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Armchair Psychoanalysts and Robin Williams' Suicide

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posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 12:18 AM
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In no way meant to disparage the life or work of the man...

Robin Williams kills himself and now everyone (again) is an expert in celebrity psychopathology. I've seen three or four threads today (and innumerable internet blogs) trying to explain why comedians battle depression, how fame and depression are linked, etc. etc. Ad nauseam.

You can apply all the psychoanalytic theories you want, but none of you actually knew the man. You have no idea what was going on in his head. You didn't live his life. You didn't fight his battles. You didn't lose his loves. People like to put human behavior into perfect, scientifically-classified boxes, when the subjective nature of human experience makes that all but impossible.

People can't even begin to fathom why the man chose to end his own life—it's impossible to know—yet that doesn't stop my neighbor and his second cousin from bolstering their intellectual egos by regurgitating some BS pop psychology nonsense they know nothing about.

He obviously hated life enough to want to end it and actually follow through. A man who had everything anyone could ever want, and it wasn't enough. That's what the story should be about—the illusion of ego-gratification (fame) and wealth as sources of happiness.

Wait. Now I'm doing it. Can't we let the man go respectfully? Do we really have to use his death as a platform for armchair behavioral scientists to classify comedians as an “at-risk demographic” for suicide? Honor his life and his work by not making him a statistic.

One man's death is another man's chance to show how smart he is about it.




posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 12:37 AM
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Nice post. And yes, euthanasia comes to mind.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 12:46 AM
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a reply to: NthOther

Excellent point. No one knows what was going on in his head or how he felt but him. However, through all this discussion, I do hope some people will learn more compassion as a result though.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 01:38 AM
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a reply to: NthOther

Sound rant nth. It would be grand if this were the last thread on this particular news item for you have wrapped it up nicely.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 01:40 AM
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cant you fuqnuts give the guy some damn peace this is like the 10th thread about him now if not more



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 02:55 AM
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a reply to: NthOther

Its hard to see how such a successful man would want to kill himself - but it does give the lesson that money doesn't bring happiness.

I wondered if anyone saw something my son mentioned to me when we were chatting on the phone last night and that was that he was starting to get Altzheimers and the thought of that was something such a brilliant man didn't want to suffer? He may have got it wrong, I don't know. RIP you lovely man, you will be missed.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 03:35 AM
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a reply to: NthOther

Its human nature, whats the big deal?
You even did it in your OP.

Relax, let it run...



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 05:16 AM
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a reply to: NthOther

Talking about depression and suicide is the best way to fight depression and suicide. For too long mental illness like depression has been the elephant in the room. Nobody wants to admit if they are struggling with depression, or any other mental illness.

Getting it out in the open and talking about it is the first step toward helping the thousands, if not millions, of people who suffer every day.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 05:45 AM
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The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.


originally posted by: NthOther
A man who had everything anyone could ever want, and it wasn't enough. That's what the story should be about—the illusion of ego-gratification (fame) and wealth as sources of happiness.

The story should be about how mental illness is a serious disease. The story should be about how 1/5 of the people on this planet will end up suffering from some form of mental illness. The story should be about how people who have never suffered from Depression shouldn't be judging those who have it by saying awful things like 'he was selfish'. The story should be about how a whole lot of people don't understand the medical situation with Depression and how it changes the brain function.

As an ATS Staff Member, I will not moderate in threads such as this where I have participated as a member.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 05:56 AM
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I think when people are affected by a death, particularly by a suicide, it helps them to talk about it to try and find some sort of 'sense' in what seems a senseless act.

You're right, none of us can ever know specifically why Robin Williams did it. But we can know generally what takes people to that particular precipice.

And I think that's always a helpful conversation for society to have. So long as it doesn't wind up in a place where the victim of suicide gets 'blamed' for being 'weak' or somesuch.



posted on Aug, 13 2014 @ 10:17 AM
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Something pushed him over the edge. Maybe it was the tens of millions he has to pay to ex-wives? But I can't blame him for wanting to leave this crappy world. I really can't.



posted on Aug, 16 2014 @ 12:00 AM
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Your rant is about Armchair Psychoanalysts, well why couldn't so called professional Psychoanalysts help the man who was obviously in a state duress.

Until you directly experience a friend or loved one who is not normally suicidal then see them drink alcohol on antidepressants and say they want to kill themselves, it's difficult to accept how this can occur.

In Australia alone a person calls a depression helpline every 10 MINUTES, considering or has attempted suicide. EVERY TEN MINUTES.

Sadly only when Entertainers take their lives in this way does it actually get talked about.

The problem is at epidemic levels and yet it makes too much money for so called 'professionals' whose interest is in paying off their UNI DEBT or going on that next pharmaceutical industry paid for holiday for it to change.



posted on Aug, 17 2014 @ 01:34 AM
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a reply to: subtopia

Exactly. There's a lot of money in depression, with a much greater emphasis on alleviating symptoms (selling drugs) than treating the illness.

Someone will start "The Williams Foundation" or something like that doing pharmaceutical research or God knows what.

The whole thing truly is a shame. I was never really a big fan of his comedic work actually, but some of his more dramatic performances are truly iconic and inspiring. Bright flames...



posted on Aug, 18 2014 @ 02:59 PM
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proves money and fame cant make everyone happy. also, im pretty sure i have an idea of what was going though his head.
he was already battling depression and then found out he was in the early stages of parkinsons..
i think what was going through his head was
'i cant deal with this'

seems pretty simple..
not every person on the planet can cope with the same things. not really that hard. i think this is also another example of how serious mental illness is



posted on Aug, 19 2014 @ 08:01 PM
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It's sad the net brought out even more than just opinion of people with related issues or ones with psychiatry experience or ones that may believe that they know what happened to a t. The worst of the worst came out with those who enjoy trolling. His daughter basically left Twitter-dunno about other social media- because of what was going on with trolling about his passing. Now net bullying, trolls are being talked about(once again), how to prevent being a trolling victim, to restrictions, etc. In the end we all lose due to tighter posting rules and anonymity taken away because certain people get their 'jollies' from hurting people.



posted on Aug, 20 2014 @ 07:58 AM
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a reply to: dreamingawake

well truth is...even the professionals don't know...because we aren't Robin...period

I am a licensed therapist...I feel for him but I don't know what he went through any more than I know what my clients go through unless they open up and EVEN then I still can't feel every detail they feel




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