Robin William's passing highlights mental illness

Dear Editor,

I want to put my two cents in in regards to our dear Robin Williams. I feel like I lost a friend, one who made me laugh, yet showed his serious side.

I want to ask that no one uses the term “commit suicide” anymore. This term initially was used because suicide was considered a crime or grave sin, i.e. commit murder, commit adultery, commit a robbery. Most who die of suicide do not really want to die; they want to be free of pain.

The brain is a complex organ, much more so than any other. Depression and bipolar disease are physical illnesses.

We do not know the cause, but PET scans have shown that there is a difference between the brain of a depressed person and one who is not.

Mental illness is not a weakness, it is a disease! Would you ever tell a cancer patient to just toughen up? Robin fought his disease for years. What a battle, and what gifts he gave us during this battle!

Carol Minette-Miller

Wakefield