The Tragedy of Depression

     Robin Williams was a multi talented actor and comedian who seemed to have just about everything any human could desire.  He had a long and great career, a wife and children yet he suffered from sever depression.  He had  access to the best doctors and the best medications money could buy yet in the end non of those helped him.

     It's always a tragedy when someone takes their own life. One usually thinks of the bankrupt CEO, the cancer victim, the criminal who has committed a terrible crime or maybe a scorned lover but never someone who seems to have everything but anyone can commit suicide. Even though Mr Williams was sober at the time of his death he had  life long  problems with drug and alcohol addiction both which are self medications for the mental illness of  depression.    A depression made worse when Mr  Williams learned he was in the early stages of Parkinson disease.

      Yes, suicide is a tragedy but it's much worse than that.  Not because one death matters more than any other death but because the tragedy of depression that accompanies suicide is preventable