Robin Williams – Depression and hope

I don’t usually comment on social media about celebrities who have passed away but I was so sad to hear that the actor Robin Williams died today. The press say that it was suicide and that he had been suffering with severe depression for a number of years. I never knew this.

I will never forget going to see Mrs Doubtfire at the cinema with my mum. I’ve never seen her laugh so much in all my life. Especially the scene where the guy tries to rob Mrs Doubtfire and he shouts in his normal voice “beat it” and then returns back to Mrs Doubtfire’s little Scottish voice and says “broke my bag, the BASTARD”. My mum sounds like Mrs Doubtfire and doesn’t swear so this was most amusing to her. I think she almost wet herself.

I loved Robin Williams as he was the star of my most favourite film ever, Good Will Hunting for which he won an oscar for his role as a psychological therapist.

Good Will Hunting is the film I go to when I’m feeling sad. I watch it after break ups, when I worry about cancer or when my confidence is low. It just makes me feel good. It’s a story about friendship, loss, love and overcoming fear and psychological issues. I feel like I can relate to it on so many levels.

There are so many great scenes but one of my favourite scenes is when Robin Williams character, Sean, is telling Will about how he met his wife. Sean’s wife died of cancer two years previously and Will asks if he wonders what his life would have been like without her and if he had regrets about meeting her because of the pain he feels now she is gone.

He goes on to tell Will how he gave up his tickets to the most important baseball game in his favourite teams history because he saw the woman of his dreams in a bar on the day of the game. He doesn’t regret a thing because he loved her.

I love this scene because he says something I’ve adopted in my own life and I still tell myself on a daily basis.

He says to Will “you’ll go through hard times but they always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to”.

I think about that phrase on a daily basis and I find it gives me hope.

I find it so sad when people take their own lives. I don’t know what Robin Williams was going through but I’m so sad that he gave up hope and felt he couldn’t go on. Sometimes hope is all we have and it can be the difference between life or death. I know what it’s like to not believe that there isn’t anything to look forward to but there really is, you just have to look for it.
If you ever feel like this then please don’t give up. There is always hope. It just likes to elude us for a while but it is there I promise you. Speak to someone about your issues. Sharing really does make a difference. If not with a friend then a helpline. Keep searching for those things that make you happy. I’ve found that writing is one of the most therapeutic things i do nowadays. Sometimes I just write my feelings down and it seems to distance the negative ones from me.

Not long ago I was a negative, sad and worry filled man and thought my future was limited at best and tomorrow I will be giving a presentation at the RSPCA’s Inspiration conference. I couldn’t have dreamt of such a thing a few years ago but maybe I should have.

The photo of the sign was taken on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It’s so sad that sign even exists but it speaks the truth. There is hope. Hopefully a few people picked up and made the call.

Rest in peace Robin Williams. You will be missed by so many.

“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”
Andy Dufresne – The Shawshank Redemption

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