We were recently informed that the hilarious and extremely talented man, Robin Williams had decided to take his life after a long battle against depression. When I got the news I was sad to hear about yet another person who found no other way to get out than to take his own life. As a person who has suffered from depression I know how it feels when you don't see any way to get yourself back up but I've been fortunate enough to never lose that last spark.
What I noticed quickly after the news hit the world was that suddenly everyone seemed to acknowledge how depression is an issue in the world and that we constantly need to speak about it and we shouldn't be ashamed of it. This is something I realised a long time ago but for some reason a famous person that was popular amongst many of us had to die for the world to realise it. Suddenly I had friends, that had told me to cheer up when I was down, saying that we need to understand that telling someone that is depressed to cheer up is like telling someone with cancer to stop having cancer. Suddenly, people said that a mental illness is as much of an illness as a physical one. Suddenly, there was nothing wrong with being depressed.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with all of this but how come did no one care about that before Robin Williams died? What's the reason for my depression or some of my friends depression not being bad enough for people to realise it is a serious issue in the world but Robin Williams' was? It made me feel that I am less worth than Robin Williams just because he's made some funny films. I'm not saying it's not sad that he suffered from depression but it isn't sadder than a person who isn't famous suffer from depression.
It's not the first time a celebrity has to die for the world to actually wake up. When Amy Winehouse died people suddenly realised that drug addiction in the showbiz was an issue and that we need to do something about it. It's like the world only thinks something is an issue when someone famous is going through it. Maybe it's because a celebrity actually has an opportunity to reach out to a lot more people than me just blogging from time to time but to be honest, I think people suddenly wake up because they now want to show the world that they are sad this person has died. It wouldn't matter what the reason for Robin Williams death would have been, the world would have started talking about how much of an issue that reason is.
The problem with this though is that in one way I have Robin Williams to thank for people finally talking about depression. I've been trying to encourage people not to be ashamed and not to keep quiet but as you might have realised, it hasn't been as successful as I would have liked it to be. Now, the whole world is talking about it and that is what matters in the end.
Depression is a horrible mental illness that a lot of people go through at some part of their lives. Some people go through it often, some only once and some suffer from it constantly. I'm one of those who has gone through it a few times but always have the feeling in the back of my head. It hasn't stopped me from living my life though the same way as it didn't stop Robin Williams to live his life and make other people smile. But as you probably realise, just because he was smiling on the outside didn't mean everything was perfect on the inside and that is an important lesson we need to learn. We need to be more observant to the people around us. Our friends and family should be able to talk to us about how they are feeling instead of hiding it. I know some people prefer to keep their feelings inside but I think that has to do with the stigma of depression being something that we choose to suffer from even though we all know that isn't true.
There are always people out there to help someone who is suffering from depression and there is nothing wrong with needing that help. As Robin Williams said as Lance Clayton "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem". Unfortunately Robin Williams gave in to that permanent solution but I wish no more people will have to and that this time all those posts online about depression being something we need to deal with will be the real wake-up call and not just people trying to pay their tribute to Robin Williams. Because I think the best tribute would be to actually fight depression in the world the way we should have done a long time ago.
What I noticed quickly after the news hit the world was that suddenly everyone seemed to acknowledge how depression is an issue in the world and that we constantly need to speak about it and we shouldn't be ashamed of it. This is something I realised a long time ago but for some reason a famous person that was popular amongst many of us had to die for the world to realise it. Suddenly I had friends, that had told me to cheer up when I was down, saying that we need to understand that telling someone that is depressed to cheer up is like telling someone with cancer to stop having cancer. Suddenly, people said that a mental illness is as much of an illness as a physical one. Suddenly, there was nothing wrong with being depressed.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with all of this but how come did no one care about that before Robin Williams died? What's the reason for my depression or some of my friends depression not being bad enough for people to realise it is a serious issue in the world but Robin Williams' was? It made me feel that I am less worth than Robin Williams just because he's made some funny films. I'm not saying it's not sad that he suffered from depression but it isn't sadder than a person who isn't famous suffer from depression.
It's not the first time a celebrity has to die for the world to actually wake up. When Amy Winehouse died people suddenly realised that drug addiction in the showbiz was an issue and that we need to do something about it. It's like the world only thinks something is an issue when someone famous is going through it. Maybe it's because a celebrity actually has an opportunity to reach out to a lot more people than me just blogging from time to time but to be honest, I think people suddenly wake up because they now want to show the world that they are sad this person has died. It wouldn't matter what the reason for Robin Williams death would have been, the world would have started talking about how much of an issue that reason is.
The problem with this though is that in one way I have Robin Williams to thank for people finally talking about depression. I've been trying to encourage people not to be ashamed and not to keep quiet but as you might have realised, it hasn't been as successful as I would have liked it to be. Now, the whole world is talking about it and that is what matters in the end.
Depression is a horrible mental illness that a lot of people go through at some part of their lives. Some people go through it often, some only once and some suffer from it constantly. I'm one of those who has gone through it a few times but always have the feeling in the back of my head. It hasn't stopped me from living my life though the same way as it didn't stop Robin Williams to live his life and make other people smile. But as you probably realise, just because he was smiling on the outside didn't mean everything was perfect on the inside and that is an important lesson we need to learn. We need to be more observant to the people around us. Our friends and family should be able to talk to us about how they are feeling instead of hiding it. I know some people prefer to keep their feelings inside but I think that has to do with the stigma of depression being something that we choose to suffer from even though we all know that isn't true.
There are always people out there to help someone who is suffering from depression and there is nothing wrong with needing that help. As Robin Williams said as Lance Clayton "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem". Unfortunately Robin Williams gave in to that permanent solution but I wish no more people will have to and that this time all those posts online about depression being something we need to deal with will be the real wake-up call and not just people trying to pay their tribute to Robin Williams. Because I think the best tribute would be to actually fight depression in the world the way we should have done a long time ago.
Kommentarer
Skicka en kommentar