The Robin Williams Effect

The day I learned that Robin Williams had died it was as if everything stopped and stood still. That moment was surreal.  In the same space of time I felt both grieved and shocked - but not entirely. It was a locomotive that could've been seen coming. That's what we tell ourselves after the fact. After all, hadn't we known of the paradox of his life, the brilliance of his life's work in the presence of his personal demons? How does someone the world fell in love with, lose his life in the face of having made so many people happy? Were it so simple to see the train coming. The afterthoughts are deafening. We hear ourselves asking the obvious questions. Who did he tell, hint to, leave veiled messages for?

Williams was known most for his improvisational comedy routines. He made us laugh hysterically. We couldn't help ourselves. Williams got down to our level and made us feel good about our circumstances. He made us see the humor in the face of war in "Good Morning Vietnam". He made us wish we had an alien friend in "Mork and Mindy". In "Good Will Hunting" we became believers in psychotherapy and pulled for the patient to accept the reality of his own gifts, despite his past and his present situation. In "Mrs. Doubtfire" we got a little taste of the tension between reality and pretending. Robin Williams showed us through his work that above all, we are all human.

We didn't know Robin Williams, yet we identified with him. He gave so much of himself in his performances. He sought to make us laugh, think, re-think and think again. He was the icon of modern day comedy, and yet he took his own life. Why?

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 39,518 individuals in the United States lost their life to suicide in 2011. Another 487,000 were treated for self-inflicted injuries. Isn't it time to take suicide prevention seriously? The CDC identifies certain hallmark symptoms of suicide risk as follows:

• History of previous suicide attempts
• Family history of suicide
• History of depression or other mental illnesses
• History of alcohol or drug abuse
• Stressful life event or loss
• Easy access to lethal methods
• Exposure to suicidal behaviors of others

Rest in Peace Robin Williams. May your choices in death lead us toward the path to better treatment outcomes, more compassion and understanding, and better judgment when we hear the train in the distance.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call our office at 334-329-7155 for an appointment. For immediate help call the National Suicide Hotline at 800-273-8255, go to the nearest emergency room, or dial 911.

Spring Fever!

How many times have we said, or heard someone say, “I’ve got spring fever”? What does having spring fever mean, anyway? In an effort to gather data *wink* on the matter, I asked a small sample of my own household (N=1). What is spring fever? Not surprisingly, I heard pretty much what I expected to hear. “It’s when you’ve been cooped up in the house all winter and suddenly you want to go outside and start cleaning up the yard, pruning the shrubs (ok, maybe that should’ve been done a few weeks earlier), and you start thinking about that flower garden and what vegetables to grow this year”. Following the long winter, it’s about cleaning out and preparing for things new. There’s a sense of vibrant energy in the air.

The fact is it’s not just that the days are longer, but our bodies have biochemical responses to the increase in light. We begin to produce less melatonin, an agent that impacts the sleep cycle. Moreover, the body produces increases in serotonin, leading to improved mood and increased energy. And any teacher will tell you this, attention spans may wane, thoughts wander, and sometimes we get off task. It’s spring, after all!

Not everyone experiences the elevated moods of spring that are commonly observed with “spring fever”. Whereas, most people who experience seasonal depression find that their symptoms tend to occur during the winter months, some people have the opposite experience and find their depression to worsen during the spring and summer months.

Depression, regardless of when it occurs, is a treatable condition. There is hope for those who experience symptoms beyond those mood disturbances occurring in everyday life. If you or your loved one is experiencing symptoms of depression, contact Auburn Behavioral Health at (334) 329-7155. Voice mail is checked regularly, 7 days/week. For psychiatric emergencies, call 911 or go to the nearest Emergency Room.

(Sources: DSM 5; Journal of Rational Emotive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Canadian Journal of Applied Sciences; European Neuropsychopharmacology; and European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences).

When "Sadness" Crosses the Line

Everyone feels sad some of the time. We feel sad during times of loss, grief, fear, sickness and even in times of significant change, when sadness is the least expected feeling, such as major life changes including graduations, deaths, retirements, and the like.

But, when sadness crosses the line and becomes overwhelming, making it difficult if not impossible to get through the everyday activities of daily life, it's time to think about the possibility that something more complicated is going on. Depression. What? No. Not me. Not my child. Not my family member. Not my spouse, partner, lover. But, maybe...maybe I should think again. When DOES sadness cross the line? When should I be concerned? And when should I get help?

Sadness is a natural experience in response to the natural order of life. Things happen. It's not all good. We wish it were, and we rail against the preposterous outcome of the natural order that something makes us sad, but it does. And, we are, after all, human. Nothing wrong with that! We're human and part of being human is to feel sad. Period.

BUT. When sadness begins to creep into our lives in such a way as to interfere with the quality of our everyday lives and the effective carrying out of daily life responsibilities in such a way that we become despondent...lose interest in things that would ordinarily bring us happiness, joy or comfort, we should begin to wonder. What is going on, and has my sadness crossed the line into...Depression?

This is where a professional can be helpful in redefining our natural response of "No" with an explanation of why "Yes"; the sadness has crossed the line and become a treatable condition we've all heard about called Major Depression, depression, clinical depression, mood disorder, Bipolar depression and similar terms. These terms are known to a reputable therapist as conditions, that once properly diagnosed, are both treatable and from which recovery can be experienced.

If you or your loved one is experiencing any combination of the following that has come to a point in your observation, feels like it's beyond the norm, call my office for a diagnostic evaluation and treatment plan to recovery:

From the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition - DSM 5:

- Depressed mood most of the day
- Loss of interest
- Significant weight loss or gain
- Sleep disturbance
- Agitation or "slowed down" that goes beyond verbalizing "feeling" slowed down
- Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
- Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
- Diminished ability to think
- Recurrent thoughts of death