Robin Williams. Can't help but think....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not well reported in the press, the PP is correct. Parkinsons comeswith severe depression - it's all about the dopamine and the meds. He was suicidal due to that....not the other - he had already battled those for years. Most people do not understand Parkinsons. They think it is tremors, its for old people...

He literally died from complications of Parkinsons...not mental health and stigma issues.

How in the world are you able to make this diagnosis? Did you know him?

[Anonymous]

You can't separate the depression from the Parkinson's. Depression predisposes one to suicide. Parkinson's is an incurable degenerative disease, and many people do not want to face its later stages. Any person, but especially a depressive person, might choose not to go through it.

[Anonymous]

Robin Williams didn't have Parkinsons -- he had Lewy Body dementia. Ask me how I know...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Robin Williams didn't have Parkinsons -- he had Lewy Body dementia. Ask me how I know...

Not sure why such an old thread was revived but he actually had both.

Parkinson's often goes hand in hand with LBD. My family member had both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Substance abuse
Somewhat sexual promiscuity
Experienced the highest highs (manic)
Experienced the lowest lows ( depressed)
Can you imagine a world where mental illness did not have the stigma that it does?

No. Absolutely not.

And I've tried, I have bipolar disorder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe OP is manic, and thinks she's being coherent and thinking straight. OP, with no stigma attached or intended, and with care, may I suggest you talk to your pdoc about your state of mind. Meds may need tweaking.

OP here: I am bipolar and I am not manic. You might want to take a look at why you can't understand a simple concept. Here is an analogy. Where would we be today if we did not educate ourselves about AIDS? We would still treat people with AIDS as lepers. That's how mentally ill people are treated. BTW: I think it is shameful to not educate yourself about mental illness.
What don't you understand?

I don't get you, OP. Maybe you are worried about the stigma of bipolar, but he wasn't. He received treatment for years. He discussed his depression, he even admitted in interviews to suicidal thoughts. And on top of that he had Parkinsons, which is not a bright future for anyone.

So the last thing that killed him was stigma. Maybe you feel the stigma, but he got past it. He took his meds. Do you know when he didn't? When he was performing, because he said it dulled his comedy. Maybe that killed him. But lack of understanding from the world at large did not.

What a ridiculous statement. Many with mental illness, including celebrities who who "receive treatment" and "take their meds" and "admit" things about it in interviews suffer the ramifications of stigma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is a fact that mental illness carries a huge stigma.

Nevertheless, stigma did not seem to affect Robin Williams personally. Otherwise he would not have been talking to the press about his mental health issues.

This is an absurd conclusion to draw.

[Anonymous]

He had Lewey Body Parkinson's which begins with a deep depression. For everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Robin Williams didn't have Parkinsons -- he had Lewy Body dementia. Ask me how I know...

It is a form of Parkinson's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He had Lewey Body Parkinson's which begins with a deep depression. For everyone.

I have a friend who is a medical researcher who has become obsessed with this topic after a family member with LBD committed suicide. He had been a really athletic, fun, and apparently happy man whose personality completely changed with LBD. What my friend is finding is that this personally change is common.

So, we can’t necessarily say RW’s history of depression was the cause of his suicide. Even without that history, the effects of LBD might make a person suicidal.

I think the point about the need to combat the stigma around mental health issues is still absolutely valid.

[Anonymous]

It was Lewy Body Dementia not Parkinson’s unless that’s the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Why on earth did an 11 year old thread get revived?

[Anonymous]

I think it is because a poster was digging up any thread that had to do with Parkinson’s in order to push an advertisement remedy.

[Anonymous]

He was also diagnosed with a major physical health condition before he committed suicide.

[Anonymous]

I thought he had Lewy Body Dementia also?
https://www.lbda.org/blog/robin-williams-and-lewy-body-dementia-2/
https://www.parkinson.org/blog/awareness/robin-williams

Whatever, he had a lot to deal with.