Given all the inspirational roles Robin Williams gavelife to in his performances, it remains sadly ironic that he succumbed to depression and ultimately ended his own life.
The actor suffered greatly from internal demons that intensified his moods after developing drug and alcohol problems while working on the sitcom "Mork and Mindy," in the late 1970's. He also struggled with volatile romantic relationships and frequent bouts of depression.
Though Williams was sober for 20 years after the birth of his first son, he said he was "alone and afraid" during a 2003 work span in Alaska and began relying on alcohol again and once even said: "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not," Williams once said. "The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone. You must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all."
Williamsewent to rehab and told The Guardian "I was shameful, did stuff that caused disgust - that's hard to recover from."
In dealing with his depression Williams certainly wasn't alone. Almost 15 million American adults suffer from depression each year, according to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance. What's more, 27 percent of people who suffer from substance abuse experience depression.
Depression, it turns out, is also the cause of over two-thirds of the 30,000 suicides reported each year. The death rate from suicide also remains higher than the death rate for Alzheimer's, chronic liver disease, homicide, hypertension, or arteriosclerosis, according to DBSA.
Williams may not have have been able to escape his depression but the the words he spoke on screen – like those listed below – will continue to inspire generations:
"All you'll have to do is think one happy thought and you'll fly like me." - as Peter Banning/Peter Pan in "Hook" (1991).
"Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts." - as Genie in "Aladdin" (1992).
"But if there's love, dear... those are the ties that bind, and you'll have a family in your heart, forever." - as Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire in "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993).
"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." - as John Keating in "Dead Poets Society" (1989).
"The human spirit is more powerful than any drug and that is what needs to be nourished with play, friendship, family. These are the things that matter." - as Dr. Malcolm Sayer in "Awakenings" (1990).
"You'll have bad times, but it'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to." - as Sean Maguire in "Good Will Hunting" (1997).
"I try to make sense of things. Which is why, I guess, I believe in destiny. There must be a reason that I am as I am." - as Andrew Martin in "Bicentennial Man" (1999).
"The things we fear most have already happened to us." - as Seymour Parrish in "One Hour Photo" (2002).
