Robin Williams RIP: Coping Mechanism?

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So, I am no Psych. nurse but I always found it interesting. What interests me about some of the people who are most depressed is that they are the ones who always seem to be making others laugh like Robin Williams. Is this some kind of coping mechanism? Of course, I don't know much about the man except what I have seen on TV but I have seen this in people in my personal life too. People that seem to be big cut ups and always joking. I would never have thought depression.

So many say that suicide is selfish. It is not. It is about feeling that the world is better off without you, and it is a way of ending the pain of self-hate. I am cannot believe how much Mr. Williams' death has affected me.

At times people are suffering so much physically that the pain is so great and the struggle so difficult that Yes people do decide to take their lives....Not only can the physical pain be great but the emotional pain can be equally as great and for someone who is in withdraw or coming off of psych meds or being switched around from one to another the insomnia alone is enough to literally go off the deep end....

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Prescription,Medication,Pop in, Pop out. Man is more than a lab or a subject of an experiment or educated guesses or disorder labels. How little we understand him.

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Dear Ethicsrn4life, my heart aches for you. The terrible diseases that we have are made 1000 times worse by the way we are treated by others. I think what makes it worse is that we tend to be people pleasers, we want to be liked and accepted, and we try sooo hard to do things right and honest and fair. But that usually isn't the treatment we receive in return when we are in crisis. I now pull away from my friends when I need them most because I'm afraid I'll be to much of a bother. That makes for an awful lot of loneliness, doesn't it? I know EXACTLY how you feel! Sometimes just knowing someone REALLY understand and cares is a tremendous comfort. Even if those people are strangers. I CARE !! Best wishes. I'll be thinking of you:}

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

I'm not sure why or how this thread has turned into a screed against psychiatry and psychoactive medication, but I'd like to get it back on track by saying I hope that the loss of Robin Williams will dispel some of the stigma associated with mental illness. No more judgmentalism, no more stereotyping, no more shame. No more.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I'm not sure why or how this thread has turned into a screed against psychiatry and psychoactive medication, but I'd like to get it back on track by saying I hope that the loss of Robin Williams will dispel some of the stigma associated with mental illness. No more judgmentalism, no more stereotyping, no more shame. No more.

Thank you Viva for trying to right the ship. :yes:

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Thank you Wishiknew. Thank you for your courage to expose, it gave me courage. Thank you for your insight and compassionate voice,please no that you are not alone. It seems we share so much, our sensitivity towards others, our need to feel understood and to protect ourselves.

I do not believe this is off the subject. I BELIEVE IT IS THE VERY DISCCUSIONS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN. UNFORTUNATELY WHEN WE ARE UNCOMFORTABLE IT IS SO EASY TO FOCUS ON ACTORS CELEBRITIES, WHO ARE FAR FROM OUR WORLD WHO ARE SUFFERING TO EMPATHIZE WITH THEM THAN IT IS TO HEAR THAT WE HAVE PROBLEMS IN THE AREA THAT ARE NOT BEING ADDRESSED...VIVA. THE SHIP IS ON COURSE WHEN WE BRING THE ISSUES CLOSER TO HOME.

IT is extremely sad and disheartening about Robin Williams, and perhaps we can learn something from this tragedy IF WE CHOOSE TOO.

We make up a much bigger group than other nurses feel comfortable in sharing,but the need to feel safe is necessary for everyone. I support your.need. Wishiknew to not share with people who may not be safe.

I will reinterate that most of my very close friends that i disclosed my battle with depression were nurses and a couple of more were psych nurses....it was actually worse. Their behavior may have not been meant to be hurtful,judgemental and isolationg but it was.

Not talking about the problems in how we see and treat mh issues does not make it non existent.

And in order for things to get better for anyone struggling with depression or any emotional or mh issue we must first look within our own intimate circles.

I have seen a couple of defensive posts really not important to mention because there is something much bigger at stake...taking a look at how we treat people that are struggling in silence . They live among us,they work with us, we take care of them and we are also them. So again the ship is very much on course.

But if these posts cut to close to home and makes you uncomfortable then good....we are now beginning a dialogue that got started because Robin Williams took his life and he was loved by people in his circles, he had access to the best resources, and he still felt alone. And why?

Thank you so much Wishiknew, sometimes we just need to know someone understands and they care. Just keep being courageous Wishiknew it can be contagious ?

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Thank you Wishiknew. Thank you for your courage to expose, it gave me courage. Thank you for your insight and compassionate voice,please no that you are not alone. It seems we share so much, our sensitivity towards others,our need to feel understand and to protect ourselves.

We make up a much bigger group than other nurses feel comfortable in sharing,but the need to feel safe is necessary for evryone. I support your.need to not share with people who may not be safe. I will reinterate that most of my vry close friends that i disclosed my battle with depression were nurses and a couple of more were psych nurses....it was actually worse. Their behavior may have not been meant to be hurtful,judgemental and isolationg but it eas. And in order for things to get better for anyone struggling with depression or any emotional or mh issue e must first look within our own intimate circles. I have seen a couple of defensive posts really not important to mention because there is something much bigger at stake...taking a look at how we treat people that are struggling in silence. Thank you so much, sometimes we just need to know someone understands and they care. Just keep being courageous it can be contagious

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

Does anyone think his Parkinson's & depression were linked?

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
I'm not sure why or how this thread has turned into a screed against psychiatry and psychoactive medication, but I'd like to get it back on track by saying I hope that the loss of Robin Williams will dispel some of the stigma associated with mental illness. No more judgmentalism, no more stereotyping, no more shame. No more.

I've had a lot of patients reaching out for help this week because of how his suicide affected them. They saw something in Robin's story that reflected their own story a little too closely. Or they realized that if they didn't address their own problems and reach out for help, it was possible they could share the same fate.

It's also made me a little more vigilant about SI screenings, and not taking any remarks a patient made for granted.

Does anyone think his Parkinson's & depression were linked?

Not necessarily. If he was on psychotropics for the long-term it's possible that the medications could have exacerbated it. But Parkinsons isn't strictly a psych med-related illness:

http://www.parkinson.org/parkinson-s-disease.aspx

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/basics/definition/CON-20028488

Michael J. Fox has had Parkinsons for many years (seems like forever), and AFAIK he was not on a heavy regimen of psychotropics.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

They could have been linked. Depression is prevalent among people with PD. I of course don't know what stage he was at; the news said he was diagnosed early in the course of the disease, and it may just have been the last straw for a man teetering on the edge, rather than a manifestation of his illness. I guess we'll never know now. :(

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Specializes in Pedi.
Does anyone think his Parkinson's & depression were linked?

I think Robin Williams struggled with mental illness LONG before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. I think it's possible that such a diagnosis could cause someone who's struggled for half his life with hopelessness and despair to fall back into that. We know that he checked himself into rehab earlier this summer to work on "continued sobriety". Was that because he was concerned that he would relapse into alcoholism given the Parkinson's diagnosis? Maybe. It would make sense. I also think that his wife's revelation that he had early Parkinson's has shifted the public's focus and that people are now thinking "oh, he had a REAL disease" because mental illness is somehow less real than physical illness in society's eyes.

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Specializes in critical care.
Does anyone think his Parkinson's & depression were linked?

The anti gluten crowd is already blaming gluten, saying both diseases are caused by it, ergo, I suppose Robin Williams was killed by pasta. ?

https://graph.facebook.com/thedr.com.english/photos/a.463219403709363.108915.180887411942565/794560673908566/?type=1

In case that link doesn't work, it's on TheDr.Com's page.

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