Matt Walsh: Robin Williams didn't die from a disease he died from his choice

[PrincessFiona]

http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/08/...e-died-choice/


Does anyone take this guy seriously? In the wake of Robin Williams death, I find this article to be highly offensive and inappropriate. His ideas though are shocking.
This is what he says about suicide: "Your suicide doesn’t happen to you; it doesn’t attack you like cancer or descend upon you like a tornado. It is a decision made by an individual." Apparently, suicide is a choice and it isn't born of biochemical imbalances like might be found in other "real" diseases. In fact, Walsh finds depression to be spiritual in nature .. the spiritual component of depression being deeper than the biochemical.

OH ... and don't forget that joy is the only thing that can defeat depression...sprinkled with a little love.

This guy makes me ragey.

Kris

[Vanquisher]

I want to cock punch him. He's a fuckweasel! (Had to edit that word on FB - ahhhh, feels good). That is a dangerous, ignorant, and definitely rage worthy article. Fuck him in the eye.

[diggitydot]

I pretty much detest MW. I've never read one of his blogs that wasn't dripping with condescension, sanctimony, and bullshit.

[MrsK]

Yeah, that's going to get about as much traction as Tom Cruise's opinion regarding Brooke Shields' postpartum depression. Sure, being unsympathetic toward someone who is beloved by millions and recently deceased is going to be really popular.

[ladymoreta]

I can't stand him either. Didn't click on the article because I don't like giving his page more hits.

[GrayMatterWife]

Um...who?

[Phoebe]

Um...who?

This.

[Ladybug]

It sucks to see an asshole profit from someone's mental illness and death. He jumped in the limelight with a provacative article. He's grotesque.

There might be a moment (even if fleeting, ill-informed, ill-influenced and neurologically immature) of free will. There is a choice that reinforces and compounds itself through habit. Increasingly Habitual alcohol and drug use change your brain chemistry and ability to rebalance chemically.

I think the asshole is fumbling with the fact that there are still choices along the way, less so in the end due to chemical changes. I can't explain the darkness that is severe depression either. I created an alternative reality just to escape it. There are some choices I could have made earlier in my life that might have circumvented it entirely. That blows my mind! It's shouln't be a means of blaming or humiliating people, but of helping people at those vulnerable moments to understand the reach of their choices earlier in life.

[scrub-jay]

Just trolling for clicks.

[diggitydot]

Just trolling for clicks.

Agreed.

[Ladybug]

Probably. But suicide rates are increasing globally annually. The launch might be poor, but suicide deserves a platform. I don't think his article is completely without value even though I disagree with it's conclusions. There are choices that impact us, including how we respond to people battling mental illness and addictions. There needs to be a real discussion, not theological mud-slinging or polite silence.

[Vanquisher]

I agree with discussion, but this ass clown needs to fuck right off.

As far as choices. Not all of us have choices regarding depression. We do the best we can.

I didn't choose to be raped. I didn't choose for my beloved grandfather to die a slow, painful death before me. I did not choose losing my family's livelihood. I certainly didn't choose a brain chemistry and genetic disposition for this. I sure as hell didn't choose to pass it on to my son.

When you are suicidal, it's virtually impossible to reach out for help. You don't feel worthy of it. You don't feel hope that it will get better. You certainly don't choose to just be happy.

Sorry, but he can eat a bag of dicks.

If you get cancer or ALS or diabetes or pneumonia and you die, you fought a courageous battle. You are a hero. If you die from depression, you "chose" it? No. Fuck that noise. You lost your battle with a severe and sometimes fatal disease.

[diggitydot]

I agree with discussion, but this ass clown needs to fuck right off.

As far as choices. Not all of us have choices regarding depression. We do the best we can.

I didn't choose to be raped. I didn't choose for my beloved grandfather to die a slow, painful death before me. I did not choose losing my family's livelihood. I certainly didn't choose a brain chemistry and genetic disposition for this. I sure as hell didn't choose to pass it on to my son.

When you are suicidal, it's virtually impossible to reach out for help. You don't feel worthy of it. You don't feel hope that it will get better. You certainly don't choose to just be happy.

Sorry, but he can eat a bag of dicks.

If you get cancer or ALS or diabetes or pneumonia and you die, you fought a courageous battle. You are a hero. If you die from depression, you "chose" it? No. Fuck that noise. You lost your battle with a severe and sometimes fatal disease.

Slow clap, to all of this.

[ladymoreta]

I agree with Heidi. I've been fortunate enough to only experience depression that passes on it's own, but I've had three really bad experiences with it, and it was impossible to ask for help. The first time, I even went in to a family practice clinic complaining about heart issues, but I lied on the psychological screening. When I'm functioning normally, I look back and know I was in a really bad place, but I was incapable of asking for help when I was in the thick of it.

[alotofyarn]

I guess I'm in the minority - I don't despise Matt Walsh. I don't agree with everything he writes, but I agree with some of the points in some of his posts.

I didn't think his post on Robin Williams was all terrible, but I think it was harsh and worded poorly, probably to get attention. I also think some people have exaggerated what he actually said. I do agree that depression is a result of a chemical imbalance, and nobody chooses depression. I also have seen people willing to get treatment and try to get better and people who have refused treatment and let the disease overcome them. Admittedly, I don't know much about the disease - I haven't experienced depression, and the closest I've come to it is postpartum, when I knew that I wasn't in my right mind and considered seeking treatment, although it thankfully went away before it got that bad. I also know absolutely nothing about Robin Williams and his medical history.