Robin Williams Dead

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Sir Purrcival
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Sad to say that one of the funniest persons I have ever seen was found dead today in his California home of a suspected suicide. He was 63.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/robin-willi ... -1.2733770

I guess he had been struggling for awhile with various demons. A very sad passing.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
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WestCoastJoe
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Very sad, indeed.

Many years ago, I was very surprised to hear that one of my favourites, Jonathan Winters, had emotional problems.

It seems that some of our favourite comedians have issues that lead to their comedic genius.

God Bless, Robin Williams. R.I.P.
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notahomer
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I have lost TWO close friends to suicide. Not angry. Instead sad that they felt alone enough to want to end their lives...

Same goes for Robin Williams. I admire his work and wish his family all the best in this time of sadness.....
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WestCoastJoe
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notahomer wrote:I have lost TWO close friends to suicide. Not angry. Instead sad that they felt alone enough to want to end their lives...

Same goes for Robin Williams. I admire his work and wish his family all the best in this time of sadness.....
Aloneness. Or is it the pain? I did some volunteer work in this area, and we were taught that it is to end the pain that people commit suicide.

It is amazing that someone so loved, as was Robin Williams, could feel such pain and aloneness.

Interesting to hear Pat O'Brien talk, as he knew Williams well, and they both had treatment for alcohol abuse. O'Brien always came across, with sincerity, as such a decent guy.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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KnowItAll
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
notahomer wrote:I have lost TWO close friends to suicide. Not angry. Instead sad that they felt alone enough to want to end their lives...

Same goes for Robin Williams. I admire his work and wish his family all the best in this time of sadness.....
Aloneness. Or is it the pain? I did some volunteer work in this area, and we were taught that it is to end the pain that people commit suicide.

It is amazing that someone so loved, as was Robin Williams, could feel such pain and aloneness.

Interesting to hear Pat O'Brien talk, as he knew Williams well, and they both had treatment for alcohol abuse. O'Brien always came across, with sincerity, as such a decent guy.
aloneness can cause pain, but pain is the end factor.

loneliness
cronic physical pain
emotional torment
despair
despondency
cronic depression
hopelessness re the future, in general, or for particular situations
painfull costly past failure one doesn't want to live with the results of
.
.
.
everything comes back to pain. at least it does for me.
Every day that passes is one you can't get back
TheLionKing
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Sad that a man who gave so much laughter to others had to deal with personal pains.
Blue In BC
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A sad situation when an individual feels the need for that resolution. Very unfortunate that he wasn't able to get the help he needed in his lifetime.

He was a great talent and he'll be missed.

RIP
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Sir Purrcival
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As sad as I am about his passing, I can't really say I am totally shocked. His performances were so energetic, so spontaneous, it always seemed like he was in overdrive. I always wondered what kind of balance he had for his private life. I thought that maybe his almost manic highs when performing might have similar lows when in private. It must have been incredibly stressful and difficult to be Robin Williams the entertainer. One face to the world, another side in private. A side that self-medicated with alcohol and drugs, a side that was unhappy and scared and unaware of just how people really felt about him. I think he would be shocked to know just how his death would affect so many. That was the nature of his mental illness. Unable to find that balance of positive and negative. In many ways, it probably made him a star but when you burn brightly, you also burn out sooner. He isn't the first entertainer to have this happen and he won't be the last. The craft seems to attract those who are looking for self-esteem and happiness without when they can't find it within.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
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Sir Purrcival
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KnowItAll wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:
notahomer wrote:I have lost TWO close friends to suicide. Not angry. Instead sad that they felt alone enough to want to end their lives...

Same goes for Robin Williams. I admire his work and wish his family all the best in this time of sadness.....
Aloneness. Or is it the pain? I did some volunteer work in this area, and we were taught that it is to end the pain that people commit suicide.

It is amazing that someone so loved, as was Robin Williams, could feel such pain and aloneness.

Interesting to hear Pat O'Brien talk, as he knew Williams well, and they both had treatment for alcohol abuse. O'Brien always came across, with sincerity, as such a decent guy.
aloneness can cause pain, but pain is the end factor.

loneliness
cronic physical pain
emotional torment
despair
despondency
cronic depression
hopelessness re the future, in general, or for particular situations
painfull costly past failure one doesn't want to live with the results of
.
.
.
everything comes back to pain. at least it does for me.
I am glad you are part of the Lionbacker's family KIA. You have mentioned some of your health issues in the past. It gives you a unique and valuable insight on some of these things and it is good for us to listen.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
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KnowItAll
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Sir Purrcival wrote:
I am glad you are part of the Lionbacker's family KIA. You have mentioned some of your health issues in the past. It gives you a unique and valuable insight on some of these things and it is good for us to listen.
thank you for saying that Sir. It is appreciated

While I am surprised by the suicide, I did, as you have indicated above, wonder about Robin and what was really going on inside.

People often say, if only we had known. Sometimes that doesn't matter. Sometimes there just is no answer beyond what personal demons a person is willing to continue to live with and battle. Sometimes a person has just had enough
Every day that passes is one you can't get back
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WestCoastJoe
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http://www.theprovince.com/sports/footb ... story.html
Ullrich: Lions’ long-snapper Matechuk can relate to Robin Williams’ death

By Lowell Ullrich, The Province August 15, 2014 9:01 AM

Ullrich: Lions’ long-snapper Matechuk can relate to Robin Williams’ death

Lions long-snapper Jordan Matechuk during the CFL team’s practice at Surrey in July 2013. Ric Ernst/PNG files

It did not take the tragic death of one of the greatest comedians for Jordan Matechuk to realize he may have had something in common with Robin Williams.

That understanding is reaffirmed each morning, when the soft-spoken long-snapper with the B.C. Lions takes his medication to combat bipolar disorder, which has been part of his routine for nearly the last decade.

What Williams’ suicide did for Matechuk, however, was something more important. He’s with a CFL team because of his ability to deliver a football between his legs accurately, but what being with the Lions does for him is provide an ability to help others with words and deeds.

He left practice Thursday for a meeting with representatives of the Canadian Mental Health Association, for which he has been a spokesman the last few years, to set up a series of workshops with at-risk youths in North Vancouver.

But the death of a comedian who was as famous in his world as Matechuk is obscure in a football sense also served to remind him that he has a platform to remind others they are not alone.

“I teared up when I heard the news. I looked up to him. I followed him,” Matechuk said. “Everyone is saying how Robin killed himself, but Robin didn’t kill himself, his disease killed him. It’s like a cancer, only a different type.”

There was, however, a time when the long-snapper was alone with his illness. It was while he was in jail for 60 days in 2011 serving time for trying to cross the border in St. Ste. Marie, Ont., with steroids, marijuana and syringes when he realized changes in his life were necessary.

“Being bipolar to me means that you live through extreme emotions. It’s almost like you are on a higher frequency. The highs are higher than what a normal person feels, the lows are lower,” said the 28-year-old, who says he has never considered suicide. “I’ve got a phrase I use right now when I don’t know I’m going manic. My girlfriend will just say, ‘Not the time.’ If I get too hyper or too low that’s the words she says and it triggers me.”

It’s not the normal type of discourse around a team trying to get ready for a road date Sunday against the Toronto Argonauts in a battle of teams who are each looking to extend a two-game win streak, except for the fact Matechuk was more than eager to be interviewed.

“I won’t get offended by any questions you ask,” he said without prompting.

Around the Lions this week the Williams death has been a topic of discussion, coach Mike Benevides said, and not entirely on the basis of keeping up on current events.

“A locker-room is a reflection of society and a lot of people in our room can associate with what happened, because they are in a very high-pressure business themselves,” said Benevides.

It’s not a condition that is only in the Lions’ room. Toronto linebacker Shea Emry admitted in a 2012 article he too has suffered from depression while growing up in Richmond, sharing his story as a reminder that one in five Canadians will be affected by mental illness in their lifetime.

Matechuk didn’t realize his career was in jeopardy until a chance meeting with former CFL great Willard Reaves while the long-snapper played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, his second of four stops in the league. It was Reaves who helped Matechuk understand he could help others by using the game as a pedestal for a cause.

That cause often only means winning to some players, said Matechuk. But as Lions teammate J.R. LaRose has suggested, football is both a living and a means to discuss First Nations issues, and being able to play for six seasons means Matechuk also has an opportunity to address topics with an access not afforded to everyone.

“Every morning, I take my medicine, I tell myself, ‘New day, be great Jordan, give it all you got, today’s a great day, try to live positively and live like every day is your last,’” said Matechuk.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
South Pender
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I'm coming late to this discussion and must admit that I haven't sought out the details of Robin Williams' death, but wasn't he bipolar? This is a different syndrome from the more usual unipolar depression and has a clear biochemical and neurophysiological basis. It's not a simple case of becoming demoralized because of life events, but is in the hard-wiring. He certainly seemed to me to be bipolar (what used to be called manic-depressive) in his performances, and I had always assumed that this was the case. There are drug treatments for this (the most long-standing being lithium), but a lot of bipolar patients stop taking their meds because they don't like the side effects and the loss of the "highs" that, in some cases, have accounted for their success. I wonder whether Williams lacked close friends or caring family members who could have noticed his slipping into suicidal territory and got him the help he needed. Maybe he felt that stabilizing his mood via drug therapy would rob him of his phenomenal energy and creative ability (when he was in the high cycle). It's a damn shame regardless.
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KnowItAll
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South Pender wrote:I'm coming late to this discussion and must admit that I haven't sought out the details of Robin Williams' death, but wasn't he bipolar? This is a different syndrome from the more usual unipolar depression and has a clear biochemical and neurophysiological basis. It's not a simple case of becoming demoralized because of life events, but is in the hard-wiring. He certainly seemed to me to be bipolar (what used to be called manic-depressive) in his performances, and I had always assumed that this was the case. There are drug treatments for this (the most long-standing being lithium), but a lot of bipolar patients stop taking their meds because they don't like the side effects and the loss of the "highs" that, in some cases, have accounted for their success. I wonder whether Williams lacked close friends or caring family members who could have noticed his slipping into suicidal territory and got him the help he needed. Maybe he felt that stabilizing his mood via drug therapy would rob him of his phenomenal energy and creative ability (when he was in the high cycle). It's a damn shame regardless.
there is clinical depression which is also not a simple case of becoming demoralized because of life events.

both clinical and situational depression can be helped by drugs.

I have been cronically depressed my whole life. Ratio of about 15% clinical and 85% situational\life events\trauma etc.

I take 2 anti depressants and 3 anti anxiety drugs which combine do help but I still get depressed with constant suicidal thoughts, as I have my whole life. Drugs are not the whole answer to everything. Takes a combination of drugs, therapy, will, and family support and friends. Without the will though, nothing else works for long. When people decide they have just had enough, that they do not have the will to fight any more, then its over. I know it will be for me.
Every day that passes is one you can't get back
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WestCoastJoe
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KnowItAll wrote:there is clinical depression which is also not a simple case of becoming demoralized because of life events.

both clinical and situational depression can be helped by drugs.

I have been cronically depressed my whole life. Ratio of about 15% clinical and 85% situational\life events\trauma etc.

I take 2 anti depressants and 3 anti anxiety drugs which combine do help but I still get depressed with constant suicidal thoughts, as I have my whole life. Drugs are not the whole answer to everything. Takes a combination of drugs, therapy, will, and family support and friends. Without the will though, nothing else works for long. When people decide they have just had enough, that they do not have the will to fight any more, then its over. I know it will be for me.
We are very quick to judge people who commit suicide. My understanding is that it is to end the pain.

We also label people. That is not so good either.

I have also heard that suicide is a selfish choice, unmindful or caring of the ones left behind. Well, It seems to me that it would be selfish of those left behind to want their loved one to continue on in pain. When my father was near death, I was with him every day, for part of the day. He was unconscious but hanging on for three days at the end, tough as nails. My girlfriend, a health worker, told me to tell him that it was OK to go. I hadn't thought of it that way. I told him it was OK to go. And he went shortly after. Whatever is best for the one who is suffering.

Words do not do much to help. Nothing I can say can help, KIA, but I do wish you well in your ongoing struggle.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
South Pender
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KnowItAll wrote:there is clinical depression which is also not a simple case of becoming demoralized because of life events.
Absolutely. There are biochemical and neurophysiological underpinnings to many instances of unipolar depression too. And, as you say, drugs can help. The SSRI class of drugs has lifted millions out of depression. What struck me as different about Robin Williams was his manic side--manifested in much of his work. From this, I assumed he was bipolar. For bipolars, antidepressants are very risky and not prescribed.

KnowItAll, I hope you have strong support structures in place. And I know all of us wish you the best in your struggles.
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