly take their lives around the world. This is clearly a reflection of the extreme pain most human beings are in living in this capitalist, industrialized ‘civilization’ which commodifies all of us and converts anything that is living into something that is dead so it… Read more »
amen to that. there is a reason so many people are depressed these days – the way i see it, the human race will probably be extinct by the end of the century, taking most other animals with us. and there’s really nothing we can do to stop it, short of a massive conversion to a radically different way of life, closer to the indigenous people that we destroyed. trying to figure out how to be “happy” in the face of this is quite a challenge.
I see people claim that he died from depression, bipolar etc. linking him to all kinds of issues as caused his death. How can you claim it is related, and why stuck this “up his face” now instead of focusing on him for all he gave? Where has the man suddenly gone? In favour of a diagnosis to be “honoured”. Provokes me this digigng into peoples psyche, privatel life just because they have been icons in their field.
Eloquent. Thanks for this.