Robin Williams Suicide Predictable and Preventable

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 17, 2014
All Rights Reserved.                                     

                   Tying a primitive noose around his neck with his belt, affixing it to his bedroom door jam and hanging himself to death at his home in Tiburon, Calif. Aug. 11, 63-year-old Oscar-winning Robin Williams stunned the entertainment world with his gruesome suicide.  As news of Williams’ suicide spread like wildfire, his three-year-long wife Susan Schneider expressed shocking disbelief.  “I am utterly heartbroken.  On behalf of Robin’s family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief.  As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions,” said Schneider, in a carefully-worded statement, no doubt prepared by Williams’ publicist.  While it’s convenient for Schneider to ask for the public’s restraint during her time of grief, it’s inconceivable she didn’t know the severity of her husband’s mental illness, especially his recent stint in rehab for depression and substance abuse.

           Judging by her request for privacy, Schneider doesn’t want to answer questions why her husband’s suicide wasn’t discovered by her but his publicist when she noticed Williams wasn’t answering his cellphone.  Responding to an urgent call 11:55 a.m. Monday, Aug. 11 from Williams’ publicist, Marin County paramedics arrived at 12 p.m. declaring him dead at 12:02 p.m. by asphyxiation.  Hanging himself speaks volumes about the funny-man’s disturbed side either disguised because of his unending comedic façade shown to the public or that his closest family and friends didn’t take him seriously.  When he went back to world-famous Hazeldon Drug Treatment Center in Lindstrom, Minnesota in June, they apparently missed Robin’s festering suicidality.  Focused on treating depression and suicide, substance abuse and mental health professionals often miss lethal signs of suicidality while they busy themselves treating alcohol and drug-related problems.

           While it’s certainly true that most suicidal patients carry diagnoses of major depression or bipolar disorder or co-morbid conditions like alcoholism or drug abuse, it’s also true that many depressives and bipolar disorder folks are not suicidal.  When it comes to well-known celebrities like Williams, treatment staff were too busy oohing-and-aahing to get to the real issues that threatened Robin’s life.  Suicidality often disguises itself in many forms, especially with otherwise gifted-and-talented individuals, capable to distracting or lulling counselors into a false sense of security.  When treatment staff deal with high-profile celebrities, no less Oscar-winning actors, or powerful politicians or corporate CEOs, they often get distracted by the patient’s charisma and accomplishments to stay laser-focused on pressing mental health and substance abuse issues.  Hazeldon professionals clearly missed the biggest threat to Williams’ life:  His covert suicidality that went untreated until it was too late.

           Asking the press to back off does little to shed light on what went wrong with Williams’ relationship that his own wife couldn’t see the impending doom.  Everyone should have respect for the family’s privacy but law enforcement, mental health workers and the public have a right to know what went wrong to protect Williams from his self-destructive propensities.  When you see the aftermath of suicide and homicide, there are many victims, including family, friends and the public.  Williams no doubt had a local Marin therapist or psychiatrist that provided him therapy and medication for his diagnosable mental health problems.   Suicide by hanging shows a degree of self-violence often seen in untreated bipolar disorders or psychotic states where patients’ reality-testing gets obscured by intense emotions and cognitive distortions.  For Williams to hang himself—as opposed to more humane methods like drug overdoses or even gunshots—shows the severity of his mental illness.

         Whether admitted to or not, suicide is a violent act against the self.  Today’s homicide-suicide acts where serial killers or mass murderers take their own lives after murdering others, shows the violent nature of murder, whether to the self or others.  Recent reports from Schneider about Williams’ diagnosis of early-stage Parkinson’s disease offer little insights into the mental state that led to her husband’s suicide.  Refusing to reveal Williams treating doctors shows that his tragic death offers no insights to help prevent others from following the same path.  If Schneider didn’t have a clue about her husband’s mental illness, it speaks volumes about her relationship to her husband.  “Robin’s sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stage Parkinson’s disease, which he was not ready to share publicly,” said Schneider, again, offering no insights into how her husband managed his suicidal impulses.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.