I have always said everyone has a breaking point. Many years ago I had thought of suicide as a way out of something I was dealing with, but thankfully got help. My husband did not believe that anyone/everyone could get to that point until he was charged, and sentenced for SO. He thought about suicide when everything first blew up. I hope Robin Williams' death gets people talking about the fact anyone can get that low.

What most people don't understand---and many don't care---is that while clinical depression manifests itself outwardly in the form of emotional symptoms, it is actually a physical disease and caused by a physical abnormality, not an emotional one.

Depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain tissue---usually a deficiency of seritonin----- just as diabetes is caused by a deficiency of insulin being produced and excreted by the pancreas.

Once people realize that most depressive and mental disorders are physical disease processes, they can understand it better.

This is why it is so silly to tell someone depressed to "pull yourself up by the bootstraps" or "don't be so weak". It is just not possible to pull yourself out of it until the physical aspect is taken care of by restoring the chemical balance in the brain tissue.

rewdiazepam

Wise words, Rew. People should save words like coward for the people who really are cowards, not people who cope bravely with mental illness, like Robin Williams. Just think of all he did over many years to face his pain. 12 steps, rehab, being open and honest with so many… If that is not bravery, I don't know what is.

Now, turning to our politicians--those who push something as destructive and NOT evidence-based as the sex offender registry because they are afraid of losing the votes of the ignorant masses. THOSE people are cowards!

BTW, I have also heard that Robin Williams was bipolar (makes sense as he always seemed to be in a manic phase). Also, today his wife said that he was in the beginning stages of Parkinson's Disease. That's a major baddie. If these things are true, and it were me facing all of that, I would have done exactly what he did. Really makes you think.

Did you also see that Robin's daughter was harassed on Twitter by people blaming her for her father's actions? How heartless can you get?

Also, I wanted to make a comment about the families of the mentally ill. In many ways, these families face very similar circumstances to the families of sex offenders: social stigmas, lack of appropriate treatment and help, severe financial difficulties, shunning from the community. As family members of sex offenders, yes, we have it bad, but we are not so alone as we think we are.

Families of the mentally ill suffer greatly, too. I know tonight i am going hold love for the family of Robin Williams and extend it to all families who have a mentally ill family member. If anyone wants to join me, just put your hands over your heart, focus on your breath and FEEL love while holding a mental picture of those families. You will be amazed at how connected you feel only after a couple of minutes.

im on cybalta between this unjust registry stuff people not understanding , mother in law thinking I shoud be a super woman before I go to my part time job and not understanding my medical conditions being two faced toward me and me having to just understand her but it don't matter how im in so much pain howmu migraines debilitate me how our finances cripple us or how we feel , how tired we are or what we got thru , how I hate my job cause the people being so lazy and uncareing , I am depressed and yes im a Christian but im still in my flesh so I can get hurt and be sad too ,no I know I wouldn't go run off and kill my self and I will endure , and im on cybalta meds plus a preventive for migraines that makes me sleep and forget my memory , but id rather not be in excruciating pain then be in it , .. this hells people here understands ad not judges ty for that .we all going thru something in tis life , we all need to reach out and let each other know we aren't alone in this together to the end more than conquerere , they aren't going to take the best from us .

I take lexapro and it has worked well or quite a while since I decided to quit fighting biology and go back on it a few years ago, but with everything going on, I am finding that something needs adjusted because my anxiety and depression are worse now than ever, and I'm barely staying afloat. Thanks rew for the thread, and everyone for their posts. I needed this thread right now, it brings me comfort. Having been on both sides of depression and being on and not on meds...I know I'll get through this but everyday is a struggle, and mental illness is so hard to talk about due to, as rew said, "willfull ignorance". I'm a therapist, and you should see how people in the med. Profession treat people with mental illness! He'll, my mom is the executive director for a local chapter of a national non profit mental health organization and SHE doesn't even get it!! So thankful for this family we have here..

duppydoozy,

I have a six year degree in pharmacology and I have always understood mental illness and disease. Most of my peers, including physicians are intelligent enough with enough compassion, to treat people with depression as they should be treated----human beings with a physical problem that has morphed into an emotional one.

It is the other people in the medical profession that do not understand. The hospital staff, a few of the nurses---who do not have a lot of pathology or pharmacology training----and the other people I consider on the peripheral end of the medical profession that is the problem.

Whenever I came across someone suffering from any medical problem, including depression, I just remembered that only by the grace of God that I am well in that area. Anyone can get depression----ANYONE. Depression does not discriminate.

rewdiazepam

I have a type of depression that is cyclical. Every so many years I sink into deep dark depression. Thankfully, I don't get suicidal partly, I think, cos having dealt with it so many times, I know it's not forever... tho' it's sometimes hard to keep that thought when it seems otherwise. I do seek help when I get that way. And, yes, it hurts and mostly all I want to do is sleep or at times my OCD kicks into overdrive and I will focus on one thing and that's all I'll want to do. Last time it was cross-stitch....sounds funny now I know. I also get very irritable.