ROBIN WILLIAMS' LAST ACT...

THE LEGACY OF ROBIN WILLIAMS 1951-2014

Depression, like food addiction and suicide, is a disease of isolation. You want to be alone to lick or contemplate your wounds or comfort yourself with your favorite foods. If there's any kind of story in your head, it's when you're alone that you're also more likely to question whether others would be better off without you. Only time will tell whether Robin Williams received such depressing health news that he figured he was going to be a burden to his loved ones. On the hand, we may never be able to make sense of the actor's one act that DID NOT leave us laughing.

But the death of Robin Williams is less solemn, than it is a WAKE UP call.  The legacy Robin Williams is leaving us is a door-opening opportunity to talk openly about DEPRESSION, SUICIDE, and other MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. As a certified teacher for the free NAMI education 12-week course - Family2Family - I have witnessed first hand the pain and helplessness of the relatives and caregivers of their loved ones wrestling with various kinds of mental illness.  Whether there's confusion of thought or processing of information (Schizophrenia) or mood shifts between manic and depression (BiPolar Disorder)...  MENTAL ILLNESS IS BIOLOGICALLY BASED.  MENTAL ILLNESS IS A FAMILY AFFAIR. But too many in the public have not been educated to know these facts.  Most haven't seen or heard the research that demonstrates that mental illness is not associated with violence, WHEN diagnosis and treatment are provided.  Instead, legislators are typically sidetracked into controversial discussions about the rights of people with a mental illness: should you or should you know force treatment on a person who can't make appropriate decisions because their mind in temporarily compromised by a brain disorder. Instead of holding legislators accountable for the lack of mental health facilities and integrated treatment teams, we continue old debates at the expense of new and ongoing needs. 

Furthermore, when it comes to suicide,  it is not unusual for loved ones and friends to feel betrayed or cheated.  Their long grieving period begins with trying to make sense of an event that often has multiple causes... a pain often suffered in isolation.   For the one leaving, the decision may well be seen as an act of kindness; the desire to be less of a burden.  Darkness is faced alone and though friends and loved ones offer much needed distraction, the downtime and ultimate period of isolation may encourage the use of other substances to soothe the pain or quiet the storm in the head. What we do know and is made startling clear by the death of an icon is that deep, serious depression and other forms of mental illness are not going away.

We certainly have the moral authority to demand better.  The national health care system, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, is no longer going to permit body-brain disease inequities.  In the past, the emphasis has been on treating physical diseases - cancer, ALS, diabetes, etc.  The resources and treatment options for mental diseases are not only less developed but likewise receive less research dollars.  With the closing of mental health institutions in the 1970s, the mental health burden was shifted to community for solutions, even though funding did not increase as the number of people with mental health issues living in local communities did.  The small pool of state and federal funding is only now beginning to get more attention.  The public is beginning to learn of the severe shortage of beds and professionals to deal with individuals who experience mental health episodes and that too many individuals with mental health needs are criminalized and housed in detention centers and jails.  It's becoming less acceptable that someone having a chemical imbalance in the brain is criminally blamed when someone going into a diabetic emergency while driving a vehicle, is not.

We already are an addicted nation.  In case no one has notice our neighbors and friends, our co-workers and policy makers, our loved ones and gatekeepers in schools, medical centers, and churches are likely to be taking antidepressants, using drugs and/or alcohol, or having other obsessions to cope when life is difficult.  Our society has changed drastically.  Our methods and mindset for dealing with diseases above the neck, have not changes as rapidly as needed to produce a more humane society.

So it's important in the wake of Robin Willliams' death to pause and to first, thank the comic genius and humanitarian and, second, thank the Williams family for sharing him.  I am grateful that as with President Ronald Reagan bravely sharing he had Alzheimer Disease, Robin Williams' last act is affording us the opportunity to talk more openly about mental health needs. 

At a time when the Center for Disease Control reports that more people die from suicide than car accidents, a national discussion is long overdue. Though he did not leave us laughing this time, Robin Williams gave the country a gift to explore how to  de-stigmatize mental illness, increase treatment opportunities for citizens and the military, and recognize that behavorial changes due to a brain disease can be a special gift when treatment and support are available.

R.I.P. Robin Williams... your ability to make us laugh and forget some of our own burdens will be sorely missed.  Thank you for all you did with your 63 years.

Robin Williams with his three children (Zak, Cody, Zelda) and second wife, Marsha Garces.

Spouses: 1978  Valerie Velordi
                1989  Marsha Garces
                2011  Susan Schneider

   

Robin with third wife.

 July 31, 2014 birthday shout out to daughter, Zelda turning 25.

http://www.thewrap.com/robin-williams-children-react-to-his-death-i-feel-stripped-bare/

 Here's excerpts from 2010 WEAPONS OF SELF DESTRUCTION TOUR

DAVID DeWATERS... 

STEPPING FORWARD 2DAY with some MARVELOUSLY CREATIVE  POETRY.

Get to know the Bowie, Maryland AUTHOR via his Blog: http://daviddewaters.com

David DeWaters is a 28 year old poet from the United States. His first book of poetry, Melancholy Songs, is available on Amazon at http://amzn.com/1492131903

The 54-page book published in August 2013 is an insightful read about DEPRESSION!  Visit his website for more of his comments and descriptions about his work.  See his wonderful mind at work. 

Let your own imagination soar by reading some of David's poems out loud.  Here are some samples to start the journey.  Thank you David for sharing...

The stronger the experience, the harder it is to explain

I remember lying in bed, dreaming,
Half-awake at night when I was younger.
Thoughts of life and outer space were teeming
Out my head with amazement and wonder.
The stars and galaxies were my plaything,
Drifting above me up there in the sky.
I used to think it all so amazing,
But those thoughts have dwindled as time’s gone by.
I used to stretch my imagination
Further than it could go with imagery.
Now I’m reduced to write sad narration,
Of times gone by reduced to memory.
Nonetheless, I look back at it fondly,
And sometimes it even helps to calm me.

—David DeWaters, Imagination

This poem is my attempt at capturing a real, vivid experience that I had when I was younger. I also talk about this experience in the poem that I’m currently working on, but I don’t want to paste it all here because it’s too long of a passage.

Anyway, it might not be obvious what I mean when I say “I used to stretch my imagination / Further than it could go with imagery,” but this is actually a key to understanding the experience. At the heart of the experience is an indescribable feeling, only reached by exceeding the limits of my imagination. The sheer vastness of outer-space is incomprehensible, and through the act of trying to comprehend it, I was able to experience this feeling.

I’ve always been able to experience at least a minor form of lucid dreaming and the ability to control the path that my dreams take, and this probably added to the feeling that I felt. It was a short-lived feeling, and often I would try to repeat the same steps that I took to achieve the feeling immediately after it went away. I know sometimes I would start by imagining something small, something here on Earth, then slowly “zooming out” until I reached the depths of space. Or perhaps I would imagine slowly going back in time until I reached the beginning of time. Eventually, I would reach a point where I couldn’t go back any farther, and that is when I would feel this feeling. It took a great deal of concentration to achieve it, and I wasn’t always successful at it. Over time, I became less and less capable of experiencing it to the point where now I am completely incapable.

So, there is no moral to this post or anything. I just thought I would go into a little more detail in regards to what this poem is about. It’s impossible to do justice to the experience by trying to put it into words, and, truthfully, I haven’t put very much effort into explaining it because I know it would ultimately be futile, but hopefully the poem will have a little more meaning to it after reading this explanation.

By |April 15th, 2014|David DeWaters|1 Comment

More from David's Blog:  www.daviddewaters.com

Time to talk about depression a little bit

I do hate to write about depression,
At least as often as I seem to do.
I would hate to give off the impression
That I’m selfish and of myself consumed.

—David DeWaters, But How Do I Feel This Very Moment?

I haven’t really talked too much about depression on this blog, which may seem strange given the subject matter of my book, but I think these lines from my poem, But How Do I Feel This Very Moment?, help to explain this phenomenon.

Basically, I don’t want to talk about depression. I experience it everyday, and it isn’t enjoyable. However, I need to keep in mind why I published my poems in the first place. Sure, I wanted to showcase my ability as a writer and poet, but I also realized that I was in an unusual position whereby I suffered from depression yet was able to talk about it and express how it feels. I felt obligated to publish my poems and I feel privileged to be able to lend my voice to others who may be going through the same thing yet have no way to express themselves. So, I think I would be doing a disservice if I continued on with this blog without discussing depression every once in a while.

I mentioned in a comment on here that I have trouble accepting compliments from people, and this stems from my depression. Basically, I’m so used to hating myself that it just feels weird and uncomfortable being lauded for something. I don’t feel worthy of anybody’s praise. Obviously, I know how to respond to a compliment. It doesn’t take much more than a thank you. The problem is that it feels dishonest. If I were being honest, I’d say something like, “Uh, no. You’re wrong. I’m actually a garbage individual.” Personally, I think this stops many people from talking about their depression. They don’t want other people’s sympathy because they don’t feel worthy of it, which, ironically, is actually quite a commendable attitude to have.

By |April 11th, 2014|David DeWaters|3 Comments

Feel free to leave your comments here or at David's Blog at  (www.daviddewaters.com)

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. 

Help break the stigma: talk about mental health issues, concerns, coping strategies, recognizing symptoms, and increased need for more programs and treatment sources in our communities.

COLLECTIVE INSANITY in the 21st Century... the new normal! So much madness, so much stress, so many people in emotional pain, so many struggling relationships, an overwhelming amount of technological advances that allow more and more to isolate, moving us away from community and fellowship. It's a miracle even more don't suffer from DEPRESSION or have other mental health issues. 

BRAVO to Chiara, New York City's first daughter for putting a face on depression.

The 19-year old college student is poignant when she steps forward and reminds all of us that DEPRESSION is a disease, that cognitive or mood problems are biologically based.  There's no shame in anyone's game for seeking treatment. It's a right and an essential need for a humane and just society.  Unfortunately, when the federal government shifted responsibility for the "mentally ill" to the states in the late 1980s, patients without medical insurance were largely neglected.  Even now it is clear that the general public tends to be more supportive of social security policy than it is of mental health policy.  Yet, the fabric of our society demands parity of treatment for those who have illnesses above the neck, as well as those who struggle with physical illness in the rest of the body.

Bravo to Chiara for speaking out, first in December 2013 and more recently in an essay in xoJane.

Chiara talks about being in recovery during Mental Health Awareness Month, in an essay in xoJane

I'M CHIARA DE BLASIO AND I'M A YOUNG WOMAN IN RECOVERY

It’s progress -- not perfection -- that’s important.

Chiara de Blasio

May 6, 2014 at 12:20pm | 171 comments

READ FULL STORY HERE

http://www.xojane.com/issues/im-chiara-de-blasio-and-im-a-young-woman-in-recovery

PREVENTING MENTAL ILLNESS or HEAD INJURIES!

OR

WHY KIDS NEED RESPONSIBLE PARENTS... yeah, it's cute to see a baby doing remarkable stuff on a skateboard BUT without shoes and a helmet? Someone in Australia needs to make a "citizens arrest" of the parents of this two year old and FAST! A toddler is not going to ask for a helmet; we expect parents or adults to protect the vulnerable. Here's a good example of how mental illness can be caused by environment. One bad fall, hit on the head and subsequent brain injury can lead to later mental health issues due to biology/disease and environment. SPEAK UP! SPEAK OUT!

Skateboarding baby from Australia

Uploaded by Nick Botha

READ ME ******************** Two-year-old Kahlei from Victoria, Australia, Shows off his, skateboarding skills on the streets.. Kahlei, who has been skateboarding since he was six

SPEAKING OUT ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS...

Well, it's official: Congress is not doing more for the mentally ill because its members don't want to be "stigmatized" for helping the mentally ill. At least that's one version of the story and it's coming from a former member of Congress - Patrick Kennedy, the Representative from Rhode Island's first district, until 2011. The son of Joan and Ted Kennedy demonstrates what it means to be an advocate when he is seen and heard STEPPINGFORWARD2DAY!

His poignant remarks during a recent interview are worth hearing. Patrick Kennedy, like millions of caregivers of relatives diagnosed or undiagnosed with a biological condition affecting either moods or thinking... is authentic; he speaks from experience. Be sure to step forward with your own comments and observations about why our legislators are not doing more for the mentally ill.

Here's the full Yahoo! interview where the former Congressman says Congress is stigmatized by the stigma of mental illness.  WOW!!!  Just click on link below.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/power-players-abc-news/

Patrick Kennedy: Members of Congress battle mental illness in their families but vote against help

AND... Patrick Kennedy didn't just start talking about mental illness. In this interview for the American Psychiatric Association on July 19, 2013, the former Congressman shows he has been fighting for parity in health care for some time.

Helping the Mentally Ill...

Sometimes it seems the only way to get help for a loved one you suspect of  having mental health issues is unfortunately via the criminal judicial system.  In other words, until the person is arrested for some crime, it may be difficult to get a diagnosis or get the person to willingly submit to treatment, even with a diagnosis. Most of us are against forcing an individual to take medicine but what do you do when a person’s brain is the problem and wants to maintain the status quo and, hence, no medicine is welcomed even if it might help the person to heal.  That’s an ongoing dilemma.

Former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes is finally going to get some psychiatric help after months of acting out in ways that raised question about whether she is in her “right mind.”

On Monday, July 22, 2013 around 9 pm she was detained for a mental health evaluation after setting a fire in a stranger’s driveway in her California community. She’s now being held for 72 hours on what’s called a 5150 psychiatric hold. It’s involuntary and will legally allow a mental evaluation.  According to the Channel 2 CBS station in Los Angeles:

AMANDA BYNES PLACED ON 5150 HOLD AFTER DISTURBANCE AT THOUSAND OAKS HOME

THOUSAND OAKS (CBSLA.com) — Actress Amanda Bynes was involuntarily hospitalized late Monday for a mental evaluation after authorities received a disturbance call at a Ventura County home.

Local fire and sheriff’s departments responded to a residence in the 200 block of Avenida De Los Arboles around 8:45 p.m., authorities said.

When authorities arrived, they found the 27-year-old, who is a native of the area, outside the house.

“Deputies investigated the incident and determined that she met the criteria of 5150 W&I (California Welfare & Institutions Code),” Cpt. Don Aguilar said. “She was detained and taken for a mental health evaluation.”

“There’s been no charges at this time or crime in reference to this incident,” Cpt. Aguilar told KNX 1070.

Monday’s episode was not Bynes’ first run-in with the law.

On May 23, she was arrested for allegedly throwing a bong out of her New York City apartment window. She has been charged with reckless endangerment and attempted tampering with physical evidence.

Her next court appearance was scheduled for Sept. 26.

###

AND there's more... on May 25th, after another incident AND obviously more cries for help... members of the media, including TMZ, began saying Bynes wasn’t crazy enough  to be evaluated for “craziness.”   http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/25/amanda-bynes-not-certifiable-5150-mental-illness-conservatorship/

AMANDA BYNES NOT CERTIFIABLE AND IT’S A BIG PROBLEM

EXCLUSIVE

Amanda Bynes is not 5150 material, meaning she can’t be picked up against her will and held for mental evaluation, at least not yet … this according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.Our sources tell us Amanda has not been diagnosed with any mental illness.  Sources say her parents are worried there are signs she might be bipolar or schizophrenic, but Amanda has been unwilling to undergo psychiatric testing.

We’re told her parents would like to create an involuntary conservatorship, similar to Britney Spears, but Amanda’s conduct is not so over the line that a judge would take away her freedom.  

Ditto for a 5150 psychiatric hold, which would allow authorities to put Amanda in a mental facility against her will for 72 hours for mental evaluation.  We’re told authorities just don’t have the goods.  In fact, Amanda was taken to a hospital after her arrest Thursday night and the shrinks didn’t think an involuntary hold was warranted.

There’s one other option to get a diagnosis. If Amanda is so out of it she can’t understand the nature of the criminal cases that have been filed against her … a judge can halt the proceedings and order a psychiatric evaluation.  Amanda has been involved in 3 criminal cases in California recently, and there was NO effort to go this route.  That’s because she has always been lucid in court.  (TMZ  5/25/2013)

So even though Amanda’s behavior was increasingly “strange” both on and off her twitter account – from wearing blue wigs to court to being threatened with eviction for smoking “weed” in a non-smoking exclusive NY  apartment building…  there’s apparently been a feeling that there’s nothing her parents or others could do about it.

Well, there is... but no one has used the Treatment Advocacy Center's AOT strategy or the NAMI-supported ACT in Bynes case.  TAC's ASSISTED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT (AOT) plan permits court-ordered involuntary treatment of a mental illness while the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) advocates for an ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY TREATMENT (ACT) which requires the support of “the consumer” or mentally ill person.

Either way, and in spite of controversy involving each, the goal is similar:  keep people with mental illness from becoming criminals in order to receive treatment.  Advocates on both sides of the issues are encouraged to actively engaged in mental health care reform debates.

Thus... Amanda Bynes‘ actions are important because, like other celebrities, they are a wake-up call that more, not less, is needed, not only for those with compromised brains, but for the caregivers and loved ones of relatives struggling with mental health issues.  How can a civilized society ignore such cries for help???

                                                      

Mental Illness in the Movies...

The mental illness stigma took a serious hit this year with the arrival of two movies:  Silver Linings Playbook & Mental. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll shake your head, and possibly even yell but one thing is certain - you'll have something new to talk about when it comes to MENTAL ILLNESS. 

You can follow the story of two lost souls looking for a silver lining as they wrestle with mental health issues. But whether the focus is on his (Bradley Cooper) bipolar disorder or her (Jennifer Lawrence) depression and post-traumatic stress issues... you get to see a brain disease from the inside-out and the outside-in.  Hold onto your seats, it's an emotional roller coaster ride.  If you've ever wonder what it feels like to have serious highs and lows (manic depression/bipolar disorder) or cognitive changes (schizophrenia) or a bit of both (schizoaffective disorder), this film takes you there with superb acting and story-telling.  Coping with an obsessive compulsive disorder or stressed out from caregiving for a relative with mental health issues is clearly revealed as a family affair.  

By the end of the movie you come to understand why it is so difficult for those with a mental illness to succeed with doing what AA requires in Step One of its 12-Step Program - COME TO ADMIT YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.  How do you do that with a "broken brain?"  How can you get to Step One when you have a disease that tells you there is nothing wrong with you?  While Silver Linings Playbook doesn't have many answers about treatment or successful recovery, it does provide insights and raise questions about the mental health system itself and the lack of a silver lining for too many.

Yet, it is noteworthy that a film about mental illness could garner Oscar nominations and an award while competing against such major films as Les Miserables.  It was 1975 when One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest scored. So it's been awhile since another film on mental illness - Girl Interrupted (1999) got such Hollywood's attention. Angelina Jolie who played a diagnosed sociopath won an Oscar for best supporting actress; Winona Ryder played the author Susanna Kaysen whose 1993 memoir of the same name poignantly told about her 18-month stay in a Massachusetts' mental institution. 

It is also extraordinary that Silver Linings Playbook, a rather low-budget, sleeper of a film made history by becoming the first movie in 31 years to receive nominations in all acting categories.  The stellar cast which also includes Robert De Niro and Julia Stiles shines under the superb direction of someone who personally experiences mental illness in his family - Hollywood industry veteran David O. Russell and the excellent source material of best selling author Matthew Quick.

He certainly leaves his audience with many quotable reminders about life and mental illness:

“Most people lose the ability to see silver linings even though they are always there above us almost every day.” 

“It hurts to look at the clouds, but it also helps, like most things that cause pain.” 

“I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings.” 

“Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly.” 

“I opened up to you and you judge me” 

“Haven't you ever noticed that life is like a series of movies?” 

― Matthew Quick, The Silver Linings Playbook

   WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE MENTAL?

Have you ever felt like you didn't belong?  According to one of the characters in the new Australian movie - MENTAL:  There's no such thing as normal; there's just different shades of mental.

You can't turn away for even a moment in this movie. Not when the five daughters of a political couple are all convinced that they are suffering from some kind of undiagnosed mental illness.

The movie which is now available on DVD is fun, loud, insightful, and often... just out-of-control. It's a black comedy brought to you by the director of Muriel's Wedding  - P. J. Hogan. The writer-director of Mental uses songs from the Sound of Music and a zany hitchhiker played by Toni Colletti to demonstrate what happens to the "fun" in dysfunctional. If you can handle more than one person going "mental" at a time, then you're likely to really get the uncanny way in which P. J. Hogan challenges stereotypes about mental illness. 

There's nudity and profanity, so families will want to screen Mental for the appropriate age level to see it.  The dialogue however shows there is plenty to explore and discuss: what is mental illness? And, Mental tears along showing just how much needs fixing in probably all of us - souls, spirits, personalities, thoughts, beliefs, and more.  

So it's kind of a mental thing itself when Shaz, the hitchhiker, shares her theory about the "normal" and not so normal in the clip below:   As the delusionals, the borderlines, compulsives, paranoid, schizoid make up Australia as we know it. We're nothing but a living experiment in madness under constant observation by the psychiatric community of the world.

We hope you will share your comments about either or both of the above movies in the space below.  Step Forward 2 day and speak out about the need for better mental health services and attitudes.