News of the suicide of actor Robin Williams hit the public hard. How could such a thing happen?
Williams, by all accounts, was funny, warm and well-loved. He was well-off, world famous. The reality is depression has little to do with any of those factors. It has everything to do with brain chemistry.
Depression affects nearly 10 percent of American adults in a given year, according to the National Institute of Health. The illness can range from major depression with severe long-term symptoms that interfere with work and relationships, to minor depression with similar symptoms that don’t last as long. Dysthyimic depression, with the symptoms lasting for two years or longer, are also part of the spectrum.
Though the exact biological causes are still undetermined, researchers have found that the brains of depression patients look different on scans than those who aren’t suffering from the illness. Hormones and blood factors that affect brain chemistry, are also suspected.
Meanwhile, other studies have found that the illness strikes men differently than it does women.
Then illness strikes as many men as women, but men with a family history of depression issues are more likely to suffer the illness as well, according to studies. And, while women suffering from depression are more likely to attempt suicide, men are more likely – like Williams – to die by suicide.
A contributing factor in that startling fact is that men are also less likely to recognize how they feel, talk to family members about it, or seek professional help, health professionals report.
Depression is easily treatable, once recognized. The key is to recognize it and seek help.
According to the NIH, men are more likely to:
“¢ Feel inexplicably tired
“¢ Be irritable without reason
“¢ Lose interest in their work or hobbies
“¢ Suffer from insomnia
If you notice these symptoms in yourself or a loved one, seek help. With the danger of self-harm in the picture, there are resources readily available to help you save a life. If you are in crisis or know someone who is, visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call (800) 273-8255 (TALK). Trained crisis center staff are available to listen to your needs and offer crisis counseling, suicide intervention and mental health referral information.
