Robin Williams has passed away...

[Halloweenqueen]

Thanks to the previous posters for sharing their stories.

I read an article in the New Yorker several years ago about people who have jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. There was a documentary and conversation on NPR shortly after the article came out. One surprising statistic found that 94% of people who were talked off the bridge never attempt suicide again.

I found the article online. A powerful story about suicide.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/10/13/jumpers

 

[Dan Murphy]

http://http://youtu.be/GorgFtCqPEs

Well, that didn't work. I am terrible at this sort of thing but there is a wonderful video on Youtube and on Koko the gorilla's website of Robin meeting Koko and it is beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9I_QvEXDv0

 

[Christine43]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9I_QvEXDv0

Thank you, that's it. Wonderful way to remember Robin Williams.

 

[redlight]

This is so sad! RIP Robin.

 

[Luvchefmic]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9I_QvEXDv0

Thank you, that's it. Wonderful way to remember Robin Williams.

Thank you both

 

[Planogirl]

http://http://youtu.be/GorgFtCqPEs

Well, that didn't work. I am terrible at this sort of thing but there is a wonderful video on Youtube and on Koko the gorilla's website of Robin meeting Koko and it is beautiful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9I_QvEXDv0

That was amazing! Koko is something else and Robin looked so touched and happy.

 

[Deb in IA]

And there is a story from Barbara Walters on the special friendship Robin Williams had with Christopher Reeve.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/robin-williams-christopher-reeves-secret-pact-24954476

It left me in tears.

 

[Hillbeans]

And there is a story from Barbara Walters on the special friendship Robin Williams had with Christopher Reeve.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/robin-williams-christopher-reeves-secret-pact-24954476

It left me in tears.

So touching. Those words he spoke about Christopher Reeve have new meaning now, "Miss you, may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest"

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

The tribute done at Aladdin on Broadway

http://m.playbill.com//news/article/194499-Genie-Youre-Free-Broadways-Aladdin-Remembers-Robin-Williams-With-Post-Show-Sing-Along-Video?tsrc=nx

 

[ElsaColon]

The tribute done at Aladdin on Broadway

http://m.playbill.com//news/article/194499-Genie-Youre-Free-Broadways-Aladdin-Remembers-Robin-Williams-With-Post-Show-Sing-Along-Video?tsrc=nx

This video made me cry. So touching.

 

[livie1205]

Its so sad but I wish the tabloids would stop doing "updates" every 5 minutes. This man has a family and they have to see this stuff. He was a actor but this is such a private moment for his family.

 

[kimblebee]

His widow has now revealed that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. It does not justify it at ALL, but maybe it was his reasoning.

 

[FergieTCat]

His widow has now revealed that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. It does not justify it at ALL, but maybe it was his reasoning.

I just read that. My heart dropped again.

I can not imagine standing where he stood and thinking what he thought. There but for the grace of G-d go I.

 

[galaxygirl76]

His widow has now revealed that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. It does not justify it at ALL, but maybe it was his reasoning.

Maybe it was the final drop.

I'm still so very sad about his passing, he was such a big part of my childhood. I remember seeing him as Mork in Happy Days reruns, he is in so many movies I love, I cried when he finally won his Oscar. It is so sad that a man that brought so much joy to so many people had all those demons to deal with and saw no other way out than taking his own life to make it stop. I hope if there is something good that comes from his death, it's more awareness of mental health issues. It's an invisible disease and you can't tell who's suffering because so many people hide it, like Robin did with his comedy.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

.

 

[Deb in IA]

That explains the inclusion of the Muhammed Ali Parkinson Center in the recommended charities for donations in Robin Williams' name.

No funeral details were released, but Williams, long known as one of the most charitable actors, was giving back even in death. His family, per his reps, asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to these charities: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and USO.

 

[ChanFO]

His widow has now revealed that he was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. It does not justify it at ALL, but maybe it was his reasoning.

I don't know if killing oneself ever needs an explanation or justification; it is just sometimes the result of having fought for a long time and not being able to fight your own mind anymore. It does shed some light on the burdens he had on his mind, though. Having struggled with depression for over two decades now, I can see how one's thinking might go in a situation like that. Living with depression is like constantly trying to swim upstream, sometimes you do well and find a rock to hold onto for a while and sometimes you're flailing to keep your head above water. A diagnosis like that could easily pull someone under who's already exhausted from a bout of very hard flailing.

 

[kimblebee]

I don't know if killing oneself ever needs an explanation or justification; it is just sometimes the result of having fought for a long time and not being able to fight your own mind anymore. It does shed some light on the burdens he had on his mind, though. Having struggled with depression for over two decades now, I can see how one's thinking might go in a situation like that. Living with depression is like constantly trying to swim upstream, sometimes you do well and find a rock to hold onto for a while and sometimes you're flailing to keep your head above water. A diagnosis like that could easily pull someone under who's already exhausted from a bout of very hard flailing.

Oh, I agree with you. My fiance struggles with severe depression and so, I struggle along with him.

 

[Deb in IA]

I think it is a combination of being biologically programmed, if you will, to depression, along with preciptating events, that send people down that final spiral from which they cannot climb back out.

People who have depression often say they can actually feel a darkness coming over them when they know they are heading to a bad period, so I do believe there is a real physical basis to this terrifying disorder.

And in retrospect, maybe there were other things that were happening that sent Robin Williams down that final path - maybe the combination of the cancellation of his show, the fianancial troubles, the Parkinson diagnosis. I think he knew he was headed for trouble, and that is why he went back to Hazelden briefly last month. But somehow, as hard as he tried, he just could not find a way out.

 

[TeresaBelle]

I lost my daddy to suicide in this exact same way.. in 1988. I pray for his children. Rest in peace, sweet prince!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katie-hurley/theres-nothing-selfish-about-suicide_b_5672519.html