Poor Robin. I ache for him, that he was in such despair. He's given us all so much of himself, over *decades*. (I remember him from Mork and Mindy very well!) (I had an M&M coloring book!) And my heart goes out to his family, especially his children. What a tremendous loss for us all.

But I'm moved by the outpouring of love and concern that's marked his death, especially online when there's usually so much negativity. And who knows how many lives have been saved as a result of people realising that there are people in their lives who might need help, or others deciding against suicide when they otherwise would have gone ahead.

Yeah, I'm ok now. :) Came out to family and stuff, which went much better than I'd ever have imagined, and that pretty much ended the depression. And I've been seeing a really great counsellor for the past couple of years, which helps a lot.

@allhailkingjack - Whether a person with depression does or doesn't take medication for it, s/he may battle it for life - drugs don't necessarily wipe depression out, they're just one tool among several for treating it, and are often used in conjunction with other therapies (talk therapy, for example) for maximum efficacy. Also, there are drugs for depression which don't cause the infamous numbing shutdown AND even though a drug may cause that in one person, another person may have a different experience with it. Finally, sometimes it's exactly the taming of the wide vacillations of emotion and racing mind that allows for a person to focus on the use of her/his gifts. As you noted, brain chemistry varies from person to person, and I think that many variables contribute to a nuanced factor of the human condition, which can't be easily summed up.

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Like I was once on a different medication (for acne) that apparently had increased anxiety and panic attacks as a potential side effect, but for me it had the opposite effect of completely curing my anxiety issues. I didn't have a single panic attack when I was on that medication, vs having several a day before that. Brains are weird.

I've also known many people with bipolar disorder, and as much as they need medication, the side effects seem truly awful. There are no easy answers to any of this and anyone who suggests that there are is just plain ignorant.