Oh Captain, my Captain!

[NewJeffCT]

he was an amazing talent, and he made millions smile and laugh. May he rest in peace.

 

[Janx]

If your talking about The Crazy Ones...that show was canceled..which I'm sure had some sort of impact on his depression, as someone who is still fighting that fight I know that almost anything can make it better or worse. Will Wheaton wrote up a nice bit about depression a while back and linked to it the other day http://wilwheaton.net/2012/09/depression-lies/

Didn't know The Crazy Ones was canceled. Either way, a lot of people probably depended on that show for a living, and benefited from working on projects with Mr. Williams. He apparently worked a lot with the USO as well. It's a shame he didn't have help right when he needed it, given all the good he's done for others.

 

[Henry]

It well and truly sucks, and I feel terrible for his family and friends.

I've been watching him ever since "Mork and Mindy" when I was a kid, and as I grew older, though our politics were pretty far apart, he never failed to make me laugh, even when he was poking political jabs, because he helped me see the humor in life. The fact that he didn't have anyone to help him find the bright spots in life at the end is a cruel irony.

Oh, and my wife and I were really bummed that "Crazy Ones" wasn't renewed, because the cast and writers were on fire for that show.

Got to break out some "Good Morning, Vietnam" this weekend.

 

[RMcCall]

Robin Williams in Jumanji made me see the joy that imagination could bring even to simple board games. That ultimately led to my interest in D&D, the reason I joined this board in the first place. I went back and watched it yesterday and I didn't cry, I laughed, and I hope that's what he would have wanted. Rest in peace, Robin Williams, and hopefully his family and friends will find peace as well.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

The fact that he didn't have anyone to help him find the bright spots in life at the end is a cruel irony.

It is not like he was alone - the devious thing about depression is that it's very different from what we "normals" feel as sadness, where other people can help us cheer up.

I guess this blog gives a good personal experience view on this:
Part 1: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.de/2011/10/adventures-in-depression.html
Part 2 (goes more into how others can "help" - or fail to):
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.de/2013/05/depression-part-two.html


Of course, it's personal/subjective, and it might not be what ever person that suffers from depression experiences is.

 

[Umbran]

I fixed links in that post for you, I hope that's okay.

 

[Umbran]

Of course, it's personal/subjective, and it might not be what ever person that suffers from depression experiences is.

My understanding is that what Hyperbole and a Half describes is one, not uncommon, experience. But not the only one. There's no universals, here, but again, my understanding is that there are some tendencies.

Specifically, there's forms of depression where the depression is itself the root issue. Those tend to be more like what the comic described. There is also depression that comes as an adjunct and/or result of other issue - say, PTSD. Most often, the adjunct-depressive doesn't experience the total lack of emotion described in the comic.

That the un-afflicted folks do not really understand how to help, however, is fairly universal. Even folks who have been through depression, and managed to get out, sometimes have problems helping.