Robin Williams' Suicide & Complicated Greatness

It's amazing how big an impact Robin Williams' suicide had on society. Celebrities, presidents, musicians, little kids - the whole world noticed.

For today's Book-of-the-Day I was reading Emily Herbert's, "Robin Williams - When The Laughter Stops."

It made me think deeply about human happiness.

The book lists different theories on the reason for Williams' suicide: money problems, bad marriages, drugs and alcohol, being bullied as a child, an absent mother, Parkinson's prescription drug side effects, a highly sensitive personality, and addiction to video games.

He struggled with demons his whole life.

Here are my notes:

1. You can't be delusional: "One of Williams' tragedies was that, although an exceptionally intelligent man, he couldn't see the truth about himself."

2. Video games made his depression worse: "Dr. Douglas Gentile says, 'I was expecting to find that depression leads to video gaming. But (our study) found the opposite. Depression seems to follow the video gaming. As kids became addicted the depression seems to get worse… I think it's truly co-morbid - where medical conditions are intertwined."

3. Physical exercise helped his depression: "Robin Williams took up cycling… And the more he cycled the better he felt… Physical exercise helps anyone with depression…" Williams' said, "Cycling saved my life… "

4. He knew how to change the world: "No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. "

I don't know the answers to these hard issues but I know there is much to learn from mentors who achieve great things like Robin Williams did.

P.S. My favorite Robin Williams joke: "If women ran the world, we wouldn't have wars, just intense negotiations every 28 days." HahaLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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