Posted by johnLA on August 12, 2014, at 16:34:41
In reply to day 7 deep tms, posted by johnLA on August 12, 2014, at 16:02:14
yesterday was a shocker to say the least when i heard about robin williams.
i'm sure it hit many of you very deeply as well.
i had only one discussion in my life before depression about suicide. i remember it very distinctly. i said it must be so hard to kill yourself. i was in college at the time. the guy i said it to said why do you say that? i said because life is so beautiful. what could ever make a person reach a point where they would not want to live anymore? i was young.
many years later a student said to me; 'you can't be happy every day mr. m.' i replied; 'why not?' how naive, spoiled, lucky, blessed i was.
as the news broke about robin williams i had several family/friends check-in on me. my 2 best guy friends who have been on my side since day 1 of this took me out for our usual monday man date night. we talked about it. these two buddies are like brothers to me. i am so lucky to have them. one of my dear sisters also called to check on me. i think she was pretty shook-up. maybe made her realize what depression does sometimes. i also had several other friends call or text just to check-in. one of my favorite sayings pre-depression used to be 'i feel a lot of love in the room!' luckily i felt it from the people closest to me last night. i am blessed. i need to remember that...
i posted the following on a news site. i was surprised by the responses i got. i think/hope a change is coming for all of us in regards to mental health...
Robin Williams, manic comedy star, dead at 63
john 18 hours ago 54 likes
close to 40,000 americans take their own lives each year. almost 8 times as many as that try. fewer are murdered. fewer die from aids. fewer die in traffic accidents. fewer died in viet nam than in a year-and-a-half here due to suicide. more soldiers are dying due to completed suicides than are dying in the battles we are fighting currently. by the year 2020 the world health organization predicts depression will be the leading cause of disability in the world. (it's currently 2nd.) i believe something like a 'civil rights' movement for mental health is needed in our country. i don't know the answers. all i know is i suffer from depression. i hate that word. there should be a different word for it. it is not sadness. it is something much more; soul crushing and mind altering.
one of the fastest growing number of suicides are in the teenager age group.
50% of americans believe it is not a 'real' condition.
i'm not joking; we need a 'ralph nader' for mental health crusading...
god i wish john lennon or bob marley were still alive.
Replies
Nik 18 hours ago 10 likes
What he said ^The New Dread Pirate Roberts 18 hours ago 9 likes
Or both. Wishing you the best!Kevin 18 hours ago 11 likes
Interesting words John. Hang in there.Robert 17 hours ago 20 likes
Dear John: I am a Vietnam Vet. I won an Army Commendation Medal with a "V" device for valor in combat, but coming home was difficult. I had PTSD but no one at the time knew what it was. My mother kicked me out of her apartment after I got back when she dropped a pan in the kitchen and I jumped behind her couch where she found me. I lived through one too many rocket and mortar attacks by the VC. Only mention this stuff because it took many years to "get my head together." Life is incredibly difficult and hard and at times unforgiving, in that no matter what you have achieved, the amount of money you make or the things you possess, sometimes when peering "through the lookingglass" like is dark and forbidding and for some not worth living anymore. I am now a successful writer and have been happily married for 27 plus years and live in a gated community in Stockton, CA. However, the long rocky road from there to here was filled with serious depression. I am one of the other 50% who believes that depression does exist. Just before I got my first book published I lay in bed in a black depression and after about 24 hours my phone rang. It was my literary agent in New York and I had sold a book and the movie rights, changing my life forever. I sometimes wonder about "what if" I had't received that call. I loved your comment because it was deep and revealing. Thank you. StocktonRob Veteran of the Big Red One at Lai Khe, S.V.
Codyboy20114 17 hours ago 11 likes
@Robert: Thank you for giving hope to John. More people need to reach out and help others, as you did, and acknowledge what depression is. This country treats depression as such Taboo. It's really sad.
MoreCaroline 17 hours ago 11 likes
To John: I understand what you're saying, and I clicked the "like" button, although of course I don't actually like this situation. I agree that this is all much more complicated than simply using the term depression. There are many, many forms of cancer, and the same is true of depression. For me, it's a lack of self-esteem, and I'm a relatively successful person. For Robin Williams who was super successful, he may still have never felt that way inside.Ted 15 hours ago 7 likes
John, your post was right on the money. Depression kills, and isn't taken seriously yet. I hope you get the help you need and find peace brother!me again...
rip robin williams. you were one absolutely amazing human being. i am so sorry for your family and friends. and, us too who you brought so much joy to.
poster:johnLA
thread:1069147
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20140717/msgs/1069650.html