mental health | One Bad Decision Away From Homelessness

Robin Williams

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

First and foremost, I’m deeply sorry about the recent suicide death of actor Robin Williams – my sincerest condolences to his many, many relatives, friends and fans all over the world. Now I may have not known Williams personally, but I just can’t figure out how somebody who constantly appeared to be “happy-go-lucky” or “the life of the party” can, in reality, be so gloomy and depressed.

Call me, naïve and gullible, if you will, but I never would’ve saw something like that coming in a million years.

Then, this morning, I happened to catch a couple of well-known psychiatrists say what some of the “early warning signs” were of a person who was suicidal, and at what point should you seek out help for that individual. Don’t get me wrong, these “experts” offered a lot of fantastic tips such as: what’s an abnormal amount of time a person “alone” versus being in the company of friends and loved ones?

Question: If a friend, relative, or co-worker seems to spend their entire weekends or “free time” in their residence and just lets their answering machine take all their phone calls – Would you actually call 9-1-1 to have the Police check-in on that person? I wouldn’t, I think that could be construed as an abuse of what the whole objective behind what calling

On the flip side of that, couldn’t this individual you’re reporting to the Police to “check in on” turn around and file a harassment complaint against YOU. I would assume they can. Do you really want to get involved in that type of a hassle? Don’t get me wrong, I hate to come off here as sounding “apathetic” towards a loved one in need, but the vast majority of people would probably view something like this as being, “none of my business”.I guess the argument psychiatrists use in this type of scenario is: It’s better to have a loved one ticked off at you and still alive as opposed to having a now-deceased loved one. Unfortunately, gauging a person’s mental health isn’t that clear-cut, black-or-white it’s more like one big blob of gray.

If the person in question, for example, is standing on the highest ledge of a multi-story building or a bridge contemplating jumping off then, yeah, call at that point and try to save that individual from killing themselves. But with people contemplating suicide, it’s never quite that simple.

In fact, I once worked with an individual who had a few mental issues and he would often show me his numerous medications to prove it. He periodically talked in terms of “killing himself” or “going crazy”, but even the employer never forced this individual to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Truth be told, this guy was actually one of the better employees with this organization. So with this guy, was that nothing more than, just joking around? In the exact same organization, I’ve witnessed people engage in some “heated” arguments with their supervisors and then immediately leave the workplace claiming they were, “stressed out” and punched out on Sick Leave. Most of my colleagues would then ask the question — was this individually honestly “stressed out”, or were they lying just to get a day or two off from work?

And then there was the incident a couple years back which then-Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas took a “hiatus” (or a year off) from playing professional hockey. At least a couple of Boston sports pundits accused Thomas on their radio show of just wanting out of his contract with the Bruins, yet how does any of us really know what Thomas was experiencing in his personal life at the time? Would Robin Williams be alive right now if he had taken a hiatus from his acting career just to get his priorities straight?

Ironically, the one individual who I personally knew of that committed suicide, was the person who introduced me to the Word of God – for that alone, I’ll always be eternally grateful. But as with Robin Williams’ suicide yesterday, I never would’ve guessed this individual ever would’ve ended his life the way he did.

Getting back to Robin Williams – Is it just me, ladies and gentlemen, or do a lot of the great comedians seem to have a “dark side” to them? John Beluchi, Chris Farley, Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle, Don Rickles, Andrew Dice Clay, Howard Stern, Rosanne Barr, David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, etc., — okay, so I realize that the first three names I mentioned have already passed away, but the other aforementioned comedians, I have zero interest in ever wanting to meet someday. They all seem to have an ugly “edge” to their personalities – maybe that’s what makes these folks all “tremendous” performers, I don’t know, but they all strike me as being royal pains in the butt and just difficult people to be around for any length of time.

Don’t get me wrong, I really love being around people who can make me laugh, who are viewed as, “the life of the party” but these folks just come off as so arrogant and pompous, I just wouldn’t bother wanting to become their “friend”. Two comedians who have now passed on whom I would’ve loved to have met were: Rodney Dangerfield, and Curly Howard (The Three Stooges). Dangerfield did battle (and was treated for) Depression throughout his adult life; and Curly of The Three Stooges died from complications of having a Stroke at about 40-something, and he was married at least four times. Both of those comedians apparently were haunted by their fair share of demons.

Long story short, when it comes to gauging another person’s mental health, I don’t have the first clue on what the heck the true “warning signs” actually are – I can certainly pray for that person, as well as for my own sanity and peace of mind. If prayer doesn’t work in my particular case, I would absolutely have no qualms about seeing a psychiatrist to have them prescribe something like Prozac or Valium to keep my nerves down and get myself some rest. The way I figure, I’m not going to be too productive to my employer or anyone else if I’m only getting 1-2 hours of sleep per night.

I did post on another individual’s Facebook page regarding Robin Williams’ suicide, the famous song lyric from Judy Collins’ “Both Sides Now”, I really don’t know life, at all. May God bless all those battling Depression, contemplating suicide, or afflicted with some other type of mental illness. That’s perhaps the best possible remedy I can offer on this subject.

YouTube blogger supports Haley’s proposal that Presidential candidates over 75 yoa should be REQUIRED to successfully pass a Mental Cognitive Test BEFORE taking office

Is it in “poor taste” for an American to publicly say, Joe Biden obviously has “early Cognitive decline”? REALLY? Was it somehow “different” when Media Pundits said basically the SAME THING about Donald Trump?

Is there honestly a “best way” to approach someone who you assume is Suicidal?