Oh No

I am truly gutted about the news of Robin Williams’ death.

Williams was found today at his home in Tiburon, CA  and it’s been reported that he committed suicide due to asphyxia – i.e. from probably hanging himself. The Marin County Sheriff’s Department released this statement:

On August 11, 2014, at approximately 11:55 am, Marin CountyCommunications received a 9-1-1 telephone call reporting a male adult had been located unconscious and not breathing inside his residence in unincorporated Tiburon, CA. The Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Tiburon Fire Department and Southern Marin Fire Protection District were dispatched to the incident with emergency personnelarriving on scene at 12:00 pm. The male subject, pronounced deceased at 12:02 pm has been identified as Robin McLaurinWilliams, a 63 year old resident of unincorporated Tiburon, CA.

An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office. Preliminary information developed during the investigation indicates Mr. Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife, at approximately 10:00 pm on August 10, 2014. Mr. Williams was located this morning shortly before the 9-1-1 call was placed to Marin CountyCommunications.

Robin’s rep also released a statement:

“Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”

I am sad beyond belief by this. Not only for him and that he was in such a dark place that he felt the only way out was taking his own life, but also for his family who has to find a way to get through life in the wake of this devastation.

If you need any further evidence that depression is a powerful, soul sucking lying sack of shit disease, look no further than the tragic death of Robin Williams, a man that dedicated his life to making other people happy, yet couldn’t find a way out of the darkness himself.

The insediousness of depression just scares the hell out of me. It torments even the most seemingly happiest of people. Such an indiscriminate, hideous disease.

For some reason, all I can think about right now is this line he said in Dead Poet’s Society, which, looking back, seems prophetic (or maybe not. Death is a certainty, after all. It, however, does take a lot of insight to recognize that about life: “Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary[…] because believe it or not, each and everyone of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing, turn cold and die.”

What a short life we all live.