[Tina]

That's what people have been saying.

I am a HUGE fan of Classic Hollywood - Lauren death saddens me! I heard she died of a stroke.

[Sunrise at Midnight]

I didn't read any details just that she had passed. She had an amazing career!

[Tina]

She did. 89 years is a long time, but it's still sad. Anyone who dies is just sad. It looks like she was about a month short of her 90th birthday.

[Sunrise at Midnight]

Aw....

What a week of emotional news.

[Tina]

I know.

[Sunrise at Midnight]

And it's only Tuesday

[Future husband of Kelly.]

Originally Posted by Tina (View Post) Robin Williams dies at 63.

He has been my favourite actor since the beginning in the 1970's. I followed his work all the way through and were a huge fan of the man and his acting. I am not into watching films and l don't think much of actors etc, but l always watched his films and thought very highly of the man. No-one came close to him imo.

I also like Jim Carey, but Robin was by far the best. If Robin was in a film l would watch it. It is such a pity he didn't get to star in more films.

[Tina]

I know Ron

IKR Kali

[Ann357]

Advocates hope Robin Williams' death will spur discussion While the death of Robin Williams has sparked an outpouring of grief around the world, mental health advocates say they hope it will also renew efforts to prevent suicide. "He was such a charismatic and beloved figure, that if his death can galvanize our society to act instead of just grieve, it will be a fitting memorial to him," says Jeffrey Lieberman, professor and chairman of psychiatry at New York's Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. By putting a sympathetic human face on the problem of mental illness, Williams could help others better understand the disease and show compassion for those who suffer from it, says Paul Banuski, of Skaneateles, N.Y. Like Williams, Banuski has fought depression and alcoholism. In March, Banuski survived his second suicide attempt. "Too many people don't understand depression as a medical issue," says Banuski, 30. "They see it as a moral failing." That stigma has hindered the country's progress in reducing suicide, Banuski says. The USA's suicide rate has been stubbornly high for decades, with more than 39,000 annual deaths — a number that has been growing even as deaths from other causes have fallen, says Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. Suicide, for example, now kills twice as many people as homicides, yet receives only a fraction of the attention, Insel says. Suicide also kills more people than car accidents, AIDS or prostate cancer. More people need to realize that depression can be a "life-threatening illness," Insel says. "These disorders can be fatal, even when people get really good care, which is no different from cancer or heart disease." Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., a child psychologist, has introduced legislation to change the way mental illness is treated and funded. In a statement released Tuesday, he said he hopes Williams' death will focus the country's attention on a long-neglected issue. "Over the last decade, the annual suicide rate among Mr. Williams' age group has increased nearly 30%," Murphy said. "In what other discipline of medicine would we ignore such staggering statistics?" These deaths are especially tragic, because they are preventable, Lieberman says. While many view mental illness as hopeless, treatment for diseases such as depression and bipolar disorder is actually very effective. The country has steadily chipped away at other major causes of deaths, such as car accidents, by requiring seat belts, air bags and guard rails, Insel says. The USA could reduce suicides with similar combinations of technology and public policy. He notes that simple barriers around bridges prevent many suicidal people from falling to their deaths. And a carbon monoxide sensor, which shuts off the ignition when levels of the gas reach toxic levels inside a car, could prevent at least 760 suicide deaths a year. Technology to make these devices, which would cost less than $50, has been around for 40 years, Insel says. In these and other ways, Lieberman says, "we know what to do to prevent suicide. We just don't do it." Banuski says he's speaking out now, in spite of the stigma of mental illness, to dispel some of the myths about suicide, including the notion that it's impossible to help someone who wants to die. "At the last minute, I changed my mind," Banuski says. "I'm convinced that if I had had a gun in the house, that I would be dead." Removing weapons from the home or putting even small roadblocks in the path of someone considering suicide can be lifesaving, Insel says. Many suicide attempts are impulsive decisions that fade within hours or even minutes. Banuski got help — including medication and weekly therapy — and is now "happy to be alive." But Banuski says the country needs to change the way it thinks about mental illness. He says he's been frustrated to read stories describing Williams as "battling demons," as if depression were a moral failing instead of a matter of brain chemistry and genes. "We don't treat mental health the same way we treat other disease," Banuski says. "Nobody would say, if you die of cancer, that you were battling demons. They would say that you had a disease and that you fought it with treatments and medicine. Well, we do that in mental health, too." Jonathan Rottenberg, a psychologist and professor at the University of South Florida, also opted to speak publicly about the depression that led him to be hospitalized 20 years ago, when he considered suicide. "We're on the cusp of a breakthrough," says Rottenberg, who says younger people are less intimidated by the stigma of mental illness and more willing to speak out. "Young people are in the vanguard today in changing attitudes about mental illness. They don't understand why it should invalidate you as a human being." Rottenberg says he hopes his story can give hope to others who are struggling with depression. "I was quite sure that I would never get to the other side," says Rottenberg, now 45, with a wife, daughter and successful career. "My recovery has surpassed my wildest dreams."

Source: Advocates hope Robin Williams' death will spur discussion

Hopefully some good will come of Robin Williams death. There are certainly problems getting metal health treatment and a stigma in the USA.

[BlackSapphire]

^ Thank you very much for sharing.

I so hope it will encourage people who are battling with depression to speak openly. People who have depression aren't failures.
It's been neglected for way too long and I hope the issue can improve in some way.

It really is heartbreaking.
I adore this thread so that we can all come together.

[Ann357]

Originally Posted by DarkAngelx (View Post) People who have depression aren't failures.

So true. Depression needs to be treated and spoken about like the illness it is...just like cancer or other diseases. People are not failures or weak if they get sick.

[BlackSapphire]

^ Well said

People don't treat depression with the urgency and seriousness that it needs. I ask myself why, every single day
People who suffer with it need to open up to whatever is happening inside their mind. It's the only way that took me on my road to recovery. By speaking openly, but admittedly it took guts. It took nerves of steel for me. We need to listen to those that need to reach out, but they can't.
Depression is not a throwaway comment, it needs to be taken seriously. It's a condition, not an expression.

[Collins]

Originally Posted by DarkAngelx (View Post) Depression is not a throwaway comment, it needs to be taken seriously. It's a condition, not an expression.

So very very true. People throw the word around too much when it should be taken very seriously. I really hope that people pay more attention to what depression really is, and to try and understand what it is like. People are so shocked because of the way he acted, so happy and making others happy however what we are on the inside can be something completely different and people need to understand that. Anyone can be depressed. Depression is a disease too, and we can't blame the victim for losing the fight. I know from my experience, being around people who didn't know a thing about it, and still don't understand it, made it harder to deal with it.

[sunnykerr]

And the other thing this brings up is that depression also doesn't just go away.

If anyone thought Robin Williams was "better" because his profession was to make people laugh, I hope they now understand that depression is a completely different animal.

People do get better. But smiling and making people laugh has nothing to do with it.

And sometimes they get better for a little while, and then you're back to square one again.

And there's no shame in that either.

I don't think anything can make this anything short of a tragedy, especially for his loved ones, but indeed, if it means we're all moving towards greater understanding and compassion for people who live with this terrible disease, then something positive will have come out of this horrible event.

[BlackSapphire]

^ It's nothing but a tragedy. I quite agree. I just hope something good is able to come out of this meaning that I hope people will take depression as a serious illness now. I can't stress it enough.
There's no shame in it at all, no shame and nobody that suffers it is a failure.

Anyway, I still can't get over the shock of him passing. What a remarkable man.