Robin Williams’ Journey Of Addiction Rehab, Sobriety & Depression

Robin Williams’ Journey Of Addiction Rehab, Sobriety & Depression

Robin Williams’ death at age 63 came as a complete shock to the public. It was hard to picture this jovial performer ever having an off moment, much less being caught up in the clutches of severe depression. This form of mental illness, like addiction, does not discriminate on the basis of income level, creativity, talent, or how much you can make other people laugh.

Multiple Stays In Addiction Rehab

When Williams experienced his first taste of the celebrity lifestyle in the early 1980s, he also developed a substance abuse issue with alcohol and cocaine. He and John Belushi were good friends and Williams had been partying together not long before Belushi overdosed on a “speedball”, a combination of cocaine and heroin. When Belushi died in 1982, Williams took it as a wake-up call and quit using drugs and alcohol cold turkey. He was sober for two decades after that point.

In 2006, Williams admitted that he had fallen off the wagon in an interview with Diane Sawyer. He had checked into a rehab facility several months earlier to get treatment for alcohol addiction. Williams said that falling back into the old pattern of using alcohol again had been a very gradual one. At Summit Behavioral Health, we have heard this comment from our clients as well; the road to a relapse is often a slippery slope as opposed to a client making a choice to start using again all at once.

He checked back into rehab in early July. He denied falling off the wagon this time, insisting that the treatment was a precautionary measure.

Suffering From Severe Depression

According to news reports, Williams’ last round of treatment at the rehab facility came two months after his new sitcom, “The Crazy Ones,” has been cancelled by CBS after just one season. He had also been diagnosed as being in the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease, a progressive disorder of the nervous system. No one will ever know how the stress of either one or the combination of these two events affected Williams or if he simply decided that in his depressed state that he was too weary to carry on.

The fact remains that the laughter he shared so freely will remain.

Turn To Caring And Professional Addiction Help

People who are depressed can turn to drug and alcohol to try to treat their symptoms, but what they truly need is professional help for their condition.

If you or a loved one needs help for addiction, whether or not it is accompanied by feelings of depression, or another mental illness, call us now. We will treat you as an individual – with respect.

You Deserve To Be Happy Again! Call Us Now To Begin The Path To Healing And Peace!

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