Why did Robin Williams commit suicide? – Robin Williams death – every article I have read indicates that it was because of suicide. Is that accurate? Has anyone questioned yet the role of antidepressants in Robin Williams death? I would like to know if Robin Williams was on antidepressants. We have all seen reports that he had been battling depression for many years. Did the battle against depression include antidepressants?
Robin Williams Death as a watershed in understanding the causes of Suicide
This is an important question. I will tell you why. Twelve years ago, I had never touched an antidepressant in my life. Sure, I did have an undercurrent of sadness, I admit to that, but sadness and depression are not the same things. Sadness does not incapacitate you from life. I still functioned at my job and had many other interests and had not checked out of life. And then I began to try prescription antidepressants in order to help address the sadness. Long story short, my life became a catastrophe, I was no longer myself, and with all of the failings that I had before, they were no comparison to the person I became once I started using antidepressants.
I went from sadness into a deeper fog. I became depressed. Where I was once a star in my office, I was drugged, comatose, in a cloud, always felt tranquilized, could not sleep at night and too lethargic during the day. I isolated. I cried. I was overwhelmed by emotions that I could not control. I heard voices. I sweated all night and woke up in pools of water. I lost feeling in my lower extremities. And the absolute worst happened, I started to constantly think of suicide, the much-feared suicidal ideation.
Granted, antidepressants might work for some people. Granted, the developers of antidepressants, I believe that their objective is to help people, not to harm them. With all that said, we know for a fact that antidepressants do not work for everyone, and I can tell you that in those cases, it is a disaster to prescribe antidepressants to a person. Soon after the time I started on antidepressants, I lost my desire for life. I wanted to leave existence as fast as possible to get relief from the mental pain. The doctors had prescribed many cocktails, Zoloft, Prozac, Effexor, Neurontin, Risperdal to name a few.
They told me that I had to be hospitalized in order to see the reactions because frankly, they did not know whether these drugs would help or not. The hospitalizations, the medications, the suicidal ideation, all played a significant role in the destruction of my relationships and career. Yes, ultimately I am responsible for everything, but keep in mind that medications do have an impact on our mind, on our brain and on the quality of our thoughts. I accept the responsibility of being the one that took the medications, I state though that alternative treatment for depression was never promoted, proposed or suggested.
Robin Williams Death – Were there other factors at play?
Let’s stop saying that Robin Williams death was because of suicide until we have all of the facts. Yes, he was the one who took the physical actions that ended his life. But what chemical reactions were going on within him? Was he being pushed to suicide because of the drugs he was taking and how they were affecting his brain, his thinking, his thoughts? If he was using any antidepressants, that is where the conversation should go. Do they work, are they harmful, should doctors stop prescribing antidepressants and look to other methods that might be as or more effective?
Could Robin Williams death be prevented if he had not been on antidepressants? Have all the science writers who say how great antidepressants are ever been on one? In only three days on Zoloft, I became an insomniac, I could not sleep the entire night, for days. How do you think that affects a person? Yes, it does turn you into a zombie, which is not good for anything in life, family, home, and career. How can any doctor not look to alternative methods first before prescribing antidepressants? How can we as a society not look for the least harmful treatments for depression?
Without listing all the terrible potential side effects of antidepressants, I can tell you clearly that suicidal ideation is on the FDA warning label. I did not obsess over suicide until I had been on antidepressants. The rush to judgment that Robin Williams death proves that he really wanted to take his life is wrong. I can tell you that for some individuals, like myself that have experienced it, the drugs can lead you to suicidal ideation.
You do not want to take your life, you want to escape from the pain in your brain. Everyone I have spoken to about Robin Williams death has been shocked, including myself, my jaw dropped when I heard the news. Initially, we cannot understand how a beloved, famous, wealthy person like Robin Williams could take his life, but for those of us that have used antidepressants and have been vulnerable to their pernicious side effects, I am fairly confident that they can understand. As soon as the headlines started blaring out ‘suicide’ and depression, immediately I wondered if he was on medications or not. The question as to whether medications are effective or not is no small thing.
The results can be fatal. My bet is that eventually, the story will come out as to what medications Robin Williams was using in his battle against depression. I am the last to dismiss how difficult it is for a person who is locked in their own room of depression, seeing only the worst images that their mind can conjure up. He could not see all of his wonderful movie roles in his mind nor all the people that he made laugh, he could only see the constant repeating images of how low he was, how bad, how disgusting, such a monster, until he could no longer take it and had to end his life to relieve the pain.
Robin Williams death and the pronouncements of ‘suicide’ all over the web infuriated me, because 1) these stories impugn his character, that he wanted to commit suicide and I do not believe that, and 2) because we are not being given all of the facts of what might have been affecting his brain chemistry to the point that he did what he did. If he was on medications, I want the same public apology from the drug companies that market their drugs to millions of people without making sure that they have tried a less intrusive antidepressant program first, simple stuff like, get moving, walk an hour a day, eat real food, weight lift, visualize yourself leaving the room of depression and creating a new life.
Robin Williams death – Let it Not Be in Vain
Robin Williams death will not be in vain if as a result, we investigate, prove and promote the simple, easy and effective strategies to beat depression without medications, as they should only be used as a last resort and not the first. What is your opinion of Robin Williams death? Do you believe that antidepressants might have been a factor? Do you think that the medical establishment and the pharmaceutical companies should promote alternative methods to beat depression before promoting medications that have known lethal side effects like suicidal ideation? Thanks for sharing and condolences to the family of Robin Williams.
