Suicide: A Misunderstood Phenomenon

If there is anything Robin William's suicide has taught us, it's that mental illness has no boundaries, preferences, or bias.  It can and has affected people of all ages, races, status, and economic class.  Robin William's death has become a hot topic of discussion because he was a prominent figure in the entertainment business that influenced people across the globe.  It also has come as a shock to many people because of his role in the comedy world and how much happiness he portrayed.  The truth is, many people that seem to "have it all" suffer from depression, but it is rarely known.  They tend to hide behind a facade that is dictated by the stigmas society produces and maintains.  Robin William's death was a byproduct of this unfortunate stigma that was magnified due to his status as a comedian and celebrity.  The enormous amount of pressure he faced to display a certain persona and demeanor played an even bigger role in his imprisonment to the disease. His death has affected me on many levels, not only because of how much he influenced my life growing up, but also because of the reaction many people have had to his death.  The way society, especially the media, has portrayed it and discussed it has disturbed me, as it often has an agenda that unintentionally (or intentionally, who knows nowadays) promotes the stigmas and lack of education in regards to mentall illness.  This post is not meant to discuss Robin William's death in particular but to discuss mental illness as a whole and how it is often misrepresented and misunderstood.  As horrible as Robin William's death was, it brought light to a situation that is often ignored, yet is experienced by hundreds of millions of people worldwide.  If mental illness and its repercussions are not discussed, we will never find a solution to this increasing public health problem.

First things first, it has never been so glaringly clear that the majority of people severely lack proper education regarding mental illness.  This lack of education is one of the most detrimental aspects that prevents finding a resolution.  If people do not fully understand the who, what, when, where, and whys, then how can society as a whole ever become proactive around mental disorders.  As someone who has personally suffered with mental illness and spent copious amounts of time working with people that suffer as well, I’m pretty well educated and knowledgeable about this topic.  The basic misunderstanding is that people who suffer from mental illness are inherently weak.  The word “mental” seems to give people the false belief that it is simply a temporary emotion that can be changed by “trying to be happy.”  Why are you so sad?  Can’t you just do something about it?  It’s not that hard to be happy.  Think happy thoughts.  You just have to try.  Stop being so dramatic.  Those are often questions/statements that people receive when they are honest about their feelings with people who are uneducated.  Those presumptions are absolutely false and completely unrealistic.  Mental illness is a BIOLOGICAL DISORDER.  It has everything to do with your physical body and less to do with your emotions.  Depression and all mental disorders stem from a chemical imbalance in the brain.  It is an illness some people are genetically predisposed to that cannot be avoided.  Many people who suffer from it have family members that have suffered as well.  It works the same way that addiction does, which has also been linked to genetics.  The emotional and mental aspects are a side effect of the BIOLOGICAL imbalances.  Just as vomiting and fevers are side effects of having the flu, suicidal thoughts, extreme sadness, anxiety, etc. are side effects of mental illness.  Mental disorders affect your thoughts just as much as your physical condition.  Depression causes people to eat erratically, sleep more or less, and weakens the immune system so they are more susceptible to other illnesses as well.  Mental illness is a disease and people need to understand that.  If you don't treat cancer, you have a higher likelihood of death, just as if you don’t treat mental illness you have a higher likelihood of death.  It is a physical disorder and a disease and we in society must accept that for it to be taken seriously. 

Unfortunately, there is no cure for mental illness, but it is treatable.  Over 80% of people who received treatment saw improvements.  There is often experimentation when it comes to finding the right treatment plan (medication, therapy, etc.) because every one is affected differently by the disease, but with determination and patience, you can and will improve.  However, treatment only works if people receive it.  Suicide is 100% preventable, yet thousands of people die from it each year, mainly due to the lack of resources and stigmas surrounding mental illness.  Statistics can be daunting and sometimes unreliable but I think with this topic it is beneficial to create a clearer picture for people to understand.

• Occording to the CDC
• 1/10 Americans suffer from depression in their lifetime
• 80% of sufferers do not receive help
• Depression increases by 20% each year
• 120 million people total suffer from depression, yet is the most treatable illness in the world
• Depression is the number one disability in the world
• More Americans suffer from depression than heart disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDs

• According to WHO
• 30,000 people die from suicide each year and 750,000 people attempt it
• There are twice as many deaths from suicide as HIV/AIDS
• Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among young adults and is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (homicide is 15th)
• Every day roughly 108 people commit suicide, which equates to about one every 13 minutes
• In one day, approximately 250 people make a suicide plan and 1000 people consider suicide.  IN ONE DAY.

These statistics can often be wrong and the numbers could swing a little higher or lower, but that is not the point.  The point is depression and suicide are an epidemic and a serious public health problem that for some reason is still ignored and "pushed under the rug."  About 90% of people who commit suicide have a diagnosable and treatable psychiatric illness at the time of their death.  DIAGNOSABLE AND TREATABLE.  So the question is, why are so many people committing suicide if their disorder is treatable?  The best answer I can give to that question is most people refuse treatment due to the lack of resources, especially for the lower classes, and the stigma and unfair embarrassment that comes with seeking help.  For such a prominent and widespread illness, why is it still so taboo?  Unfortunately, due to the lack of education, many people don't know what to do or say and simply ignore the warning signs or obvious symptoms.  Many people don't want to cross a "boundary" or upset someone with their claim.  There is a false belief that if you ask someone if they're suicidal that they are more likely to commit suicide.  The opposite is actually true.  The only way to save someones life is to be aware of it, be vigilant, and fight for it.  Most people feel alone when they are suffering from mental illness and want nothing more than for someone to reach out, even if they don't say it.  

It's highly likely that the majority of people know someone who has committed or attempted suicide (you sure knew Robin Williams, although maybe not personally) yet people still remain silent and refuse to be proactive in regards to finding a resolution.  How many more people have to die before we actually start to do something and change societal views?  Suicide kills more people every year than homicide, yet when was the last time you saw a suicide discussed on the news outside of a celebrity committing it?  I personally can't remember a single time someone who has committed suicide has been on my local news.  The only time it makes headlines is when it is a young kid who has been bullied dies, which has also become a huge epidemic.  Don't get me wrong, those suicides are equally horrible, but the media still does nothing to discuss or portray the mental illness associated with those deaths.  They completely remove it from the equation.

A major problem is that people misunderstand the root cause of suicide.  When someone dies, the first question that is always asked is, "Did he/she leave a suicide note?"  As far as I know, Robin Williams didn't leave one, and that has left people shocked and confused.  To cope with those feelings, people have been searching for reasons as to why he did it, often citing financial problems, his Parkinson's diagnosis, and/or career woes.  Nothing has pissed me off more than watching the media search for answers for his death.  Depression is the answer.  Addiction is the answer.  Mental illness IS THE ANSWER.  Yes, his finances, career, and disease obviously exacerbated and magnified the emotional response to his depression, but it in no way caused his death.  There are many people who suffer from diseases and career and financial problems and don't have a single suicidal thought.  As I stated above, mental illness is a chemical imbalance in the brain that predisposes people to prolonged and intense sadness and suicidal thoughts.  Not everyone responds to the same situation in the same way because not every one has a defect in the way their brain works.  Sometimes there are simply no answers and no reason why, other than he succumbed to the disease.

What people do not realize is that trying to name specific reasons for his death is trying to justify the situation.  People try to rationalize the death.  The problem with that is nothing about suicide is rational.  It is impossible to rationalize a situation that makes no sense to begin with.  Trying to find reasons only removes mental illness from the equation and minimizes the significance of the disease.  Trying to portray irrelevant events as answers paints a common event as an isolated one, which therefore, isolates the universal victims that suffer every day and go unknown.  The search for answers destroys the seriousness of the tragedy that needs to be acknowledged.  

If you want to blame something, blame the stigma that prevents so many people from receiving treatment and forces them to remain a prisoner to their disease.  Blame the taboo culture that prevents people from having an open discussion about mental illness.  Blame the lack of resources that completely deny people that are suffering from mental illness of receiving adequate care.  

Blame the lack of education that promotes the false ideas surrounding the disease.  Don't blame the person, don't label them as selfish or lazy, and don't blame specific personal reasons for their death.  There is no one or nothing to blame without the culture that supports and fosters false ideas and beliefs regarding mental illness and suicide.

Depression is deadly and you simply cannot dictate chemical imbalances.  Suicide is an epidemic and is much bigger than Robin Williams.  Yes his death brought light to a serious situation, but to what degree?  In days, weeks, and months, people will return to ignoring mental illness and continuing the taboo culture that surrounds it.  As someone who is clearly passionate about this topic, it breaks my heart to see victims go unknown and silently suffer from a treatable disease.  As someone who has spent a significant amount of time with people who suffer from a variety of mental disorders, I have seen firsthand how these diseases affect people's every day lives in ways that most people do not know and will not understand.  I have seen and experienced firsthand how the lack of resources and absence of adequate education only worsens problems and creates a world of unnecessary, silent suffering.  People become unwillingly imprisoned to their disease because society acts as a justice system that prosecutes the innocent.  Our current preventative actions that are often only applied after people have attempted suicide and suffered from their illness for far too long aren't working.  It's crystal clear to me.  We have to change in order for mental illness to change.  We can no longer stand idle and watch people end their lives when they don't have to.  The only way to combat this problem and fight for the people who need help the most is through education, awareness, support, and the expansion of resources.  If we stand together, we can defeat this and create a more beautiful, happier, and better world.