Uploaded August 2014 | Updated September 2026, 5 days ago
CONTENT WARNING: Death, and implications of suicide. This is mostly an In Memoriam video. Please do not watch it if you think it will trigger you. Trust your judgement, and please don't hurt yourself.
If you need help, here are some resources:
Beyondblue - What is depression?: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression
Black Dog Institute - What is bipolar disorder?: http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/bipolardisorder/bipolardisorderexplained/
A list of contacts for crisis centres worldwide - iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres
A live chat specifically designed to help people in need, in real time - imalive.org
From SANE Australia: "Around 20% of adults are affected by some form of mental disorder every year." Support the ones you love, and show them they're not alone.
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Today has been an incredibly weird one. I found out about Robin's passing right before having to leave the house for my internship, and so I spent most of the day, like many others, struggling with feelings of immense sadness. I was unable to let them all out as I was in public, so I guess this video stems from that feeling of bottling it all in and needing some way to release the tension.
Because it's natural to feel sad when someone passes away anyway. Even if the person happens to be a celebrity of some kind - someone not personally connected to your life - it can be very affective. It's natural to mourn.
But with Robin, it was slightly different. I grew up unconsciously having him in the background of my life. Never once would I have said, "I want to watch a Robin Williams film." Films like Jumanji and Aladdin were definitely formative experiences, but never would I associate those movies with Robin as a person. Now, it almost feels like waking up to an understanding of exactly the kind of effort put into those things; realising how integral Robin was to all of it. We're all a sum of our parts, and usually when we're gone, some things just stick out more obviously than others.
I'd hate to say Tumblr could summarise what it feels like, but this text post kind of did: "robin williams was like that uncle you didn’t see often but when you did he’d always make you smile and you remembered nothing but good things… i didn’t expect to feel this one so much"
A person like Robin inspires creativity, passion, thinking outside the box, a much-needed appreciation for comedy and laughter, and from the accounts of others, a very open heart. He created inspirational characters that actually lived beyond the screen, and affected people in ways beyond imagining. He suffered plenty himself, but through that understood the need for others not to. That kind of deep empathy is rare and while this is a sad situation, it's one way to keep in mind the importance of that empathy.
I'm putting the resource links at the bottom of the description again, in case you read to the very bottom. If you or someone you know needs the boost, reach out. It is important to feel and to validate those feelings, but also to move forward. There is a bigger picture; a forest past the single tree.
"So...your adventures are over."
"Oh, no. To live. To live would be an awfully big adventure."
---
Beyondblue: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression
Black Dog Institute: http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/bipolardisorder/bipolardisorderexplained/
Crisis centres worldwide - iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres
For if you need to talk in real time - imalive.org
CONTENT WARNING: Death, and implications of suicide. This is mostly an In Memoriam video. Please do not watch it if you think it will trigger you. Trust your judgement, and please don't hurt yourself.
If you need help, here are some resources:
Beyondblue - What is depression?: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression
Black Dog Institute - What is bipolar disorder?: http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/bipolardisorder/bipolardisorderexplained/
A list of contacts for crisis centres worldwide - iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres
A live chat specifically designed to help people in need, in real time - imalive.org
From SANE Australia: "Around 20% of adults are affected by some form of mental disorder every year." Support the ones you love, and show them they're not alone.
---
Today has been an incredibly weird one. I found out about Robin's passing right before having to leave the house for my internship, and so I spent most of the day, like many others, struggling with feelings of immense sadness. I was unable to let them all out as I was in public, so I guess this video stems from that feeling of bottling it all in and needing some way to release the tension.
Because it's natural to feel sad when someone passes away anyway. Even if the person happens to be a celebrity of some kind - someone not personally connected to your life - it can be very affective. It's natural to mourn.
But with Robin, it was slightly different. I grew up unconsciously having him in the background of my life. Never once would I have said, "I want to watch a Robin Williams film." Films like Jumanji and Aladdin were definitely formative experiences, but never would I associate those movies with Robin as a person. Now, it almost feels like waking up to an understanding of exactly the kind of effort put into those things; realising how integral Robin was to all of it. We're all a sum of our parts, and usually when we're gone, some things just stick out more obviously than others.
I'd hate to say Tumblr could summarise what it feels like, but this text post kind of did: "robin williams was like that uncle you didn’t see often but when you did he’d always make you smile and you remembered nothing but good things… i didn’t expect to feel this one so much"
A person like Robin inspires creativity, passion, thinking outside the box, a much-needed appreciation for comedy and laughter, and from the accounts of others, a very open heart. He created inspirational characters that actually lived beyond the screen, and affected people in ways beyond imagining. He suffered plenty himself, but through that understood the need for others not to. That kind of deep empathy is rare and while this is a sad situation, it's one way to keep in mind the importance of that empathy.
I'm putting the resource links at the bottom of the description again, in case you read to the very bottom. If you or someone you know needs the boost, reach out. It is important to feel and to validate those feelings, but also to move forward. There is a bigger picture; a forest past the single tree.
"So...your adventures are over."
"Oh, no. To live. To live would be an awfully big adventure."
---
Beyondblue: http://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/depression
Black Dog Institute: http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/public/bipolardisorder/bipolardisorderexplained/
Crisis centres worldwide - iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres
For if you need to talk in real time - imalive.org
