On August 11, 2014, Robin Williams, one of the most beloved actors, comedians, and voice artists of the recent years committed suicide and passed away at the age of 63. The consistent positive attitude and light vibes shown through Williams were something that people will continue to remember him by as time goes on.

Robin Williams’ attitude was consistently observed as “silly” and “sincere”. The fact that he was such an upbeat and positive person puts people in disbelief that out of anyone, he would take his own life. How could someone that always seemed so happy feel so sad? Well, the truth is that depression and suicide seems to be extremely prevalent in people that display similar attitudes. Many suicidal people, including Robin Williams, seem to have a background of depression in their recent past.

Depression is something that we, as a society, are incredibly ignorant about. Many people believe that being depressed is something that you feel when things are going very bad, when in fact it is just the opposite. People who are depressed actually feel sad when things are going well.

As a society, unfortunately we have a hard time believing what we can’t see. This idea is prevalent when dealing with depression. Depression is an illness and the people who have it need the help and support of others. Unfortunately, help is usually not received with these people and they are left to grapple with this illness on their own.

People who suffer from depression have a hard time conveying their condition because of ignorance. And unfortunately, even though we don’t hear about it,  nearly 1 in 10 Americans have suffered from depression.

For reasons that can only be speculated, people who seem to be more relaxed and regularly joke around are often the ones who suffer from this terrible illness. People who are wealthy or successful also seem to suffer from depression more than a typical person.

Unfortunately not only are wealthy comedians the ones suffering with depression, but even those silly, funny people that you might see on a regular basis probably suffer or have suffered from depression as well. The odds are that the reason a “funny” person is the way they are is because they have some form of anxiety disorder and have a hard time seriously relating to people.

Some studies show that many comedians and “funny” people display psychotic personality traits that might lead them to their common behavior. Many of these kinds of people place the feelings of others before their own, which is not a bad thing until one day when they need to be taken seriously and no one can do that for them.

The truth of the matter is that even though what happened to Robin Williams was drastic and confusing in many of our minds, the acts and underlying feelings of Mr. Williams are not uncommon at all. People need to know that even though there are many people that seem to “put off” the subject of depression, there are many others who are ready and willing to support them with their problem. The only reason others don’t give good encouragement is because they are afraid and don’t understand what the depressed are going through.

Laughter may be the best medicine, but sometimes the people who give us that joyful attitude are the ones who need the most help.