Robin Mclaurin Williams: Psychological Analysis

On August 11, 2014, Robin McLaurin Williams took his own life. Throughout his 63 years on Earth he had become one of America’s most well-known actors and comedians. Williams suffered from depression and anxiety in the years before his death. He had also been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2013. The origins of Williams’ mental illnesses can be explained by the biological perspective, behavioral perspective, and psychodynamic perspective.

In psychology, the biological perspective looks at the roots of mental illnesses and disorders within the brain. It focuses on chemical imbalances with neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine. If you look at Robin Williams’ mental illnesses from the biological perspective, you

can infer that his struggle with drugs and alcohol may have led to the increase of his mental instability over the years. Usually, chemical imbalances in the brain can lead to severe depression and incline of drug addiction (Von Stieff 2014). Williams’ struggled with a cocaine addiction in the 1970s and 1980s and had been struggling with alcoholism from the 70s until his death (AlcoholismRehab, 2010). It is believed that Williams’ had a dopamine deficiency. Dopamine has a big impact on emotion and pleasure, too little can cause Parkinson’s disease (Ciccarelli, White, 2015, p. 53). Williams’ lack of dopamine most likely led to his development to Parkinson’s disease in 2013. His lack of dopamine also could be influenced by his drug and alcohol use. In the 1970s Williams began using cocaine. Cocaine is a very powerful dopamine stimulant and can be very addictive, especially for those suffering from depression. People begin to rely on cocaine to aid them in feeling higher than their depression. Williams’ cocaine use was short lived due to the overdose of a fellow comedian John Belushi (AlcoholismRehab, 2010). Although his abuse of cocaine was over, he still relied heavily on alcohol. From the 1970s until his death, Williams had a very strong alcohol addiction. He was in and out of rehab centers for many years. In a 2006 interview with Good Morning America, he discusses the severity of his alcoholism. This interview was the follow-up to Williams re-entering rehab with a recent 3 year relapse of his alcoholism after almost 20 years sober (AlcoholismRehab, 2010). In an article called “Robin Williams; Death, Depression, and Dopamine” by Dr. Fred Von Stieff, it states, “Additionally, a euphoric dopamine release occurs after extended heavy drinking.” This statement can help explain why Williams relied so heavily on alcohol. His brain wanted to fill the void of dopamine, and alcohol and drugs helped him do so.
The behavioral perspective views our actions as what we are trained to do according to our external influences.

All humans are conditioned to act and behave in certain ways according to social norms. When people think about Robin Williams, they immediately think of him as a comedic genius and a great actor. That is because Robin Williams was never very open about his mental illnesses or addictions. He masked his depression and alcoholism from the world because the world didn’t want to see that side of him. The world wanted to see him as the amazing comedian he was. The article, “Robin Williams' Death: It's Time to Unmask "Masked" Depression,” by Aaron Rochlen, discusses “masked” depression. Masked depression is recognized in a person who is very inverted about their issues and feelings, being perceived by others as perfectly normal. In Rochlen’s article he points out, “Even when Williams shared news of his addiction struggles, it was often in a joking context...Even when telling stories of his pain, he managed to lighten the mood.” He makes the point that Williams came out about his addictions in a humorous manner, so people saw it as anything but serious. Robin Williams’ death shocked the world, and finding out it was suicide shocked the world even more. Williams was never open about how severe his depressive tendencies were, and he never opened up about his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease either. It is obvious that he wanted to maintain his figure as an actor and comedian, he didn’t want people to know that he was actually very sick. One of the first experiences of Williams coming out about his addiction issues was his 2006 interview on Good Morning America after entering a rehabilitation center for alcoholism. This “masking” of Williams’ illness could have made things worse for him. He was expected to be this great celebrity, but only he knew that deep down that was not him(Rochlen, 2014). Also, he experienced a lot of pressure which also may have prevented

him of getting help sooner or at all (Rochlen, 2014). It is obvious that Robin Williams was a different person on stage than he was behind the curtain. He was very depressed and suffered greatly behind the scenes of his celebrity life, and hiding it from the world could have only made it worse for him.
The psychodynamic perspective focuses on the unconscious mind, the part of our brains that we are not aware of, to explain our troubles. Freud started using this theory to determine the background behind people’s worries. It can include past events that have scarred us without us being aware, events that happened before our memory began to develop, and many other contributions. In Williams case, there are many events that could have caused his depression and anxiety. Robin Williams had a somewhat tougher childhood. He was very shy and usually stayed in his own world, playing with toys (Dennis, 2014). This solitude could’ve sparked a psychological issue early on in his life. Every child needs socialization, by both parents and peers, lack of socialization often shows issues later in life. In 2009 Williams told People that he didn’t think of his parents as warm (Dennis, 2014). It is obvious that Williams’ homelife was not the best environment for a growing child. Even though when Williams was 17 they moved to San Francisco where he experienced a much better environment and was very popular in school (Dennis, 2014). A rough childhood wasn’t the only obvious link to his depression, but he also went through three marriages and two divorces. In the 1970s he married a waitress named Valerie Velardi but they divorced in 1987 (Dennis, 2014). After his first divorce, he went on to marry Marsha Garces. This marriage lasted 19 years before a divorce in 2008 ended it (Dennis, 2014). Eventually he married Susan Schneider in 2011, she would remain his wife until his death in 2014. Marriages and divorces are not easy, they both stir up emotions. Divorce can be a turning point for many people, leading to a downhill spiral in many divorcees’ lives. All of these factors could have had a major influence on Williams’ mental illnesses even if he was not aware of it. They could have been absorbed through his unconscious mind and poured salt on his psychological wounds.
Studying Williams mental illnesses is tough because he wasn’t very open about them. There was very little public knowledge of what he was feeling or suffering with. But, through the different psychological perspectives and different articles on Williams, there is a lot to be uncovered. Williams had many sources that influenced his depression, anxiety, addictions, and what eventually led to his death. Some of the first signs of psychological issues can be found in his childhood and his relationship with his parents. Another sign was his constant drug and alcohol abuse, which resulted in addiction, and rehabilitation, this took a major toll on his mental strength. Along with two divorces, one of which was a 19 year marriage, his last divorce was shortly before his alcohol addiction revamped and took over his life once again. Also, the feeling of having two faces, the face that the world sees as a happy and hilarious comedian, and the face that only he and his close ones can see, the suffering he experienced when the curtain closed and the cameras turned off. All of these events have been a snowball of suffering and depression for Robin Williams, only getting bigger as it goes on, eventually leading him to take his own life in August of 2014. Robin Williams was an amazing and loved comedian, but even his luxurious life couldn’t suppress the sadness embedded in his mind.